If I Had ALL the Time in the World Teen Edition part 3

There are so many books I'd love to read, both old and new.  Since I won't actually get to read them all, I figure I could showcase some.  Maybe other people will read them and tell me what I'm missing. :)

These are books I heard of from some of the publisher previews I've been privileged to attend.  Note, a few of these are kids books rather than teen, but they still sound fun. :)

Ashes by Ilsa Bick

It could happen tomorrow . . .

  

An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.

Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom-a young soldier-and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP. 

For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it's now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.

Bonechiller by Graham McNamee

Danny is sick of running. Harvest Cove is the latest nowhere place he's drifted through with his dad. In summer, people come to stay in cottages on the vast lake. In winter, Harvest Cove is a ghost town hidden away in Canada's Big Empty. Danny's been running forever, but Harvest Cove might be his last stop. The place has a way of making people disappear.

As the cold sets in, Danny and his new friends stumble on a centuries-old nightmare. They start seeing things. Impossible things. And in winter, there''s no escape from Harvest Cove.

Bookweird by Paul Glennon

Norman Jespers-Vilnius is just an average eleven-year-old kid-until he absentmindedly nibbles on the edge of a page and wakes up inside his favourite book, the Undergrowth Series. Norman finds himself smack in the middle of an epic battle of animal kingdoms, where he forms a close friendship with young Malcolm, a future king. After joining Malcolm's fight he winds up back in his own bed, dirty and in torn pyjamas. But his adventures have only just started. It soon becomes clear that Norman has been caught by a mystifying force called "Bookweird"- Norman finds himself inside books his family is reading, mixing up plotlines. When he tries to undo an act of violence in his sister's horse novel, he has to explain the appearance of a pony to some disgruntled policemen at a crime scene in his mother's favourite thriller. Can Norman put all of the stories back on track and return these fictional worlds to normal? Or will Bookweird trap him in the pages forever?

Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty? by David Levinthal

Break-in at the Three Bears family home? It could only be one dame. Wicked witch gone missing from her candied cottage? Hansel and Gretel claim it was self-defense. Did Humpty Dumpty really just fall off that wall, or was he pushed? Here are five fairy-tale stories with a twist, all told from the point of view of a streetwise police officer called Binky, who just happens to be a toad in a suit and a fedora. When Snow White doesn''t make it to the beauty pageant, Officer Binky is the first to find the apple core lying by her bed. When an awful giant mysteriously crashes to the ground, upsetting the whole town, Binky discovers exactly who is responsible. Author David Levinthal and illustrator John Nickle retell these classic stories in the style of a 1940s noir detective novel-for kids!

The Infects by Sean Beaudoin

A feast for the brain, this gory and genuinely hilarious take on zombie culture simultaneously skewers, pays tribute to, and elevates the horror genre.

Seventeen-year-old Nero is stuck in the wilderness with a bunch of other juvenile delinquents on an "Inward Trek." As if that weren't bad enough, his counselors have turned into flesh-eating maniacs overnight and are now chowing down on his fellow miscreants. As in any classic monster flick worth its salted popcorn, plentiful carnage sends survivors rabbiting into the woods while the mindless horde of "infects" shambles, moans, and drools behind. Of course, these kids have seen zombie movies. They generate "Zombie Rules" almost as quickly as cheeky remarks, but attitude alone can't keep the biters back. Serving up a cast of irreverent, slightly twisted characters, an unexpected villain, and an ending you won't see coming, here is a savvy tale that that's a delight to read - whether you're a rabid zombie fan or freshly bitten - and an incisive commentary on the evil that lurks within each of us.

If I Had All The Time In The World Christmas Discoveries Edition 2

Yeah, I meant to post this ages ago and then completely forgot about it.  Here are some other books I came across during the Christmas season.

All Good Children by Catherine Austen

It's the middle of the twenty-first century and the elite children of New Middletown are lined up to receive a treatment that turns them into obedient, well-mannered citizens. Maxwell Connors, a fifteen-year-old prankster, misfit and graffiti artist, observes the changes with growing concern, especially when his younger sister, Ally, is targeted. Max and his best friend, Dallas, escape the treatment, but must pretend to be "zombies" while they watch their freedoms and hopes decay. When Max's family decides to take Dallas with them into the unknown world beyond New Middletown's borders, Max's creativity becomes an unexpected bonus rather than a liability.

The Castle in Transylvania by Jules Verne (Generally translated as Castle of Carpathians.  How have I never heard of this?)

Back from the dead: the first ever zombie story.

Before there was Dracula, there was The Castle in Transylvania. In its first new translation in over 100 years, this is the first book to set a gothic horror story, featuring people who may or may not be dead, in Transylvania.

