Sunday, January 24, 2010

Dystopian Fantasy

Have you tried a Dystopian Fantasy title yet? Dystopians are novels set in a world gone wrong where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives. In teen fiction, the focus is on young adults who fight for what they believe is right - often against authority or society.

Imagine your father tells you that a nuclear war is imminent. You are hustled away to an underground compound, where you will reside for 15 years when the air will be safe to breathe again. Six years later, you are 15. The food supply is tainted and your father offers a solution for survival that makes you question his morals, his honesty, and his sanity.

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen is the story of Eli, a teen caught in a desperate search for clues that will dispute his father’s claims about nuclear disaster and help his mother and two sisters escape their underground prison. An intense novel full of "edge-of-your-seat" moments.

In Unwind by Neal Shusterman, we learn about a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for body parts. Connor, Risa, and Lev are three teens, discarded by their families and scheduled to be unwound. Brought together by chance after making an escape from a journey that would ultimately lead to their demise, the three strive to fight to survive and rebel against a society with terrifying rules.

An intriguing tale with an unthinkable plot and a not-so-graphic unwinding scene that still might make you squirm.

You’ll find a list of other Dystopian Fantasy titles on the Teen Bookapalooza! page on the UFL website.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

These are two great books! I love the suspense in The Compound, and the adventure elements of Unwind.