★★★★ ½ Population decline isn't a good thing or a bad thing. But it is a big thing. Throughout my childhood, I've heard time and time again about the rise and fall of human population.  Well, for the past few decades, we saw a rise like no other but soon (very soon) that will reverse. And the… Continue reading Empty Planet – Darrell Bricker & John Ibbitson

★★★★ ½ Val looked at me and said, "This would never happen back home." Keith and Val, two Americans, have fallen in love with France. After all, who hasn't? Magic seems to happen to us in France. What began as a semi-annual adventure has turned it a three-month-per-year commitment. Are We French Yet? is a collection of… Continue reading Are We French Yet? – Keith Van Sickle

“Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor.” Every year, Panem (post-apacolyptic North America) hosts a Hunger Games involving one female and one male representative from each of its twelve districts to fight to the death.  All of the Districts of Panem must watch the Games as a form of yearly "entertainment"… Continue reading The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

"You're very honest." "I have been told it's one of my worst qualities." Ayesha is in her late twenties, unmarried and works for a living ( *cue the muted gasps of horror* ). As a modern Muslim, she walks through life with her head held high. Her best friend has a live-in boyfriend, she teaches at a coed school… Continue reading Ayesha at Last – Uzma Jalauddin

★★★ ½ "It feels irresponsible. What if it doesn't work?...It goes against everything my parents taught me." Telly has always had this wild, crazy dream - to become a professional poker player. Only there were a few things that got in the way...talent and...well, that's pretty much it. He was a bad poker player. How bad? Very bad. But, through a… Continue reading Polkergeist – Michael Phillip Cast

★★★★ Humanity survived Zombie apacolypse.  Like after any great tragedy, the government wants a record. Max Brooks is their oral historian...well...he was their oral historian. When he hands his documents, the bureaucracy whittles it down to the bare facts. Humans, over every nation, dragged their bone weary bodies through this war. They are now faced with the numbing task of rebuilding society.… Continue reading World War Z – Max Brooks

★★★ ½ Before I begin, just letting you know that I got my copy from Uppercase - a lovely monthly book subscription box. All I could think about the whole time was - OMG Marie Lu touched MY book!! Everything's science fiction until someone makes it science fact. Emika Chen - bounty hunter, hacker, programmer, liar - is about to… Continue reading Warcross – Marie Lu

★★★★ "Congrats. We're all bad people. But at least we're alive bad people." The apocalypse has come and gone.  The band of teenagers, known as the Tribe of Iodine Wine, has teamed up with the "LDS" kids and the "Mexican" kids and have made their escape from the military complex into the wilds. They've made… Continue reading The Queen of What Remains – Brian Pacini

★★★★★ "Maybe she's shy," Mom said. "Or maybe she didn't hear you," Dad said. "Or maybe she doesn't want to be my friend," Penny Rose said... Penny Rose has just moved to a new house, in a new town with a new school. That's a lot of new for one little girl. Luckily, she has… Continue reading Weird Little Robots – Carolyn Crimi

★★★★ Tally, do you ever suffer from sudden flashes of anger or euphoria, countersocial impulses, or feelings of superiority? Tally Youngblood lives in a society where they're given the "mandatory opportunity" to become a Pretty once they reach sixteen. Through their surgery they become absolutely drop-dead gorgeous (aka Pretty) but (and this is a big BUT), the… Continue reading Specials – Scott Westerfeld