We’re the FBI and We Always Get Our Man

I have always been a big fan of Romantic Suspense novels.  I have especially enjoyed the ones dealing with the FBI.   These novels grab you in the first sentence and keep you up late at night trying to finish. The balance of romance and suspense are different in each; some romance plays the major role and in others, suspense gets the upper hand.

One of the first FBI thrillers that I read was Catherine Coulter’s The Cove which was published in 1996 and was the beginning of her bestselling Sherlock and Savich series, although Savich just has a minor role and Sherlock is not in the book at all.  The book begins with Sally Brainerd fleeing from D.C. after her Senator father is murdered.  She is the prime suspect but has no memory of what happened and may very well have killed him.  She winds up in this quaint village on the west coast, The Cove.  The FBI sends Special Agent James Quinlan undercover to follow and befriend Sally.  Sally and James begin to not only investigate her father’s murder but also the strange number of people that have been disappearing from the Cove.  Through twists and turns, both resolutions are unexpected and shocking.

Another good FBI suspense is Twisted by Andrea Kane.  Former FBI agent Sloane Burbank is an independent consultant in crisis resolution.  Her childhood friend mysteriously disappears, and Sloane cannot help but get involved.  FBI Special Agent in Charge and former lover, Derek Parker, partners with Sloane as they discover that seemingly random disappearances and murders are linked.  Then Sloane becomes the killer’s next target.  Through the dark twisted pathways of a serial killer’s mind, the novel grabs you from the very beginning and doesn’t let go until the final page is turned.  You might need the lights on for this one.

Another very suspenseful FBI thriller is Allison Brennan’s Sudden Death.  When a homeless veteran is found brutally tortured and murdered in Sacramento, FBI agent Megan Elliot takes it personally, especially after the killer mails the vet’s dog tags to her home.  Her investigation leads her to suspect that someone is going on a nationwide torture and killing spree of former Delta Force soldiers.  Jack Kincaid, mercenary and former Delta Force, is separately pursuing an investigation of the murder of one of his friends.  By-the-book Megan and Burn-the-book Jack are forced to team up as their cases link.  This book is less romance and not for the faint of heart as the torture and depraved sex acts that the killers commit are gruesome indeed.  However, the storyline is absorbing and kept me engrossed.

My favorite of the FBI romantic suspense subgenre is Julie Garwood’s FBI series.  It has the right mix of romance, suspense and humor.  The first one of the series is Heartbreaker.  Father Tom Madden is in the confessional when a man says, “Bless me Father for I will sin”.  Chillingly he describes his past of stalking and killing, and then names his next victim, Father Tom’s sister Laurant.  Father Tom’s best friend, FBI agent Nick Buchanan can’t refuse his friend’s call for help.  The killer makes it clear that if Laurant hides, he will kill someone else.  In Father Tom’s and Laurant’s small Iowa town, Nick and Laurant pretend to be a couple to draw out the killer.  An attraction grows between the two but one false move could kill them both. 

Additional Recommended Titles:

Bait by Karen Robards  

The Third Victim by Lisa Gardner

The Bliss Factor by Penny McCall

Left to Die by Lisa Jackson

The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood

The Maze by Catherine Coulter

Move Over Superman: Literary Graphic Novels

So we’ve all heard it before, comic books are trash.  They’ll rot your brain.  You should read a “real book” instead. Yeah, comics and graphic novels definitely have a bad rep.  In fact, in the 1940’s and 50’s their reputation was so bad that they were often blamed for juvenile delinquency, homosexuality, and lower intelligence levels.  Things got so bad that the comic book industry was investigated by Congress to see if reading Superman would really make someone stupid or want to rob a bank.

Luckily things have gotten better for the format in the last few decades.  The question remains, however, is a graphic novel capable of conveying the same emotional depth and complex, thought provoking ideas as a traditional novel?  The answer is a resounding yes! 

Mauss: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman is one of my favorite literary graphic novels and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992.  Told in two parts, this biographical comic follows the author’s parents, who were Polish Jews during World War II, as they go from denial, to attempted escape, to eventual capture and incarceration at Auschwitz.  However, this is more than just a story about the Holocaust, the book also tells the story of a father and son who struggle to relate to each other when they have lived such different lives.  The art is striking, and while it is cartoonish at times in it depictions of the Jews as mice and Germans as cats, is jarring in its harshness at others.  

