Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox awakens after more than a year in a coma to find herself in a life-and a body-that she doesn't quite recognize. Her parents tell her that she's been in an accident, but much of her past identity and current situation remain a mystery to her: Why has her family abruptly moved from Boston to California, leaving all of her personal belongings behind? Why does her grandmother react to her with such antipathy? Why have her parents instructed her to make sure not to tell anyone about the circumstances of their move? And why can Jenna recite whole passages of Thoreau's Walden, but remember next to nothing of her own past? As she watches family videos of her childhood, strange memories begin to surface, and she slowly realizes that a terrible secret is being kept from her. Pearson has constructed a gripping, believable vision of a future dystopia. She explores issues surrounding scientific ethics, the power of science, and the nature of the soul with grace, poetry, and an apt sense of drama and suspense.

At 8:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, 2007, a secret military base self-destructs. After that explosive beginning, Henderson recounts the day leading up to that event. Bunker 10 is an exciting, fast-paced, science-fiction thriller that combines genetic engineering, virtual reality, and time travel in a story that will keep readers guessing until the very end. Seven genius kids live and study at Pinewood Military Installation, surrounded by soldiers and scientists. In their spare time they try to outsmart the guards and prove Einstein wrong. When a genetic experiment goes horribly wrong, the base is locked down and set to self-destruct. There's no way out so everyone will die. But is it all real or is it a simulation? Who is human and who is a computer program?

With haunting themes of family, faith, personal change, and courage, this powerful novel--a companion to "Life As We Knew It"--explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities. After a meteor hits the moon and sets off a series of horrific climate changes, seventeen-year-old Alex Morales must take care of his sisters alone in the chaos of New York City.

 A young driller breaking up rubble in war-devastated City Five unearths an old water can with a diary inside and then breaks Rules and Regulations by keeping it, rather than surrendering it to the authorities. So begins Toni V's relationship with the diarist, Pelly D, a teen who, before the war, had it all. Toni V enters the everyday thoughts and experiences of a privileged girl who, despite her societal status, may not be protected when the most powerful of the planet's three genetic clans demands all citizens be identified and sorted by genetic type. Although inspired by the buried diaries found in the Warsaw Ghetto, Adlington has crafted an original and disturbing dystopian fantasy told in a smart and sympathetic teen voice. Particularly skillful is the author's use of setting and detail to build slowly toward a full revelation of the unique physical, psychological, and political worlds Pelly D and Toni V inhabit. This provocative addition to the growing body of dystopian literature for teens is a disturbing book that shouldn't be missed.

Already a critical and popular success in the UK, where it was printed in 2002, this sweeping, futuristic fantasy envisions a ravaged earth, submerged almost entirely in water after a century of global warming-induced ice melt and storms. After her tiny island is consumed by the sea, 15-year-old Mara, aided by an antique Web-surfing device, guides her community to a towering city across the ocean. Her family is killed during the dangerous passage, and on arrival in glittering New Mungo, Mara and the islanders join a floating camp of desperate refugees who are barred from the heavily walled civilization. Realizing that survival for herself and the others depends on finding help behind the wall, Mara begins a monumental, nightmarish quest through layers of increasingly affluent, developed societies. Bertagna creates wholly imagined, extraordinarily vivid worlds, whether she's depicting the rich, earthy subsistence of the Treenesters or the eerily glossy, empty glamour of high-tech Noospace, where Mara delves into an exciting 3-D Internet and, despite the artificial environment, finds true friendship, help, and love.

Ship's mission is to locate and seed planets matching the lost Earth's specifications to help preserve its animal, plant, and human ecology. Sixteen years have passed since humanity arrived at Home. Leila and the other settlers have populated part of it with their offspring, their flora and fauna intermingling with Home's native environment. They have sent a delegation to contact a splinter group that is trying to live in an area that has not been artificially adapted, and that is failing. The children of these "outsiders" have evolved for survival on the planet, but the adults have been decimated by illness. In a turn that is reminiscent of Lord of the Flies, the outsiders' leader, Ho, turns against the others in a vicious way.

