Reviews by Category: Science Fiction

Teen Review
Dark Age by Pierce Brown

Dark Age

By Pierce Brown
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Mahad Z.
May 13, 2024

Summary: Dark Age by Pierce Brown is the fifth book in the Red Rising series, continuing the story of Darrow, a lowborn revolutionary fighting against a tyrannical society ruled by a color-coded hierarchy. Set in a future where humanity has colonized the solar system, the story explores into themes of power, betrayal, and the consequences of war.

Teen Review
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

They Both Die at the End

By Adam Silvera
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Bella Paul
May 13, 2024

Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End is a Young Adult, LGBT novel that recounts the final hours of main characters Mateo and Rufus’ lives after being informed that they only have 24 hours to live. Confronted by this daunting news, both characters are forced to confront their fears and regrets as they set off together to fulfill their final wishes.

Teen Review
Want

Want

By Cindy Pon
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Mahad Z.
May 13, 2024

Summary: Want by Cindy Pon is a gripping cyberpunk thriller set in a future Taipei, where pollution and class disparity dominate society. The story follows Jason Zhou and his group of friends as they plot to take down Jin Corp, the company responsible for the environmental destruction and health disparities plaguing the city. To infiltrate the elite circles of Jin Corp, Zhou, and his friends undergo dangerous transformations and navigate a world of high-tech espionage and moral ambiguity.

Teen Review
Shatter Me book cover

Shatter Me

By Tahereh Mafi
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Likhita
May 3, 2024

The book Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is a young adult dystopian novel which follows Juliette, a girl whose touch can kill. She’s locked away in prison and is suddenly needed by the Reestablishment who fear war. She doesn’t know how to control her power, or her curse, which is what she thinks. She doesn’t know who to trust either. Now Juliet must make her own choices, and make sure she makes the right ones.

Teen Review
The Dark Forest book cover

The Dark Forest

By Cixin Liu
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Mahad Z.
May 3, 2024

The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu is the second book in the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy. Set during an alien invasion, the book explores humanity's response to the Fermi Paradox, proposing the "Dark Forest" theory as a solution: the universe is a dark forest where every civilization is like a hunter hiding in the darkness, seeking to survive while avoiding detection by conflict.

Teen Review
Alas, Babylon

Alas, Babylon

By Pat Frank
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Mahad Z.
Apr 26, 2024

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank is a post-apocalyptic novel set in the small town of Fort Repose, Florida, following a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The story revolves around Randy Bragg, a former army officer, and his community's struggle for survival in the aftermath of the devastation. As resources dwindle and societal structures collapse, Randy must navigate challenges of leadership, morality, and resilience while forming alliances and facing threats from both within and outside the town.

Teen Review
Unwind

Unwind

By Neal Shusterman
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Anonymous
Apr 26, 2024

Following a second US civil war between the pro-choicers and the pro-lifers, the process of “unwinding” has been legalized, in which a child’s body parts are harvested for others to use. Parents may opt their child up for unwinding between the ages of 13 and 18, and because their body is fully used, they are considered not dead but alive in another form. Unwind follows three teens, Connor, Lev, and Risa, who are all put up for unwinding for different reasons. As they try to run away from choices they didn’t make, they find their paths to cross, uncross, and cross again.

Teen Review
An Unkindness of Ghosts

An Unkindness of Ghosts

By Rivers Solomon
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Mahad Z.
Apr 16, 2024

Summary: An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon is a compelling work of fiction set on a generational spaceship, the HSS Matilda, where society is divided by race and class, echoing the injustices of America. The story follows Aster, a dark-skinned healer who discovers secrets about the ship's past while navigating a hierarchy that mirrors the worst aspects of slavery.

Teen Review
1984 by George Orwell

1984

By George Orwell
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Anonymous
Apr 16, 2024

Summary: 1984 follows Winston Smith, a party member living in the dystopian future of Oceania. Through Winston’s perspective, we learn the government has full control over everyone and everything. Led by Big Brother, the government not only controls what people experience, through government-made media and propaganda, but also controls the people themselves, through surveillance, language, and the absence of individuality.

Teen Review
The Scorch Trials

The Scorch Trials

By James Dashner
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Mininja5896
Apr 15, 2024

Summary: After escaping the terrible maze trials, they ended up being rescued only to find themselves in another simulation, designed to rule out the weak kids in the lot. Thomas is confused on what to do next and doesn’t even know if he can trust his own friends in the process. Join them on the journey they will take filled with mysteries, hideous creatures, and some of the deepest and darkest secrets about the situation of humanity and what’s to come in this dystopian novel. 

Browse by Tag