The Gryphon Project- Carrie Mac
In your search for excellent science fiction, look no further than Mac’s The Gryphon Project. With the underlying”what if” question possibly looming just around the corner, this is the story of a society who are able to assign groups of people a set number of lives. The top group gets 3 recons, or chances at life. The middle group receives 2, while the lowly group only get 1 extra chance. Gryphon and his sister Phoenix, belong to the elite group, but Phoenix has already been “reconned” twice which only leaves her with one more death. This, plus Gryphon’s fame as an athete and popularity, drives a wedge between the siblings. There is lots of action in this story and some romance as well. In fact, Phee’s best friend, Nadia, is very much in love with Saul, one of Gryphon’s best friends and part of his group of followers. The action really heats up when Gryphon accidentally falls in front of a train and loses one of his lives. Or is it an accident? The governing body which oversees the recon system, deems the accident to have been a suicide, and that there will be no recon, meaning Gryphon is truly dead. In spite of their recent estrangement, Phee determines to find the answers for herself. But Gryphon’s buddies seem to have taken a vow of silence and Phee takes on more and more dangerous activities as she pursues the mystery behind her brother’s death.
This was one of the most compelling novels I have read in a long time, but I must add some reservations. There is a certain amount of language in this novel, which may make it unsuitable for your Young Adult collection in elementary school. But even if that would pass, there is ONE, and one only, strong sexual connotation that makes it inappropriate. Oh, Carrie Mac, so little to change and we could offer this to so many more readers! As it is, I would recommend this for high school only.
High School, Science Fiction | Comment (0)The Adoration of Jenna Fox- Mary E. Pearson
I went on a book-buying trip to my local bookstore with a list of books I’ve been longing to read and purchase for my school library. One of these was The Adoration of Jenna Fox and the first one that I have read. This is a futuristic novel but with the feel that it might only be one small step into a future that may already be possible. Jenna wakes up from a coma to find that much of her memory is gone. At her doting parents insistence, she watches a myriad of childhood videos that they hope will begin to jog her memory. But many things are not adding up for Jenna. Her grandmother is distant and almost hostile. Her parents are overbearing and restrictive of her activities. Her diet is not real food but measured doses of a supplement. When her memory does begin to return, impossible memories surface like her baptism as an infant. And what about the extreme secrecy that has surrounded them after their move to an obscure community? Only when a deep cut to her hand reveals little blood, but thick layers of blue gel covering what looks like synthetic muscles and ligaments, does Jenna begins to question just how much of her is really Jenna and how much has been manufactured (illegally, it appears!) by her scientist father. This novel is rife with the already burgeoning debates over medical ethics and where it might potentially lead. This book would be an excellent book club selection (for adults as well) as it grapples with many issues, including one a parent might potentially face: just how far would you go to save your child? I would recommend this for your Young Adult shelf in elementary school and definitely for high school. It’s a page-turner for sure, with loads of food for thought.
Here’s a neat You Tube video with an excerpt from the book.
High School, Science Fiction, YA | Comment (0)Stolen Voices- Ellen Dee Davidson
Although this author was previously unknown to me, in Stolen Voices, she masters the science fiction genre. When the world as we know it has ended, a new world evolves where citizens lose any individual voice and all is ruled by a small elite group and the Voice who speaks for them all, the Masker. Miri, at 15, has reached the age where she and her fellow students will become masked and join the ranks of those who use their talents only to promote unity. Unfortunately, Miri has not yet discovered her talent, which placed her in peril of becoming classed with the lowest of servants. During the masking of her peers, she sees a sight that frightens her as she watches their masking and the Masker draining them of all their individuall colours to augment his own power. Miri is then discovered and informed by the Masker that she will become a servant. With the help of the Masker’s servant, she escapes to the outside where she is feared, mistrusted and eventually heralded as one who has a great talent which had been thought to be forever lost. In time, Miri must make the hard choice between the world she thinks she knows and a new world where there may indeed be individual ideas. There are lots of themes inherent in this novel; coming-of-age, the value of the individual, the use or mis-use of talents and the difficulty of making hard choices. I really just enjoyed the fast-paced and unique plot line of this story and hope to see more from this author.
It reminded me somewhat of The Uglies. et al, by Scott Westerman.
High School, Science Fiction, YA | Comment (0)