This is the companion novel to Life as We Knew It, a Caudill nominee from 2009. A much darker novel, it chronicles 17-year-old Alex Morales' plight after the crash of the asteroid into the moon. A straight-A student, working a part-time job and hoping to get a scholarship to Georgetown, it is Alex who becomes responsible for the care and well-being of his 11 and 14-year-old sisters when his parents do not return home after the disaster and are assumed dead. The setting is New York City and the Morales live in an apartment. Food becomes an immediate problem and death and disease grow as the story progresses. As one sister gets sicker and the other one more scared and difficult, Alex knows his only hope is to find a way to get them out of the city. As in Life as We Knew It, it is the story of the importance of family and love, hope, and faith, set against a terrifyingly real background.

Reviewed by: ewl

Date read: 7/2/2009

ISBN-10: 0152063110

ISBN-13: 9780152063115

Check the library catalog

Anna is an obedient 14-year-old 'surplus' living at Grange Hall with other children that were not 'legal'. England in 2140 has rules, lots of them, and the one that made Anna a 'surplus' has her doubting everything she has known and been taught when Peter arrives. He calls her by a last name she does not know, tells her that her parents love her, and that he has come to help her escape and take her home. The adults are determined to 'break' Peter as his behavior is inappropriate for a surplus, so much so that he is placed in solitary. When Anna sneaks in to visit Peter she overhears the plan to eliminate him the next day. What can Anna do to save Peter and will they be able to escape?

Similar authors: Lois Lowry; Margaret Peterson Haddix

Similar books: The Giver by Lois Lowry; Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Reviewed by: adf

Date read: 9/8/2009

ISBN-10: 1599901196

ISBN-13: 9781599901190

Check the library catalog

Megan has just moved to Chicagoland. She goes to the pet store that Raf's mom owns in search of the perfect pet, a tarrantula. Megan has to go to summer school since she missed a lot of school last year. She definitely doesn't fit in at her new summer school, Stepford Academy. The other students are too happy to be in class and everyone looks and acts exactly alike. Megan is determined to dig into Stepford's secrets and Raf may be the only human being she knows who can help.

Reviewed by: jb

Date read: 11/25/2011

ISBN-13: 9780761346012

Check the library catalog

It's the end of the 21st century where technocrats rule and robots take care of humans' every need. Gavin Bell and his teenage sister Fleur come from a middle-class family. Their much-loved, old-fashioned robot, Grumps, is running down and can't be repaired, so a scientist friend loans them EGR3, an experimental new robot to help Grumps. EGR3, known as Eager, learns from his experiences, as a child would. He feels emotions: wonder, excitement, and loss. When the ultra high-tech, eerily human BDC4 robots begin to behave suspiciously, Eager and the Bells are drawn into a great adventure that is sometimes dark and often humorous. If you like this, read Eager's Nephew.

Reviewed by: caroll

Date read: 7/11/2009

ISBN-10: 0385909039

ISBN-13: 9780385909037

Check the library catalog

In Zimbabwe in 2194, General Matsika's three children are kidnapped and their mother hires the best detective team available, mutant partners with special powers known as 'The Ear, the Eye and the Arm.'

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 3/27/2009

ISBN-10: 0531086798

ISBN-13: 9780531086797

Check the library catalog