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is another story of a family caught up in a war.  Through the eyes of her childhood self, Marjane Satrapi tells how her family held high hopes when the hated Shah was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution, only to see those hopes shattered as Islamic fundamentalist took over the country, taking away what few freedoms they had left.  She watches as family friends disappear and her mother puts black curtains over their windows to keep their neighbors from informing on them.   While Marjane herself is witty and defiant, the images in this book are stark, illustrating the bleakness of her family’s situation.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang was a national book award finalist in 2006 and mixes Chinese mythology with modern storytelling to weave a tale of self-discovery and, more importantly, acceptance.  In this book Yang tells three seemingly separate tales. One of a young Chinese- American boy who moves from San Fransico’s Chinatown to a suburban neighborhood where he is one of only two Asian students at his school, one of Chin-Kee, the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype personified, and one of Chinese mythology’s powerful Monkey King. These seemingly separate stories come together through a strange twist to form a truly climactic and philosophical ending that readers will never see coming.

Finally my absolute favorite literary graphic novel is The Arrival by Shaun Tan which tells its entire story through art with no need for words.  Through Tan’s incredibly detailed and beautiful pencil drawings the universal immigrant experience is revealed as the main character travels to a faraway land where nothing is familiar.  Strange creatures, food, and customs abound as he tries to make a better life for himself and his family.  He is helped along the way by kind strangers who in turn have their own stories. 

 

So whether you’re an avid graphic novel reader looking for a bit more substance, or new to the genre, there are many literary graphic novels out there to choose from.  Don’t believe me?  Try some of these other great titles!

Buddah by Osamu Tezuka

Blankets by Craig Thompson

Level Up by Gene Luen Yang 

Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle

Off Screen Talents

Most of us have a favorite celebrity. We have seen all of their movies or listened to all of their CDs; we have read interviews they do in the latest magazines. I will admit that I am probably obsessed with Taylor Swift, but she hasn’t written a book for me to read, yet.  There are celebrities who have written books that have made their way to our shelves here at the Bartow County Library System. Now, I can hear some of you groaning all the way from here. “A celebrity written book? Surely they aren’t any good,” and you will go back to reading the latest novel written by your favorite author. Trust me, though, some times books written by celebrities can surprise you. 

Comedian Steve Martin is probably better known for his stint on SNL and his starring roles in movies like The Jerk and the Father of the Bride movies.  Martin has also written a number of novels, his most recent being " An Object of Beauty". The novel tells the story of Lacey Yeager, a young woman who gets her first job out of college at Sotheby’s, the art auction house in New York.   Narrated by Lacey’s art critic friend, Daniel, we see the rise and fall of a young woman who becomes obsessed with the art world.  She learns that the more beautiful something is, the more value it has in the moneyed world she inhabits. Lacey’s obsession leads her to take bigger gambles with her career and money that ultimately causes problems with her future as the art world becomes more tumultuous.  Lacey becomes entangled, both emotionally and financially.  If you are not well acquainted with the artists and paintings mentioned, colored reproductions are woven into the narrative of the story.

If Steve Martin isn’t your cup of tea, try "The Gun Seller" by Hugh Laurie, who is known for his performance as Dr. House in the television show of the same name and as a British comedian. "The Gun Seller" is about Thomas Lang, a former Army officer who is now working as a hired gun. When Lang is hired to assassinate an American business man, Lang decides to go to Amsterdam and warn his target instead. However, the simple decision Lang makes to warn his target turns into something much larger. Lang suddenly finds himself involved in a potential terrorist plot and a conspiracy about a top-secret attack helicopter that is being developed by the government.  Laurie’s novel is a satire of most spy novels, but is very enjoyable to read and would be perfect for fans of adventure novels written by Clive Cussler or spy thrillers by John Le Carre.

But if you want something lighter and more inspirational, country singer Sara Evans has written a book that is probably right up your alley. "The Sweet By and By" tells the story of eccentric curio shop owner Jade in quaint Whisper Hollow, Tennessee. Jade is a few weeks away from getting married and has to reconcile her relationship with her hippie mother, Beryl. While her fiancé, Max, seems perfect, Jade has her own secrets that her mother’s arrival in town brings back to the forefront of her peaceful life. Beryl also has her own secrets to reveal to her daughter before her wedding and before it’s too late to say anything. The story is sweet and romantic, without being over the top. It’s an inspirational story that is easy to read and you can definitely see Evans’ country-singer background within the novel because it has elements of the simple and sweet songs she is known for.

