Breathe

Title: Breathe
Author: Sarah Crossan
Pages: 384
Language: PG
Content: PG
Level: Upper Middle/High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: Inhale. Exhale.  Breathe. Breathe. Breathe . . . The world is dead.  The survivors live under the protection of Breathe, the corporation that found a way to manufacture oxygen–rich air.

Alina has been stealing for a long time. She's a little jittery, but not terrified. All she knows is that she's never been caught before. If she's careful, it'll be easy. If she's careful. Quinn should be worried about Alina and a bit afraid for himself, too, but even though this is dangerous, it's also the most interesting thing to happen to him in ages. It isn't every day that the girl of your dreams asks you to rescue her. Bea wants to tell him that none of this is fair; they'd planned a trip together, the two of them, and she'd hoped he'd discover her out here, not another girl. And as they walk into the Outlands with two days' worth of oxygen in their tanks, everything they believe will be shattered. Will they be able to make it back? Will they want to?

Review: Another take on the dystopian genre - based on the precept that all vegetation as been killed out, and without BREATHE and their oxygen under the "dome" - there is no air to breathe.  Told from 3 different viewpoints, I had a hard time connecting with each character.    The action packed first chapter was great, but I had a hard time staying interested when the action died down.  Boys and girls who are fans of the dystopian genre will like this book.

Altered

Title: Altered
Author: Jennifer Rush
Pages: 323
Language: PG13/R (15+ swears, 8 "f")
Content: PG13/R (violence)
Level: High School
Recommendation: Good read, but optional

Summary: They were made to forget. But they'll never forgive.Everything about Anna's life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch, at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There's Nick, solemn and brooding; Cas, light-hearted and playful; Trev, smart and caring; and Sam . . . who's stolen Anna's heart. On the run, with her father's warning in her head, Anna begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about herself. She soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they're both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

Review:  Although told from Anna's point of view, this story has enough action, adventure, mystery, and violence for a male audience.  The story captivated me from the beginning, and I had to finish the book!  The plot kept twisting and turning, and I found myself hoping to find out more information about the characters and their past.  I would love to recommend this book to readers galore, if only there weren't so much violence (shooting) and swearing.

Firelight, Hidden,Vanish

Title: Firelight, Hidden, and Vanish
Author: Sophie Jordan
Pages: 323,
Content: PG
Language: PG (o "f")
Level: High School/Upper Middle
Recommendation: Good Read

 Summary: A hidden truth. Mortal enemies. Doomed love. Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Review: Each book follows the adventurous, dangerous, and sometimes downright heartbreaking path of Jacinda.  Teenage life is hard, even when you are not draki.  All three books kept my fingers turning the pages up until the very end.  Not generally a fan of science fiction, I really enjoyed all three books in this series. I read the first one, having NO idea what the series was about. A fresh new series for teens who love vampires, werewolves, or "otherworldy" or "supernatural" themes.

Illiminated

Title: Illuminated
Author: Erica Orloff
Pages: 244
Content: PG/PG13 (barely)
Language: G
Level: High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: Some loves are not made to last . . . Like Romeo and Juliet, Heloise and Abelard were doomed from the start, and their romance was destined to pass into history. Yet when sixteen-year-old Callie Martin discovers a diary hidden within an antique book, their story - and hers - takes on another life. For the diary leads Callie to the brilliant and handsome August, who is just as mysterious as the secret the diary hides. Their attraction is undeniable. As the two hunt down the truth behind the diary - and that of Heloise and Abelard's ancient romance - their romance becomes all-consuming. But Callie knows it can't last . . . love never does. Will their love that burns as bright as a shooting star flame out, or will these star-crossed lovers be able to defy history?

Review:  As far as teen reads are concerned, this was a nice switch from the dystopian, doom and gloom genre!  Based around rare manuscripts, this "love story" is full of discovery - both for the mystery Callie is trying to unravel, as well as her self.  A quick, enjoyable, easy read for teens.