It has been 10 years since all the adult superhumans have been stripped of their powers, but their children have inherited superpowers too, and it's their turn to fight the supervillains. Danny is still reeling from the loss of his arm and his superpowers and the reality that for years, a misguided shape-shifting superhuman impersonated his father. Colin is imbued with acute hearing, sight, and the ability to withstand extreme temperatures. His cousin, Renata, has the ability to change form. After their identities are leaked to the press, they are forced to hide out in a secret location where new superhumans are trained. Unbeknownst to them, their old enemy Dioxin, long thought dead, has joined forces with a powerful cult leader bent on destroying them all. He's using Dioxin's desire for revenge to help him discredit, kill, and divide them. They suspect there's a traitor in their midst but it isn't until their safe house is attacked that they discover who it is.

-In the fine tradition of dystopian novels like Huxley's Brave New World and Westerfeld's Uglies (S & S, 2005), Singer has created a world in which society is not divided along racial or economic lines, but rather according to genetic status-those who have been genetically engineered and those who have not. Sixteen-year-old Maxo is the product of the GemX prototype, the ultimate in genetic enhancement. Physically perfect in every way, he seems to live a charmed life until something goes terribly wrong. A crack appears on his face. His frantic search for a cure is complicated when he falls in love with a Natural girl, a "Dreggie," who lives in a project outside of the Polis. While many of the loose ends are more or less tied up, there are strong hints of a possible sequel that appear, rather disconcertingly, in the last few pages. This intelligent, fast-paced novel will appeal to those teens who disdain warrior kitties and telepathic dragons and want speculative fiction with bite and satire.

Setting is always central in Hobbs's books, and this time he's chosen the Black Hills of South Dakota as his backdrop. As fans would expect, he artfully weaves the human and natural history of the region into the story. As they might not expect, he amps up the outdoorsy action by tossing some sci-fi into the mix. Had Brady not been outside watching a meteor shower, he might not have lived to see his freshman year in high school. Dumbstruck, he watches as the entire horizon turns blue and a meteorite sails right through his roof, piercing the center of his mattress and wedging itself into his bedroom floor. The first person he calls is his slightly older and more athletic cousin Quinn, with whom he is close. When Quinn arrives, he can't help but notice that Brady now scorches him in every physical pursuit; he's suddenly much quicker and stronger-almost superhuman. Brady's been noticing-and wondering about-those changes too, and he knows that somehow they're linked to the meteorite. When the boys consult a scientist at a local museum, they find out that the rock comes from Mars and may contain long-dormant life-forms responsible for what is becoming Brady's increasingly troublesome transformation. His body, initially juiced by the Martian microbes, now seems to be quickly shutting down-just as he's become locked in a contest for possession of the meteorite with the twin brothers next door. Offering something to tantalize nearly every boyish taste, this title is a great choice for reluctant readers.

Fantasy fiction with African-American protagonists is hard enough to come by, so it's a joy to discover a book that fills the need with flair. Louis Proof is racing RC cars in an underground amusement park when he glimpses a pair of ethereal beings. Soon after, he falls into a coma and awakens three months later to a world turned upside down. Surreal events have become commonplace, several parents and teachers are now unusually permissive, and the teen has been granted phenomenal powers. Eventually a stranger named Timothy explains that Louis is about to become a CLE-"a Celestial-like Entity." He has been recruited for an Earthbound extension of the eternal conflict between two races at the center of the universe: the virtuous iLone and the evil eNoli. Louis needs to prevent an escaped eNoli named Galonious from "liberating" humanity from the effects of empathy and conscience. While Galonious inspires a great deal of unsettling behavior (Louis's best friend steals pornography; physical abuse, murder, and suicide are also mentioned), things never get too dark, and the author forgoes a traditional "black-and-white" approach to the conflict by examining the complex interplay of the positive and negative forces in the characters' lives.