Steve Martin, Hugh Laurie, and Sara Evans all have great talents when it comes to story-telling, and they all successfully told entertaining and enjoyable reads.  Here are some other recommended celebrity books:

Love Lifted Me by Sara Evans
A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett 

Elixir by Hilary Duff

Surrender the Pink by Carrie Fisher

Man in White by Johnny Cash   

The Justice Riders by Chuck Norris

Bewitching Books

Witches take center stage in these paranormal books featuring strong female protagonists with unique magical gifts they use to maintain order in society.  While all feature a romantic interest, they vary from mysteries to urban fantasies.  

Heather Blake introduces a charming new cozy mystery series in It Takes a Witch.  Darcy Merriweatherand her sister have recently discovered they are from a family of Wishcrafters and possess the power to grant wishes using magic; unfortunately this gift is restricted by a long list of rules which their Aunt Ve helps them master.  The Merriweathers move to Enchanted Village in Salem, Massachusetts to join Aunt Ve’s business, As You Wish, which, along with the other shops in the village, appears to be an everyday business, but magic is their secret trade.  Shortly after Darcy arrives in the village, an unpopular shopkeeper is murdered and an innocent man, Aunt Ve’s beau, is blamed.  As Darcy becomes involved in village life, she discovers other Crafters and their unique crafts, masters her own craft, and tackles the unique jobs of As You Wish, she sees and hears things that lead to the identity of the true killer.   

Kalayna Price introduces the gritty, urban fantasy series featuring Alex Craft in Grave Witch.  Craft is a witch whose day job as private investigator and police consultant requires her to retrieve “shades” of the dead to provide her clients with closure or to identify their killers; she is also interacts with ghosts and Death himself.  While raising a "shade" involved in a high profile murder, it attacks her.   Then someone makes an attempt on her life, possibly to prevent her from raising the shade of a murdered child during the trial. Someone really does not want her to know what the dead have to say, and she will have to work with the mysterious new homicide detective Falin, to uncover the truth and save her own life.  

Dime Store Magic is Kelley Armstrong’s third book in her urban fantasy series, Otherworld.  Young Paige Winterbourne has succeeded her mother as leader of the American Coven of Witches and guardian of a moody teenager, Savannah, with a taste for black magic.  Savannah’s formerly unknown father, a sorcerer and leader of a powerful magical Cabal, employs the wicked half-demon, Leah, to get Savannah and her powers for the Cabal.  As a result, good witch Paige is set up as a murderer, accused of Satanism, and exiled from her coven.  Paige hires a sorcerer attorney of the Cortez Cabal to fight her legal battles, but soon finds a shared chemistry which leads to all kinds of magic as they fight to protect Savannah from becoming a pawn in the game of supernatural evil. 

Melissa de la Cruz’s Witches of East End is the first in a series about the Hampton’s based Beauchamps, witches so old the daughters were hung during the Salem witch hunt.  Ingrid and Freya, were later reborn to their mother Joanna but all were restricted by the elders from openly practicing magic.  In the present, Freya, a bartender, recognizes an ancient soul mate in Bran, and quickly becomes engaged; unfortunately her gift for love leads to an affair with Bran’s brother Killian.  Meanwhile, public librarian Ingrid is chafing at the magic ban and soon works her white magic to heal friends and patrons. Freya follows suit and pursues her own peculiar brand of magic, aphrodisiac cocktails, which leads to the disappearance of an amorous couple and a murder.   Joanna gradually allows her magic freedom as a she restores a friend to life, only he might have been too far on the other side for the spell to be all positive.  Join the Beauchamps in this serpentine tale of magic, romance, and suspense.

If you are in the mood for a wicked romance, try Linda Winstead Jones’s Sisters of the Sun trilogy.  Cursed by a rejected suitor, the Fyne witches are destined never to know true and lasting love.  For over 300 years, the sorcerer’s curse has held true so The Sun Witch, Sophie Fyne vows never to love but to use men to have children.  Following three nights of dreaming of a green eyed stranger, the rebel Kane Varden appears and is seduced by Sophie.  She leaves him with a wish spell for good luck and herself with their daughter.  One year later Kane returns to Fyne Mountain and discovers their daughter.  He wants both mother and daughter, but Sophie resists because of the curse.  When their daughter is kidnapped, Sophie and Kane journey to the kingdom’s capital to rescue their daughter while protecting Kane’s rebel identity from her captors. 

