Dread Nation

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Y'all need to understand that I am a coward, a complete chicken pants. I can't watch scary movies and I definitely can't read scary books...

...which makes Dread Nation something special.

It's the story of a young woman, Jane McKeene, born just two days before the dead at the Battle of Gettysburg began to rise up and attack the living. Now Jane is at a required school, where black girls are trained to kill the undead... and Jane has serious zombie-slaying skills.

Part suspense, part mystery, part adventure, and a big part social commentary, this book kept me turning pages from beginning to end. It's not too scary...but there are a lot of zombies. And they aren't all, um, dead yet.

Book #1 in a series but this one stands alone while offering a nice setup for book #2. Mild cussing, some kissing and other sexual situations, a bucket ton of racism, plus zombies. 

Highly recommended for ages 12 and up.

Illuminae : the Illuminae Files_01

Illuminae  by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Breaking up was hard enough for Kady and Ezra.  Then their planet got bombed by a hostile corporation.

Rescued by separate ships, Kady and Ezra stay in touch, kinda.  But when one of the other rescue ships is destroyed by the rescue ship Ezra is on, there is clearly a problem, and it's possible that only Kady can solve it.

A crazed artificial intelligence that makes HAL 9000 look like a Teletubby.  A virus that is turning some of the survivors (and some of the crew) into zombies.  And that hostile corporation ship still in pursuit.  

What could possibly go wrong?

This isn't the greatest book I've read this year, but it's certainly the don't-put-downablest book I've read in a long time.  The audiobook is produced with a full cast, and perfectly captures the suspense.

No sex (a few vague references to "the time we..." but no details).  LOTS of violence and blood and gore (zombies!).  All the swear words are bleeped, even in the audiobook.  As the introduction to the book says, "...the story kicks off with the deaths of thousands of people, but god forbid there be cussing in it..."

Recommended for ages 12 to adult.  The story may be too intense for young or sensitive readers. 

Walk on Earth a Stranger

Walk on Earth a Stranger  by Rae Carson

For her own safety, and to elude capture by the wicked uncle she is sure murdered her parents back at their little homestead cabin in Georgia, Leah disguises herself as a boy and flees West, to California and the gold recently discovered there.

While travelling, Lee must not only conceal her true identity, but also her most dire secret:  she can sense the presence of gold.  Small nuggets, deeply buried veins, gold buttons or rings, and even gold dust caught under a fingernail call to Lee like a sweet song.  She knows that some would call this talent "witchcraft."  She also knows that in California, her power might make her very, very rich.

But first, she has to get there.

With rich, round characters and plenty of fascinating little historical details, Lee's engrossing journey from Georgia to California kept me turning pages.

Some blood, some violence, and some cussing but no sex...so why is this book presented on the SEX IN THE LIBRARY blog?

I'm so happy you've asked!

The author includes a small group of  men in the wagon train group headed west.  Without much detail provided, it is clear to the astute reader (and made more clear by the author's note at the end of the story) that these are, in fact, gay men.  It is not a huge plot point, and that's the beauty of it:  at last, teen literature has matured to the point where a character's sexual preferences are no longer the Central Issue of a book.  In fact, the young men's status as "confirmed bachelors" is less of a conflict point than the status of another character who is Presbyterian instead of Methodist.  These details are important, but they are not The Problem.

The story clearly leads to a sequel, but stands alone with a satisfying point of pause while we wait, patiently (or not) for the next volume.

The Nightingale

The Nightingale  by Kristin Hannah

WWII is on, the Nazis have invaded, and France is occupied.  Elder sister Vianne is committed to surviving and to keeping her daughter safe.  Younger sister Isabelle is outraged, and determined to join the Résistance and beat the Germans.  The siblings rarely agree and are separated by time and politics for almost the entire duration of the conflict.

The point is made several times during the story that "war stories" are almost always about (and told by) men, and that the Nazis often overlooked the role of women in warfare, sometimes to the tremendous detriment of the Third Reich. 

Not everything goes well, of course.  Some of the wrong people are taken away, some of the characters that readers attach to come to grievous harm.  Very few of the characters would be objectively considered "good people"...and yet, the details of their lives are so compelling that the book is difficult to put down.

Written for adult audiences but with plenty of teen appeal, especially for readers of Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire.  Sexual situations are mostly off-page, but some of the violence (and torture) is not.

Highly recommended for readers ages 14 to adult, and especially for book discussion groups.

The Martian

The Martian  by Andy Weir

audiobook ready by  R.C. Bray

Everybody figured that Mark Watney was dead.  The Martian astronaut's space suit was pierced by a flying piece of equipment during a sandstorm.  The suit erroneously reported that his vital signs were flat, and nobody could figure out where his body had fallen.  So the crew of Aries III left the Red Planet without him.

But Mark isn't dead.  Not yet.  He might die of starvation, or of carbon dioxide poisoning.  He might get lost on the surface with no way to find his way back to the equipment that will help him survive.  He might even die of loneliness or despair.

But he isn't dead yet.  

Apollo 13 meets MacGyver meets Robinson Crusoe in a fast-paced and believable survival story.  The audiobook read by R.C. Bray skillfully portrays the voices of a widely diverse cast of character--not just Mark Watney on Mars, but also the Aries III crew, the politicians at home in Washington, the team leaders at NASA, the orbital science geeks at JPL, and more.

Be aware that the narrative contains a sh*tload of cussing. If you were stranded alone on Mars, you'd probably cuss too.  

Highly recommended.  This book is not written for teen readers but will have lots of teen appeal, especially when the film starring Matt Damon is released in October 2015.