YA Dystopian Novels - Skyhunter, The Other Side of the Sky, and Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira

 It's been quite awhile since I've read much dystopian young adult literature, but I have recently renewed my interest in it.  Dystopian refers to an imagined society in the future where there is great suffering or injustice.  Dystopian novels generally include themes involving morality, violence, lack of free will, lack of freedom, and/or government control.  Many adolescents can relate to these themes and in reading dystopian novels find hope that they too can make the world a better place like the characters do in the novels. Marie Lu's Skyhunter is set in a post apocalyptic world where Mara, the only free nation in the world, is fighting against the Karensa Federation to maintain its freedom. In The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner society is composed of two worlds: the primitive surface Below which has lost all advanced technology and is plagued by dangerous mists and the Cloudlands, a technologically engineered world in the sky founded by scientists who escaped from Below. Finally, Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira by Lou Diamond Phillips introduces a planet split in two after the Great Schism. When the remnants are finally deemed habitable, war breaks out between the two resettled colonies. 

Skyhunter, the first book in a new dystopian series, introduces Talin Kanami, a refugee turned soldier in war torn Mara, which is defending itself against the Karensa Federation. Her elite squadron of "strikers" battle the Federation's Ghosts, zombie-like monsters whose bites inflict transformation. When Talin protests the execution of a Federation defector, Redlen Arabes, her commander insists that she take Red as her fighting partner or shield.  As Talin gets to know Red, she finds out he is a Skyhunter, a half-man half-machine weapon created by the Federation.  Before the Federation can engineer his loyalty, like they have the Ghosts, he escapes, and becomes Mara's best hope for finding a way to defeat them.  After a plan to destabilize the Federation backfires, Talin, Red, and their fellow strikers are at the mercy of the enemy.  The first-person narration by Talin, who is mute, is facilitated by her signing and bonding with Red, who then communicates with her telepathically.  This action-packed thriller explores the ideas of immigration and imperialism and its ending will leave readers clamoring for the sequel.

The Other Side of the Sky, the first book in a new duology, is set in a post apocalyptic society composed of two worlds.  The Aciel archipelago known as the Cloudlands, was launched from the Surface Below into the sky, where enigmatic engines keep it aloft.  North, the heir to the throne, pilots a glider which crashes to the Surface after being sabotaged.  He is shocked to find there are people still living Below.  Nimh is their Divine Goddess.  She seeks guidance from ancient prophecies that predict the Last Star will fall, delivering the Lightbringer to save their world, which is ravaged by mist storms that leave people insane. When a prophetic dream, leads her to the site where North lands, she is sure he is her destiny.  Whereas his world is filled with science and technology, hers depends on superstition and magic.  It is forbidden for anyone to touch the Divine Goddess.  Nimh was chosen after the former goddess Jezara was banished when she fell in love and became pregnant.  As Nimh waits for her powers to manifest, she is threatened by Jezara's daughter, who claims she is the true Goddess.  The story is told from alternating perspectives, following North and Nimh's growing affection and the conflict they feel about the future. The cliffhanger ending sets up the sequel with readers hoping the two can bring together their two worlds.

I chose to read Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira primarily because the author is Lou Diamond Phillips ( La Bamba, Longmire and Prodigal Son) and ended up loving this retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's story set in space.  After the Great Schism splits a planet into two, war breaks out in the resettled colonies known as Mano and Indira. There is a prophecy that Princess Allegra, the daughter of Mano's king Xander the Firm, will marry a common soldier and end the king's reign.  He does everything he can to thwart the prophecy, including imprisoning Allegra.  Meanwhile, Everson, the prince from Indira, poses as a common soldier and gets stranded on Mano in a failed military operation.  He gets duped into retrieving ancient technology known as the Tinderbox.  Many young men have died trying to retrieve it, but Everson was clearly meant to be the one who succeeds. He is being used by traitors who are trying to overthrow Mano's king.  The Tinderbox allows him to communicate with Allegra, and although their people are at odds, they are immediately attracted to each other.  Their forbidden love could be the key to end the war and reunite their worlds.

Romantic YA Novels: Heartbeat, These Broken Stars, and The Beginning of Everything

Many young adult novels, regardless of the genre, include a romance. Whether the book is realistic fiction, sci-fi/fantasy or mystery, it frequently includes male and female protagonists, who are interested in each other romantically.  This month I'd like to recommend three novels that include a teen romance that compliments an intriguing plotline.   In Elizabeth Scott's new novel, Heartbeat, Emma meets Caleb, while she is visiting her mother in the hospital.  Mom is brain dead, but is being kept alive until the fetus she is carrying is viable.  The first novel in Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner's new science fiction series, These Broken Stars, introduces Lilac LaRoux, a spoiled heiress, and Tarver Merendson, a poor war hero, who are the only survivors when their intergalactic space-liner, malfunctions and plummets out of hyperspace, crashing on a nearby planet. Finally, The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider explores the struggles tennis star Ezra Faulkner has when he is injured by a distracted driver. Returning to school, he joins the debate team where Cassidy, a transfer student, helps him redefine himself. Three vastly different stories are sweetened by the romantic relationship that develops between the two protagonists.

In Heartbeat Emma’s pregnant mother is brain dead and being kept alive until the baby boy she is carrying becomes viable. Caleb’s little sister died in an accident while he was in charge of her.  Emma is furious with her stepfather for keeping her mother on life support. Caleb is struggling with overwhelming feelings of guilt and is acting out. When they meet at the hospital where Emma is visiting her mother and Caleb is doing community service, they find the strength in each other to work through their issues with grief.

These Broken Stars chronicles the developing relationship between Lilac LaRoux, daughter of a wealthy tycoon, and Tarver Merendson, a soldier, who are the only survivors when the Icarus, an intergalactic space-liner, crashes on a seemingly deserted planet. Using her knowledge of her father's ship’s design, Lilac is able to free the escape pod they make it to when Tarver rescues her from the sea of crazed passengers. They safely land on the planet which has been “terraformed,” the theoretical process of modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to the biosphere of Earth to make it habitable for humans. Although Lilac is attracted to Tarver, she maintains her distance and Tarver finds her arrogance insulting. However, they must work together to make it across the planet's unforgiving terrain to the ship’s carcass where they hope to send a message for help. The dual points of view give the reader an insider's look at the process by which their disdain for each other turns to love.

The Beginning of Everything puts a new twist on the injured athlete story.  Ezra Faulkner has a theory that everyone has a watershed moment that changes his life.  His best friend Toby's changed when a severed head lands in his lap after a decapitation on a roller coaster. Kids shun Toby and Ezra drifts away into the world of jocks.  When Ezra's leg is shattered in a car accident, he avoids his former friends and reconnects with Toby in the debate club where he also meets Cassidy, a transfer student. Although Ezra's athletic friends try to maintain a relationship with him, he shuns them in favor of falling head over heels for Cassidy, a rebellious genius with a mysterious past.  Readers will not want to put the book down until they find out what is haunting her.  Throughout the book Ezra finds parallels in his life to those of the Great Gatsby, which literary teens will love. Fans of John Green's books and Perks of Being a Wallflower will also enjoy the debate club's quirky members whose witty repartee and sarcastic views on high school life are a breath of fresh air in YA literature.