Enjoy a little magic this Valentine’s Day in an adventure of a bewitching heroine.

Additional recommended titles

The Witching Hour - Anne Rice   

The Witches of Eastwick - John Updike   

Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman    

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire    

Witch Fire - Anya Bast   

Thrillers with a Christian World View

Plots taken from today's headlines, story-lines that have real people facing real problems written from a Christian world view with Christian values comprise a new subgenre within suspense. How can writers address terrorism, murder, economic strife and real life situations and still be Christian fiction writers? These situations happen in real life and are met head on by real people of faith every day. Authors such as Davis Bunn, Joel C. Rosenberg, Lis Wiehl, Steven James and others have set out to meet contemporary issues with faith-based characters and have created exciting thrillers for all readers. This is a growing subgenre that appeals to those of us who prefer to read books that are spine-tingling and thought provoking without the gratuitous sex and profanity. These authors have found that they can write excellent books without all the trappings that some writers feel they have to include to sell their books.

  

Author Davis Bunn received an email requesting a "gutsy Christian hero" who could face war, terrorism, or the demands of his job and keep his faith. The emailer was surprised to find that Bunn had done just that with "Lion of Babylon".  The story is set in Bagdad during the restructuring (after the removal of Saddam Hussein) and in the midst of the struggle between religious factions in that nation.  In this action-packed thriller, the author provides a look at contemporary Baghdad and the traditions, history and strife which are behind the today’s headlines. Marc Royce must become a warrior, a lion, for truth to gain the cooperation and trust of ancient enemies to solve the mysterious disappearance of Americans. This is one of the best faith-in-action thrillers written to date, and yet it is great storytelling that can be enjoyed by all.

Davis Bunn has written other faith based books on contemporary subjects.   "Book of Dreams" examines the current world finance situation. A group of people are drawn together by a series of shared dreams to expose the global chaos that caused the current financial collapse and has left so many people facing foreclosure and homelessness. An honest man is about to be asked to run for vice president but factions who oppose him seek to destroy him fearing he will speak the truth and expose their schemes. His wife begins having recurring dreams and visits a psychiatrist who is famous for interpreting dreams. The book gathers an unlikely group of people through the interpretation of their dreams to fight against global powers at great risk to themselves to expose the greed and avarice that caused the current crisis. Davis Bunn not only does an excellent job of explaining the global banking crisis but also covers the power of prayer, interpretations of dreams and visions, grief management, and the daily existence of a faith –based person in today’s world.

 In “The Tehran Initiative”, author Joel C. Rosenberg explores the nuclear weapons situation in Iran. Iran has accomplished its first atomic test and, The Twelfth Imam is stirring religious fervor.  Israel is fearful that Iran is about to unleash its new powers and destroy Israel. The President of the United States is afraid that Israel will react first causing war and global economic crisis. He sends David Shirazi and his CIA team to find and sabotage Iran’s nuclear warheads before Iran or Israel can launch a devastating first strike. In a story that could have come from today's newspaper, this is a nail-biting thriller. Rosenberg is hailed as one of the best political thriller writers of today. His books have the feel of reading history in the making as it could be happening right this minute.  

Ted Dekker  is another Christian fiction writer who addresses the forces of good and evil. “Boneman’s Daughter” is about a serial killer who kidnaps young girls and kills them slowly, painfully.  Intelligence Officer Ryan Evans has lost everything; his wife and daughter have written him out of their lives. All he has left is his job which is to find this killer before he can kill again.  The investigation gets incredibly personal when his own daughter is kidnapped by the Boneman, and yet somehow Ryan himself becomes a suspect. Now he must find and capture this killer before his daughter is killed while on the run from the authorities. Dekker juxtaposes the father who wants to find the perfect daughter with the father who just wants to be allowed to be a father to his daughter. In this edge-of-your-seat thriller Dekker examines the motivations and inner workings of the serial killer’s mind.  

