Elem./MG – Project F.

DuPrau, Jeanne. Project F. Random House, 2023. 978-0-593-64380-8. $17.99. 213 p. Grades 3-7.

Keith is thirteen and living in a world where fossil fuels are no longer used for power and electricity. After all, fossil fuels destroyed the Earth, and now, hundreds of years later, Keith and his friends and family enjoy the simple pleasures of life without the destructive conveniences fossil fuels afforded their ancestors long ago. Keith learns that his aunt and uncle have passed away and his cousin, Lulu, is coming to live with his family. His parents cannot get away from work, so Keith takes the train to meet her and plans on accompanying her back to his home. On the train, he meets a man named Malcolm who gets off at a station before the stop where Lulu is waiting for him. Later, Keith realizes he has accidentally switched bags with Malcolm. Inside Malcolm’s bag, he finds written pages about something called Project F. Once he picks up Lulu, he decides to take a quick detour at Malcolm’s stop to return his bag… and possibly find out what Project F is all about. Once there, he and Lulu find out that Project F might allow people to fly! Keith is certain this will change the world. Imagine if people could fly from place to place! Seeing Keith’s enthusiasm for the invention, Malcolm decides to do a special demonstration of Project F in Keith’s hometown. Once Keith and Lulu get home, they keep Project F a secret so as not to ruin the special demonstration. But then, Keith learns what Project F uses as fuel for flying, and suddenly he is not sure if the progress of this invention is worth the destruction it may bring.

THOUGHTS: This cautionary tale about climate change and the cost of modern conveniences is timely. Students who are fans of DuPrau’s City of Ember will enjoy this book. It is a must-buy for librarians serving upper elementary and middle grade patrons.

Science Fiction

MG – Falling Out of Time

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Falling Out of Time. Katherine Tegen Books, 2023. 978-0-063-25161-8. 341 p. $19.99. Grades 3-7.

Zola wakes up to a different scene projected on her Picture Wall each morning: Tahiti one day, Bora Bora the next. Her school friends attend from all over the world through advanced virtual reality technology. One morning, Zola asks her AI assistant, Sirilexagoogle, to change the wall to “normal”…but, what does Zola know about normal? Zola lives in the year 2193, a time with wondrous technology and no more fear. Just like Haddix’s debut novel, Running Out of Time, not everything is as it seems in Zola’s world. Zola discovers the truth after finding a mysterious book, The Jessie Keiser Story, detailing Jessie’s daring escape during the 1990s from a fake frontier town. After she stumbles across a hidden staircase in her house, Zola realizes there is very real danger in her not-so-real world. Zola is really living in the year 2023, and she’s being unknowingly watched by hundreds of people each day. Like Haddix’s original novel, this is the story of a daring escape to the outside world.

THOUGHTS: Falling Out of Time is the long-awaited sequel to Haddix’s first novel, Running Out of Time. It certainly lives up to expectations and offers readers relevant 2023 social and environmental commentary while evoking 90s nostalgia for fans of the original story (that’s me!). Although the first few chapters start with detailed world-building and description, the rest of the novel’s plot builds with nonstop action. Some of the twists are quick and a little outlandish, but all elements in this story contribute to the adventurous tone. Readers who are unfamiliar with Running Out of Time (1995) will still be able to enjoy this fresh story on its own. Haddix builds necessary background and context directly into Falling Out of Time.

Science Fiction

MG – The Last Cuentista

Higuera, Donna Barba. The Last Cuentista. Levine Querido, 978-1-646-14089-3. 320 p. $17.99. Grades 5-9.

In the year 2061, a comet has been knocked off course and is hurtling to planet Earth. While the majority of earth’s citizens will die as the comet collides with the planet, a small group of citizens are selected to travel to space and prepare to make a new home on planet Sagan. Petra, her brother Javier, and her scientist parents make the cut, but her beloved grandmother Lita does not. Petra and her grandmother have a special relationship, strengthened by the cuentos, or stories, that Lita tells her. Petra lives for these moments with her grandmother and vows that she will remember every single one of her grandmother’s cuentos so she always has a piece of her to share with others. After boarding the ship that takes them away from Earth, Petra and her family are frozen for 380 years inside stasis pods until they reach Sagan. While frozen, each person receives a brain download that inputs all kinds of knowledge so they are fully educated and ready to colonize a new planet when they arrive at their destination. Hundreds of years later, as Petra is taken out of her stasis, she realizes very quickly that she is the only one that remembers anything about Earth – and the plan for colonization has changed. A group called The Collective has taken over the ship and has plans to erase everything relating to Earth and its human inhabitants. According to them, the humans of Earth have made a lot of mistakes, and they do not intend on repeating (or remembering) those mistakes on their new planet. Petra realizes that if she wants Earth’s cuentos to live on, she must fight The Collective from the inside.

