DystopYA Reading Challenge... and Everything I Know about Dystopian Fiction!

Books on the Nightstand challenges us to read Dystopian YA Fiction!

Are you up for the challenge?

You may wonder what Dystopian Fiction is... "Dystopian fiction is generally fiction about a world that is attempting to be perfect but contains a fatal flaw. It's the opposite of a utopia. This can take the form of a fascist government, a failing environment, corporate rule - anything. In it, life is miserable and people have to strive to rise above."

There have been quite a few YA (Young Adult) books published lately that deal with Dystopia Fiction including The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. One of the best known YA Dystopian novels is probably The Giver by Lois Lowry, a novel in which a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy... almost! The Giver won the Newberry Medal in 1994, which is presented to the author of "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." It also made the banned book almost immediately for it's "inappropriate material" for children. The American Library Association says that Dystopian fiction "not only offer teens excellent escapist fare rife with surv

ivalist adventure and grim imaginings of future worlds but also an opportunity to reflect on how the issues in their own lives and societies are mirrored in these worlds gone horribly wrong."

So when Ann & Michael of Books on the Nightstand posted the DystopYA (that stands for Dystopic Young Adult) challenge I thought I would join in on the fun! Would you like to enter the world of DystopYA with me? Here are two of the "rules"... (yes, there are always rules in a Dystopic world...)

* You must do as you are told. You are hereby commanded to read 3 works of dystopic fiction that were written or published primarily for young adults. Books must be read between October 5, 2009 and December 31, 2009 in order to count for the challenge.

* Secret activities are forbidden in dystopic societies. You must post your reading list and/or your review(s) of the books that you've read... either on your blog or on the special thread set up at Goodreads.

There will be a random drawing at the end of the challenge for prizes for all participants who complete the challenge too! Go to Books on the Nightstand DystopYA Reading Challenge for all the details!

Here is My reading list for the "Challenge"... AND links for the Reviews!

The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld... The Uglies is the first book in a trilogy. It's about a world in which everyone has an operation when they turn sixteen, making them supermodel beautiful. Big eyes, full lips, no one fat or skinny. This seems like a good thing, but it's not. Especially if you're

one of the uglies, a bunch of radical teens who've decided they want to keep their own faces... Here's My Review!

The Giver by Lois Lowry... Jonas, an eleven-year-old boy, tells the story of living in a futuristic society that has eliminated all pain, fear, war, and hatred. There is no prejudice, since everyone looks and acts basically the same, and there is very little competition. Everyone is unfailingly polite. The society has also eliminated choice... Here's My Review!

The Maze Runner by James Dashner... When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind. Here's my Review!

As I meet my Challenge of reading these three Dystopic books, I'll post a link to my reviews here! So check back to see how I'm doing! Oh and BTW, Dystopian Fiction isn't limited to YA, there are plenty of choices for adult fiction too! The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood, The Road by Cormac McCarthy and 1984 by George Orwell are just a few adult dystopic novels to choose from.

Have you read any Dystopian fiction novels? Any recommendations? Do you like Dystopian fiction? Let me know what's on your shelf!

Happy reading...

Suzanne

The Sunday Salon... National Reading Group Month, Books you might have missed, and Books with Buzz!

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them, and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake...

The week has seemed to slip away... I've had my nose in a book, of

course, and that book was Michael Connelly's newest book, 9 Dragons. Michael Connelly's detective Harry Bosch is back, traveling to an

exotic location for a not so glamourous reason. The book will be available in bookstores on tuesday, and so will my review. Chick with Books is part of Michael Connelly's Book Blog Tour that starts tuesday!

Something else starts this week at Chick with Books... the celebration of National Reading Group Month. October is National Reading Group Month and wednesday I'll start the week off by talking about reading groups and how to start your very own! Plus resources to help you along...

A few books you may have missed, but should remember to add to your reading list are Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger, author of one of my favorite books The Time Travelers Wife. In her newest book, "The endurance of love animates this gothic story set in and around Highgate Cemetery, in London. When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her estate, including an apartment overlooking the graveyard, to the twin daughters of her twin sister, from whom she has been estranged for twenty years. When Valentina and Julia show up to claim their inheritance, they soon discover that Elspeth is still in residence, in ghostly form..." I love a good ghost story and I like Audrey Niffenegger's writing, so I can't wait to crack the spine on this book! As soon as I do, I'll let you know all about it in a review!