These authors and many more seem to have their fingers on the pulse of existence in our world today.  They write about global and local topics while sharing their Christian view of the world with characters that meet the challenges of their day from a perspective of faith and hope. The stories are great reads for any reader and particularly appreciated by those who prefer not to read fiction filled with profanity, nudity, and immorality. These books still handle very real topics like murder, vice, and greed with very real likeable characters who meet life head-on with faith and belief.  

The following websites are helpful resources to locate more titles and information about Christian fiction genres:

www.thesuspensezone.com

www.familyfiction.com

Other titles to explore:

Hand of Fate by Lis Wiehl (Triple Threat Series)          

The Pawn by Steven James (Patrick Bowers Thrillers Series)   

Water’s Edge by Robert Whitlow

Over the Edge by Brandilyn Collins 

This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti

Vanished by Kathryn Mackel           

Enjoy a Good Yarn This Winter

Are you a crafter who wants to unwind with a good book after the hectic holiday season?  Even if you are not currently a crafter, try one of these crafty books, and you might find yourself inspired to start a new hobby!

Cozy up with a light mystery!  In the cozy mystery genre, the action usually takes place in a small, close-knit community, usually downplays sex and violence, and are often more light hearted than other murder mysteries.  Sometimes they include bonus material, such as a recipe or a pattern, at the end of the book.  Cozy mysteries cover a variety of themes, but as a yarn enthusiast I love to read the ones about knitting and crochet, and I recommend the following. 

Death by Cashmere by Sally Goldenbaum follows the adventures of Izzy Chambers, a former law professional who ditched her fast-paced life in Boston for calmer surroundings in the quiet seaside town of Sea Harbor, Massachusetts.  With the help of her aunt and uncle, Izzy has transformed an old bait shop with a fantastic view of the sea into a cozy shop called the Seaside Knitting Studio.  In no time Izzy has acquired a small community of local knitters, the Seaside Knitters, who meet at the shop. The group of knitters becomes even closer when Izzy’s tenant for the apartment over the shop, Angie Archer, drowns mysteriously and is discovered by one of the knitters. Almost everyone is quick to assume that Angie’s party-girl ways caused her drowning, but Izzy finds too many loose ends and can’t believe Angie’s death was an accident.  Since the local police aren’t interested in investigating, it is up to Izzy and the Seaside Knitters to unravel the mystery and find the killer.

Hooked on Murder by Betty Hechtman is the first book of a crochet mystery series featuring Molly Pink, a forty-something widow with two grown children who has recently become the event coordinator-community relations person for the bookstore, Shedd & Royal Books.  As community outreach, Molly encourages a local crochet group to meet in the bookstore. Molly does not get along with the leader of the group, Ellen Sheriden; however, when Ellen forgets her crochet hooks she returns them to Ellen at home. Unfortunately for Molly, she finds Ellen dead in her home.  The police arrive to find Molly in a compromising situation that makes it look like she is the killer.  Furthermore, the lead detective in the case has an axe to grind because Molly is dating her partner, whom she happens to be in love with.  Detective Gilmore would like nothing more than to pin the murder on Molly, and Molly’s history with Ellen makes it easy for her to look guilty.  With the help of The Average Joe’s Guide to Criminal Investigation, Molly is forced to untangle the mess she’s in and find the real murderer!

If you are not in the mood for a mystery, try Debbie Macomber’s The Shop on Blossom Street or Kate Jacobs’ The Friday Night Knitting Club.  Both stories center on a yarn shop that becomes the central meeting place for a group of knitters who bond and form close friendships despite their differences. 

In The Shop on Blossom Street, Lydia Hoffman, a two time cancer survivor learns to knit while undergoing chemotherapy.   She decides to pursue her dream of opening her own yarn shop immediately hangs a sign in the window advertising a knitting class to make a baby blanket.  Jacqueline Donovan’s marriage is in shambles, and her son is married to a woman she dislikes and who is pregnant.  While visiting her husband’s worksite on Blossom Street, she sees the sign for the knitting class in Lydia’s shop window.  Despite her feelings about her daughter-in-law, she is determined to be the best grandmother she can be and enrolls in Lydia’s class.  Carol Girard is desperate to have a baby and has undergone expensive procedure after procedure.  Carol sees the new store and views the class sign as a message that her dream is about to come true and she enrolls.  Alix Townsend is young, but her life has already been hard with a childhood of arguing, alcoholic parents. She sees the sign in the store window and decides to take the class and donate the baby blanket to Project to earn community service hours for an offense she claims she did not commit.  Through the common bond of the knitting project, the women get to know one another and the friendships that they form will impact them in ways that they could not imagine.