This is a grand-opening salvo in a new series by the author of the Underland Chronicles. Sixteen-year-old Katniss poaches food for her widowed mother and little sister from the forest outside the legal perimeter of District 12, the poorest of the dozen districts constituting Panem, the North American dystopic state that has replaced the U.S. in the not-too-distant future. Her hunting and tracking skills serve her well when she is then cast into the nation's annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death where contestants must battle harsh terrain, artificially concocted weather conditions, and two teenaged contestants from each of Panem's districts. District 12's second tribute is Peeta, the baker's son, who has been in love with Katniss since he was five. Each new plot twist ratchets up the tension, moving the story forward and keeping the reader on edge. Although Katniss may be skilled with a bow and arrow and adept at analyzing her opponents' next moves, she has much to learn about personal sentiments, especially her own. Populated by three-dimensional characters, this is a superb tale of physical adventure, political suspense, and romance.

In this epic story of survival, betrayal, and community, the fittest humans are prized as hunters and for taking care of the Tribe, while those with a number of marks on their Tally sticks, or otherwise deemed useless, are traded for food with other tribes in the region. Stopmouth, a "savage" human with a stutter, is healed by a strange visitor from the Roof following a hunting accident. He and Indrani develop a bond that is scorned by the rest of the Tribe, but is one that will see them through some challenging times as they set out on a journey to try to return Indrani to whence she came. This well-paced fantasy/science fiction blend perfectly introduces community conflict at a base level. Stopmouth and his brother are constantly at odds over their roles in the family and their individual ambition. Power and influence are accepted and controlled in very different ways by these main characters and, from the very first chapters, readers can see that lies and deceit are strong forces on the characters.

Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when an asteroidnbsp;knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter,nbsp;Miranda, her two brothers, and theirnbsp;mothernbsp;retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.nbsp;In her journal, Miranda records the events of each desperate day, while she and hernbsp;family struggle to hold on to their most priceless resource--hope.

Fantasy fiction with African-American protagonists is hard enough to come by, so it's a joy to discover a book that fills the need with flair. Louis Proof is racing RC cars in an underground amusement park when he glimpses a pair of ethereal beings. Soon after, he falls into a coma and awakens three months later to a world turned upside down. Surreal events have become commonplace, several parents and teachers are now unusually permissive, and the teen has been granted phenomenal powers. Eventually a stranger named Timothy explains that Louis is about to become a CLE-"a Celestial-like Entity." He has been recruited for an Earthbound extension of the eternal conflict between two races at the center of the universe: the virtuous iLone and the evil eNoli. Louis needs to prevent an escaped eNoli named Galonious from "liberating" humanity from the effects of empathy and conscience. While Galonious inspires a great deal of unsettling behavior (Louis's best friend steals pornography; physical abuse, murder, and suicide are also mentioned), things never get too dark, and the author forgoes a traditional "black-and-white" approach to the conflict by examining the complex interplay of the positive and negative forces in the characters' lives.

Honor and her parents have been forcibly relocated to a seaside shack, the most dangerous living facility in this carefully constructed dystopia. In this future world, reminiscent of that in Lois Lowry's The Giver (Houghton, 1993), the Corporation, headed by the mysterious Earth Mother, has created a totally controlled society. Lands are being enclosed to protect the inhabitants from freak natural weather, and "safe" weather is created with overlays-fake sunrises and sunsets projected daily on the sky. Honor's parents refuse to conform. Honor suffers from being different, but when she meets Helix, a boy whose parents are also intent on rebelling against the Corporation, the two children must discover a way to rescue Helix's parents and Honor's mother, who have been "taken" and turned into the zombielike orderlies who mindlessly serve the government.

