REVIEW | Broken Angels

Series: N/A
Author: Gemma Liviero
Genre: adult, historical fiction, women's fiction, 
Published: April 26, 2016
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

A Nazi doctor. A Jewish rebel. A little girl. Each one will fight for freedom—or die trying. 

Imprisoned in the Lodz Ghetto, Elsi discovers her mother’s desperate attempt to end her pregnancy and comes face-to-face with the impossibility of their situation. Risking her own life, Elsi joins a resistance group to sabotage the regime. 

Blonde, blue-eyed Matilda is wrenched from her family in Romania and taken to Germany, where her captors attempt to mold her into the perfect Aryan child. Spirited and brave, she must inspire hope in the other stolen children to make her dreams of escape a reality. 

Willem, a high-ranking Nazi doctor, plans to save lives when he takes posts in both the ghetto and Auschwitz. After witnessing unimaginable cruelties, he begins to question his role and the future of those he is ordered to destroy. 

While Hitler ransacks Europe in pursuit of a pure German race, the lives of three broken souls—thrown together by chance—intertwine. Only love and sacrifice might make them whole again.

[REVIEW] Salt to the Sea

Series: N/A
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Genre: young adult, historical fiction, romance, adventure, survival
Published: February 2, 2016
Publisher: Philomel
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Winter, 1945. Lithuania, East Prussia, Germany, Poland.

Four teenagers. Four secrets. Each born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies... and war. 

As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast seeking to escape the chaos and terror of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom. 

Yet not all promises can be kept. 

Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray) lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II. An illuminating and life-affirming tale of heart and hope.

[REVIEW] The Blast

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Series: N/A
Author: Sarah Perlmutter
Genre: young adult, science fiction, post apocalyptic, survival, romance
Published: December 15, 2014 (first published January 25, 2014)
Purchase: Amazon

After a series of blasts force Beatrice Hicks and her family into their prepper bunker, they emerge to discover they are among the survivors of a nuclear apocalypse. Fighting against rogue groups and coping with deaths are just some of the adjustments Beatrice must make to survive, but how will she maintain her humanity after the blast? 

Praise for THE BLAST:
“This is the most impressive and heartfelt apocalypse story I’ve ever read in my life!”
“A real tour de force... [It’s] refreshing to have a YA book which focuses on the important things in a person’s life – family, love and death.”
“What a beautiful story. A wonderful look at the human ability to survive, rebuild, and grow through survival.”
“One of the best post-apocalypse stories I have read.”
“This book easily stacks up against my favourites and has an originality that many books seem to lack these days. [The] writing style is impeccable and this book is utterly breathtaking!”

[Waiting on Wednesday] the Walled City

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming can't wait to read.

Series: N/A
Author: Ryan Graudin
Genre: young adult, dystopia, fantasy, science fiction, romance, survival, adventure, thriller
Expected Publication: November 14, 2014

There are three rules in the Walled City: Run fast. Trust no one. Always carry your knife. Right now, my life depends completely on the first. Run, run, run. 

Jin, Mei Yee, and Dai all live in the Walled City, a lawless labyrinth run by crime lords and overrun by street gangs. Teens there run drugs or work in brothels—or, like Jin, hide under the radar. But when Dai offers Jin a chance to find her lost sister, Mei Yee, she begins a breathtaking race against the clock to escape the Walled City itself.

[REVIEW] PROXY

Series: Proxy #1
Author: Alex London
Genre: young adult, dystopia, science fiction, LGBT, fantasy, adventure, thriller, survival
Published: May 1, 2014 (first published June 18, 2013)
Publisher: Speak

What would you give up to change the world? 

Syd’s life is not his own. As a proxy he must pay for someone else’s crimes. When his patron, Knox, crashes a car and kills someone, Syd is branded and sentenced to death. Syd and Know realize the only way to beat the system is to save each other, so they flee. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test the boys’ resolve, and shine a glaring light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. 

This fast-paced thrill ride of a novel is full of breakneck action, shocking twists, and heart-hammering suspense that will have readers gasping until the very last page.

[REVIEW] Red Rising

Series: Red Rising #1
Author: Pierce Brown
Genre: young adult, science fiction, dystopia, survival, mythology, war
Published: February 18, 2014 (first published January 28, 2014)
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 978-0-553-84125-1

Synopsis:

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making surface of Mars livable for the future generations. 

Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. 

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow – and Reds like him – are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies… even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.