So, whether you’re up for a cozy mystery, or just a good read about an interesting group of friends, I hope these books will inspire you to explore your creative side!  In case you find yourself tempted to pick up a pair of needles or a crochet hook, check our event calendar for our knitting and crochet programs!

Additional Recommended Titles:
By Debbie Macomber:
A Good Yarn
Susannah’s Garden
By Kate Jacobs:
Knit Two
Knit the Season
By Betty Hechtman:
Dead Men Don’t Crochet
By Hook Or By Crook
By Maggie Sefton:
Knit One, Kill Two
Needled to Death

Dystopian Societies in Young Adult Literature

2012. The apocalypse. How will the world end? Will it be a natural disaster? A plague? Man-made catastrophe? Or perhaps a zombie uprising? Are you prepared? The dystopian society, a popular sub-genre of young adult literature with lots of adult crossover appeal, could be your guide for preparing for the end. Dystopian societies, often born as the result of cataclysmic or apocalyptic events, offer the illusion of perfection, but actually limit the freedom of their residents. 

For a natural disaster ending, try Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Sixteen year-old Miranda’s world collapses when a meteor hits the moon and knocks it closer to earth, resulting in climate changes, tsunamis, fires and chaos. Miranda records events over the course of a year in diary entries, and readers see her transition from a normal high school girl worried about ice skating and boys to a young woman making decisions about the survival of her family as life as she knows it disappears.

In Epitaph Road by David Patneaude, a plague decimates most of the male population. Women take over the planet and bring an end to war, poverty and crime. Fourteen year-old Kellen is part of the male minority, a second class citizen living in fear of the next plague outbreak. When he learns that the outbreaks may not be accidental, he sets out to warn his father who is living in the plague’s projected path within a fringe community of men. What he finds in the community is terrifying. The plague virus can be manipulated and mutated. No one is safe.

Man-made catastrophes abound in dystopian literature and Neal Shusterman’s Unwind and Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy are just two of the many examples of good intentions gone wrong. In Unwind, the second Civil War is fought over abortion and the compromise is the Bill of Life. It states that life is sacred from conception through age thirteen, after which, parents can choose to have their teen “unwound,” a process in which all body parts are harvested and donated to other worthy living people. Nothing is wasted. Fifteen year old Connor’s parents have signed the unwind order, and he is on the run, searching for a safe place where the unwanted have the right to exist.

In Hunger Games (movie coming in March of 2012), drought, famine, and war have caused the United States to fall, replaced by the country of Panem. In order to remind the humanity of it’s role in the collapse, the Capitol of Panem demands a boy and girl tribute be drawn by lot from each of Panem’s twelve districts. The twenty-four tributes fight to the death, gladiator style, in a televised event that everyone is required to watch. The story follows sixteen year old Katniss, the rebellious girl tribute from district 12 who volunteers to take her younger sister’s place in the arena. Only one tribute can make it out alive, but is there a way to thwart the Capitol? Is the rebellion already underway before Katniss steps into the arena, and if so, is she a player or a pawn?

Carrie Ryan’s Forest of Hands and Teeth takes place several generations after the Return, a time when zombie-like Unconsecrated bring an end to normal life everywhere. Mary has always lived in a fenced in community controlled by the Sisterhood. The Unconsecrated have always hungered just outside the fence, turning any who dared cross outside into mindless undead. When a stranger chances on her community, Mary begins to question whether there is life beyond the fence – a place free of Unconsecrated. Shortly after, the Unconsecrated breach the community’s defenses and Mary must decide whether to stay and help fight a losing battle or take her chances beyond the fence.

Part of the allure of dystopian novels is that almost everyone can identify with main characters fighting for survival or fighting social injustice while taking control of their own lives. What adds a horror aspect to many of the stories is how plausible the apocalyptic scenarios and humanity’s responses are. Picking up a little dystopia with a side of apocalypse isn’t just entertaining; it can also make you think.

Additional recommended titles:

Matched by Allyson Condie

Maze Runner by James Dashner

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Giver by Lois Lowry

Birth Marked by Caragh M. O’Brien

Divergent by Veronica Roth