Tag Archives: speculative

A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray

When Gemma Doyle’s mother dies, she’s sent from India to an all-girl boarding school in England. There, she has to cope not only with being the strange new girl in a very catty society, but with terrible prophetic visions and … Continue reading

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Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin

Liz is almost sixteen when she’s hit by a cab and killed. Now, she’s on a cruise boat called the SS Nile, headed for Elsewhere, where she will progressively age backwards until she returns to earth in baby form. Cross … Continue reading

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Protected: Wings, by Aprilynne Pike

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The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan

I’ve heard this described as a post-apocalyptic zombie romance novel, and that’s a fairly apt description. (And no, it’s not the zombies having romance.) Mary lives in a community protected from the Unconsecrated by a high fence. This community believes … Continue reading

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The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett

Maurice is not sure why he can think or talk, since he’s a cat and he’s never thought or talked before. And he’s not the only one. A whole hoard of rats have suddenly gotten smarter, and Maurice knows exactly … Continue reading

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Protected: Bad Girls Don’t Die, by Katie Alender

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Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke

Meggie’s father, Mo, has a gift. He can read a book aloud so realistically that characters leap from the page. Unfortunately, he once accidentally pulled several villains into this world, and they’ve chased him from place to place ever since. … Continue reading

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Lost in a Good Book, by Jasper Fforde

I don’t usually use the book-jacket description, but in this case, I couldn’t explain the essence of this followup to The Eyre Affair better: If Thursday thought she could avoid the spotlight after her heroic escapades in the pages of … Continue reading

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The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief is about WWII Germany. A girl named Liesel arrives at her foster parents’ home when she’s nine years old. On the trip there, she lost a brother to tuberculosis and gained a book, The Gravedigger’s Handbook, stolen … Continue reading

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Readathon: Peeps, by Scott Westerfeld

Cal Thompson acquires a parasite during a one-night stand at the beginning of college. Fortunately, he didn’t have to suffer the worst of symptoms that normally come on with this parasite – cannibalism, anathema, gathering a brood – but unfortunately, … Continue reading

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