OK, for you Jamie and Claire fans, Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon was released a few weeks ago. The time traveling romance of Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall continues in the highly anticipated (the last book came out 4 years ago!) 7th novel of the series! If you haven't read any of the books in the series, and you like romance, go out and buy Outlander! It's the first book in the series and you will fall in love! It is a magical adventure! Diana Gabaldon writes wonderfully, and creates such a believable world and great characters! If you own a KINDLE you can download Outlander by Diana Gabaldon for the bargain price of $2.39!

On to a new book that caught my eye this weekend... The Owl Killers by Karen Maitland. I know you aren't suppose to judge a book by it's cover, but I picked this book up because of the cover... the colors of the owl mask on the front cover just jumped out at me. When I read what the book was about I was giddy! I love medieval times! This is being called a medieval mystery, and here's the blurb from Random House, "England, 1321. The tiny village of Ulewic teeters between survival and destruction, faith and doubt, God and demons. For shadowing the villagers’ lives are men cloaked in masks and secrecy, ruling with violence, intimidation, and terrifying fiery rites: the Owl Masters... But another force is touching Ulewic—a newly formed community built and served only by women. Called a beguinage, it is a safe harbor of service and faith in defiance of the all-powerful Church. Behind the walls of this sanctuary, womenhave gathered from all walks of life: a skilled physician, a towering former prostitute, a cook, a local convert... But life in Ulewic is growing more dangerous with each passing day. The women are the subject of rumors, envy, scorn, and fury…until the daughter of Ulewic’s most powerful man is cast out of her home and accepted into the beguinage—and battle lines are drawn... Into this drama are swept innocents and conspirators: a parish priest trying to save himself from his own sins…a village teenager, pregnant and terrified…a woman once on the verge of sainthood, now cast out of the Church.…With Ulewic ravaged by flood and disease, and with villagers driven by fear, a secret inside the beguinage will draw the desperate and the depraved—until masks are dropped, faith is tested…and every lie is exposed." I'm anticipating a great read. It kind of reminds me of Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett... you have read that one, right?!

Another book with a lot of buzz is The Blue Notebook by James Levine. The Blue Notebook is "the story of Batuk, an Indian girl who is taken to Mumbai from the countryside and sold into prostitution by her father; the blue notebook is her diary, in which she recalls her early childhood, records her life on the Common Street, and makes up beautiful and fantastic tales about a silver-eyed leopard and a poor boy who fells a giant with a single gold coin." An interesting part of how this book came to be was that Dr. James Levine was part of a medical research team interviewing homeless children on a street in Mumbai where child prostitutes work. He noticed a young woman writing in a notebook (outside her cage) and the image haunted him... "Even as the novel humanizes and addresses the devastating global issue of child prostitution, it also delivers an inspiring message about the uplifting power of words and reading–a message that is so important to hold on to, especially in difficult times. Dr. Levine is donating all his U.S. proceeds from this book to help exploited children."

Finally something for those of you who enjoy a bit of sci-fi... Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. "In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born. But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead. Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue’s widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenaged boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history. His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive." Cherie writes on her website..."If you have any interest whatsoever in steampunk pulp adventuring, alternate history, dirigibles, pirates, zombies, secret criminal societies, and Bonus! extended deleted scenes from the Civil War, this book may well be right up your alley!" A little bit of Dystopia, referred to as Steampunk and it all adds up to what looks to be an interesting read! And it's on my nightstand right now!

So, what have you been reading lately!? Any recommendations?! Have you read any Dystopia or Steampunk before? Let me know what's on your nightstand or TBR pile! It's a busy week on the blog this week, so come back and check out Michael Connelly's Blog Tour tuesday and a guest post with Shobhan Bantwal author of The Sari Shop Widow! A few book reviews and the start of recognizing National Reading Group Month...

*P.S. All these books are Kindle Ready , except for Boneshaker - which is in the works for Kindle...

Happy Reading.... Suzanne

OH, and if you haven't entered the Banned Books Week giveaway, there's still time! Drawing ends tonight, Oct. 11th at midnight! Here are the Details...