THOUGHTS: This book has received a slew of awards, including this year’s Newbery Medal. The Mexican-American main character is a strong female hero that readers will root for. It is a beautiful story filled with loss and hope, which makes it a perfect cuento. A must-purchase for middle grade libraries.

Science Fiction            Danielle Corrao, Manheim Central SD

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series – Fairest and An Ember in the Ashes

fairest

Meyer, Marissa. Fairest. New York: Rampion Books, 2015. 978-1-250-06055-6. 220 p. $17.99. Gr. 6-12.

What makes someone a monster? Queen Levana’s dark, twisted and somber history is finally revealed in the companion book to the wildly popular Cinder series, and she is much more than a typical villain. Years before Cinder is even born, Levana is in an accident that leaves her permanently disfigured. Gifted in “glamour”, Levana changes her physical appearance and finds herself second in line to the Lunar throne after her parents are murdered. Horribly self-conscious and in love with palace guard Evret, Levana glamours him too, and he and his daughter Winter move into the palace. Soon, her older sister, Princess Channary, becomes Queen and produces an heir, Selene, while Levana’s relationship with Evret becomes increasingly strained. After the unexpected death or Channary, Levana finds herself Queen Regent, and after sitting on the throne, realizes she craves the crown, and devises a dark way to become Queen. Readers will finally discover the grim, selfish actions that created the jealous, vain, and cruel Queen Levana, as well as some background into the childhood of Selene and Winter. As a bonus, readers will be delighted to find the first 3 chapters of Winter at the end of the book.

Fantasy, Science Fiction            Vicki Schwoebel, Friends’ Central School

ember

Tahir, Sabaa. An Ember in the Ashes. New York: Razorbill, 2015. 978-2-59514-803-2. 446 p. $19.95. Gr. 9-12.

Tahir’s strong debut easily stands out as one of the best young adult novels of 2015. Laia lives with her brother and grandparents in an oppressed, brutal world where swearing loyalty to the Empire is the only way to stay alive. When a masked force invades Laia’s home, kidnapping her brother and murdering her grandparents, Laia decides to risk her life and join the rebellion to save her brother. She enters Blackcliff Academy, the military school where the empire’s assassins are trained, and meets Elias, one of the elite students, whose dedication to the school and it’s ruthless leader, the Commandment, strongly waver. Through dueling narratives, Tahir brings Laia and Elias to life, and creates a glittering line of hope and love in a dark, eerie world. Interweaving political intrigue, incredible world-building, and nods to historical cities like Rome, Tahir creates action and drama that will make readers have trouble putting this one down. The success of this debut has lead to a sequel, which will be publish in Spring 2016. Give this one to fans of The Winner’s Curse or Red Queen series.

Dystopia, Fantasy      Vicki Schwoebel, Friends’ Central School

Love and Global Warming – Who knew?

globalwarming

Block, Francesca Lia. Love in the Time of Global Warming. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2013. 978-0-8050-9627-9. 230 p. $16.99. Gr 9-12.

After an Earth Shaker, or earthquake destroys Los Angeles and possibly more, 17-year-old Pen embarks on an epic quest to find her missing parents and younger brother, Venice. Pen navigates a dark world with a copy of The Odyssey as her guide, finding that evil creatures and humans now lurk around every corner. With beautifully lyrical prose and a touch of magical realism interspersed throughout the story, Pen makes friends and discovers her own identity, which she had questioned in the time before the Earth Shaker. Teens will identify with Pen’s realistic emotions and reactions throughout the story; she is scared and determined, but grounded in the reality of a devastatingly beautiful world after disaster.

Dystopia, Fantastical Realism          Vicki Schwoebel, Friends’ Central School