With the advent of a drug called Longevity, people have achieved the impossible: eternal life. But when people live forever, there is no room for new life, so those who take Longevity relinquish reproduction a life for a life. Those who don't are arrested, their children taken to Surplus halls, where they atone for their parents by becoming Useful. In The Declaration (2007), Surplus Peter and Surplus Anna escaped from one of these halls, but their problems were only beginning. Now Legal, they work for the Underground, and at their request, Peter joins Pincent Pharma under his hated grandfather, the developer of Longevity. Pressured to take the drug and confronted with challenging arguments, Peter's finds that his mission is becoming a minefield of temptation and self-doubt and then he learns the horrifying truth about new and improved Longevity. While the pure evil of Peter's grandfather undercuts Malley's otherwise nuanced presentation, she explores the far-reaching effects of Longevity with harrowing accuracy. Peter and Anna, both fighting for their right to be alive, are sympathetic focal points from which to tell this compelling story.

From the creator of The Land of Elyon comes a riveting adventure set in an extraordinary satellite world--created as a refuge from a dying Earth--that begins to collapse and forever change the lives of its inhabitants. Edgar, a gifted climber, is a lonely boy scaling the perilous cliffs that separate the three realms of Atherton: a humble fig grove; a mysterious highland world of untold beauty and sinister secrets; and a vast wasteland where he must confront an unspeakable danger that could destroy the people of Atherton. When Edgar discovers a book which contains the history of Atherton's origins and ultimate apocalypse, his world--quite literally--begins to turn inside out.

With a premise reminiscent of Mary Pearson's Adoration of Jenna Fox (2008) and salted with a bit of the nasty competition underlying Cecily von Ziegesar's Gossip Girls formula, this tale of life after brain-download-into-a-mechanical-body explores the possibilities faced by 17-year-old Lia Kahn, neither fully dead nor currently mortal. Wasserman creates a plausible future where advanced communication and entertainment technology enhance clothing as well as teen social life. Lia was a leader among the rich, shallow girls at her school; now she is an outcast due to her status as a mech head, whose plastic body may be tough but whose emotions are those of her flesh and blood peers. A younger sister's baleful dismissal, problems with past and potential boyfriends, auxiliary issues of fundamentalists, thrill-seeking mech-head games, and an irreversible mistake form the core of the plot, which moves swiftly toward a dystopian denouement.

Martin lives in a "perfect world" under the protective dome of suburb HM1, where every year a new generation of genetically-engineered children is shipped out to meet their parents. And it's all about to come crashing down because a stranger has come to take away all the little children, including Martin's sister, Cassie, and no one wants to talk about where they have gone. Martin has a choice either to remain in the dubious safety of HM1, or to break out of the suburb into the mysterious land outside.

Veteran sf editor Strahan brings together an exemplary collection of 16 sf stories from a group of well-known and undeniably talented writers. The first story, Scott Westerfeld's Ass-Hat Magic Spider, is accompanied by one original and engrossing story after another, written by authors from both the teen and adult markets, including Ann Halam, Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Iain McDonald, Margo Lanagan, Garth Nix, and Walter Jon Williams. Each story is followed by a brief biographical sketch and an author's note that shares something about the story, such as its inspiration. The diverse collection's subjects range from full-immersion gaming to the quantum physics expression of time; from clan wars in a high-tech India to cyborg space pirates and lobotomized slaves. Some stories address real-world matters such as love, loss, and abuse. Westerfeld's asks, What possession would it be worth diminishing your own body to keep? Gaiman's story is told exclusively in answers. A real winner with no weak links, this will delightfully engage the minds of older teen readers, and not just those who already read the genre.

Two New Zealand teenagers receive a desperate SOS from their future selves and set out on a quest to stop an impending ecological disaster that could mean the end of humanity.

In a strange future where gifted, "hybrid" humans police the planet, Mina is a likeable tomboy with growing psychic powers. When a young boy falls into a coma after gazing into her eyes, it's clear that there's more to Mina than her pretty looks. This young boy, Hinchang, grows up to be quite a daredevil, and his awkward, secret love for Mina fuels his protective fire when mysterious men arrive, bringing the violence of the "hybrid" world with them!