In a remote village cut off from the outside world by the dark mountains of Transylvania, the townspeople have come to suspect that supernatural forces must be responsible for the menacing apparitions emanating from the castle looming over them.

But a visiting young count scoffs at their fears. He vows to liberate the villagers by pitting his reason against the forces of superstition - until he sees his dead beloved walking the halls of the castle…

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm

Before becoming one of today's most intriguing and innovative mystery writers, Kate Wilhelm was a leading writer of science fiction, acclaimed for classics like The Infinity Box and The Clewiston Test.

Now one of her most famous novels returns to print, the spellbinding story of an isolated post-holocaust community determined to preserve itself, through a perilous experiment in cloning. Sweeping, dramatic, rich with humanity, and rigorous in its science, Where Later the Sweet Birds Sang is widely regarded as a high point of both humanistic and "hard" SF, and won SF's Hugo Award and Locus Award on its first publication. It is as compelling today as it was then.

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang is the winner of the 1977 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Earth Thirst by Mark Teppo

The Earth is dying. Humanity–over-breeding, over-consuming—is destroying the very planet they call home. Multinational corporations despoil the environment, market genetically modified crops to control the food supply, and use their wealth and influence and private armies to crush anything, and anyone, that gets in the way of their profits. Nothing human can stop them.

But something unhuman might.

Once they did not fear the sun. Once they could breathe the air and sleep where they chose. But now they can rest only within the uncontaminated soil of Mother Earth—and the time has come for them to fight back against the ruthless corporations that threaten their immortal existence.

They are the last guardians of paradise, more than human but less than angels. They call themselves the Arcadians.

We know them as vampires. . . .

The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe by D. G. Compton

A few years in the future, medical science has advanced to the point where it is practically unheard of for people to die of any cause except old-age. The few exceptions provide the fodder for a new kind of television show for avid audiences who lap up the experience of watching someone else's dying weeks. So when Katherine Mortenhoe is told that she has about four weeks to live she knows it's not just her life she's about to lose, but her privacy as well.

If I Had ALL the Time in the World - Christmas Discoveries Edition 1

There are so many books I'd love to read, both old and new.  Since I won't actually get to read them all, I figure I could showcase some.  Maybe other people will read them and tell me what I'm missing. :)  Here is the first batch of books I 'discovered' while working overtime at the bookstore this Christmas season.  Because I was working all over the place, rather than just in fiction, it's a more eclectic list than usual.  All synopses are from the Indigo website.

The Law of Superheroes by James Daily and Ryan Davidson

An intriguing and entertaining look at how America's legal system would work using the world of comic books.

The dynamic duo behind the popular website LawAndTheMultiverse.com breaks down even the most advanced legal concepts for every self-proclaimed nerd.

James Daily and Ryan Davidson-attorneys by day and comic enthusiasts all of the time-have clearly found their vocation, exploring the hypothetical legal ramifications of comic book tropes, characters, and powers down to the most deliciously trivial detail.

The Law of Superheroes asks and answers crucial speculative questions about everything from constitutional law and criminal procedure to taxation, intellectual property, and torts, including:

• Could Superman sue if someone exposed his true identity as Clark Kent?
• Are members of the Legion of Doom vulnerable to prosecution under RICO?
• Do the heirs of a superhero who comes back from the dead get to keep their inherited property after their loved one is resurrected?
• Does it constitute "cruel and unusual punishment" to sentence an immortal like Apocalypse to life in prison without the possibility of parole?

Engaging, accessible, and teaching readers about the law through fun hypotheticals, The Law of Superheroes is a must-have for legal experts, comic nerds, and anyone who will ever be called upon to practice law in the comic multiverse.

The Science of Superheroes by Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg

The truth about superpowers . . . science fact or science fiction?

Superman, Batman, The X-Men, Flash, Spider Man . . . they protect us from evildoers, defend truth and justice, and, occasionally, save our planet from certain doom. Yet, how much do we understand about their powers?

In this engaging yet serious work, Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg attempt to answer that question once and for all. From X-ray vision to psychokinesis, invisibility to lightspeed locomotion, they take a hard, scientific look at the powers possessed by all of our most revered superheroes, and a few of the lesser ones, in an attempt to sort fact from fantasy. In the process, they unearth some shocking truths that will unsettle, alarm, and even terrify all but the most fiendish of supervillains.

Ancient Inventions by Peter James and Nick Thorpe (which I'm currently reading and is very interesting)

We in the twentieth century tend to assume that our era has a monopoly on the inventions of clever machines, labor-saving devices, feats of engineering, and advanced technology. But as the authors of this fascinating and eye-opening book reveal, some of humankind''s most important and most amazing inventions actually date back thousands of years. 

Historian Peter James and archaeologist Nick Thorpe have pooled their expertise in amassing this compendium of human ingenuity through the ages. Together they conclusively prove that our ancestors, however long ago they lived and whatever part of the globe they occupied, were brilliant problem-solvers. Written with the pure joy of discovery, Ancient Inventions reveals that:

* Medieval Baghdad had an efficient postal service, banks, and a paper mill.

* Rudimentary calendars were being used in France as early as 13,000 B.C.

* Apartment condominiums rose in deserts of the American Southwest a 

thousand years ago.

* The ancient Greeks used an early form of computer.

* Plastic surgery was being performed in India by the first century B.C.

* The Egyptians knew about effective contraceptives.

* Flamethrowers were used in battles waged in tenth-century China.

Brimming with odd facts and entertaining curiosities, written with zest and humor, comprehensive and fun to read, Ancient Inventions is a wonderful celebration of the endless inventiveness of the human mind.

2030: The real story of what happens to America byAlbert Brooks

Is this what the future holds?

June 12, 2030 started out like any other day in memory-and by then, memories were long.  Since cancer had been cured fifteen years earlier, America's population was aging rapidly.  That sounds like good news, but consider this: millions of baby boomers, with a big natural predator picked off, were sucking dry benefits and resources that were never meant to hold them into their eighties and beyond.  Young people around the country simmered with resentment toward "the olds" and anger at the treadmill they could never get off of just to maintain their parents' entitlement programs.

But on that June 12th, everything changed: a massive earthquake devastated Los Angeles, and the government, always teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, was unable to respond. 

The fallout from the earthquake sets in motion a sweeping novel of ideas that pits national hope for the future against assurances from the past and is peopled by a memorable cast of refugees and billionaires, presidents and revolutionaries, all struggling to find their way.  In 2030, the author's all-too-believable imagining of where today's challenges could lead us tomorrow makes gripping and thought-provoking reading.

Looking Backward: 2000-1887 by Edward Bellamy

Originally published in 1888, Looking Backward is Edward Bellamy's most famous work. The story revolves around Julian West, a man who falls asleep near the end of the 19th century and wakes up in the year 2000. During the time he slept, the United States became a socialist utopia. The majority of the book is a vehicle for Bellamy to expound upon his ideas about societal improvement. Americans in his year 2000 work fewer hours, retire early, and receive all they need from the government. Entertaining and oddly prophetic in some ways, Bellamy''s vision of the future from the perspective of the late 19th century is highly engaging.

If I Had ALL the Time in the World, Teen Edition part 2

There are so many books I'd love to read, both old and new.  Since I won't actually get to read them all, I figure I could showcase some.  Maybe other people will read them and tell me what I'm missing. :)

Hunted by Cheryl Rainfield

Caitlyn is a telepath in a world where that is illegal. She is on the run from government troopers, trying to stay hidden and alive-and trying to help make the world a better place for others with paranormal talents. 

As a child, Caitlyn watched as an angry mob killed her father, murdering him for being a Para. Since then, she and her mother have been on the run from government troopers, and constantly searching for her missing brother who disappeared during the riots. When Caitlyn starts at a new high school she thinks she will have to do what she's always done-blend in as best as she can, and never, ever let anyone know she's a Para who is able to read people's thoughts. 

But when Caitlyn meets Alex, an attractive fellow swimmer, and Rachel, one of her first true friends, she finds herself not wanting to hide any more. All the while, government troopers are closing in, and someone is killing Paras, draining them of their life energy. Caitlyn knows that she doesn't have much time before her identity is discovered. Ultimately, she must make the decision whether to save herself or save the whole human race.

Numbers by Rachel Ward

Whe3ever Jem meets someøne new, as søon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number i5 a date: the date they will die.

Since the day her mother overdosed, Jem has known about the num8ers. With such an awful burden, she avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. But on a visit to London, Jem foresees a chilling chain of ev3nts. The city's a target. The cløck's running out. The countdown is on to a blowup, and her world is about t2 explode!

Earth Girl by Janet Edwards

2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. While everyone else portals between worlds, 18-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can't travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She's an ''ape'', a ''throwback'', but this is one ape girl who won't give in.

Jarra invents a fake background for herself - as a normal child of Military parents - and joins a class of norms that is on Earth to excavate the ruins of the old cities. When an ancient skyscraper collapses, burying another research team, Jarra''s role in their rescue puts her in the spotlight. No hiding at back of class now. To make life more complicated, she finds herself falling in love with one of her classmates - a norm from another planet. Somehow, she has to keep the deception going.

A freak solar storm strikes the atmosphere, and the class is ordered to portal off-world for safety - no problem for a real child of military parents, but fatal for Jarra. The storm is so bad that the crews of the orbiting solar arrays have to escape to planet below: the first landing from space in 600 years. And one is on collision course with their shelter.

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the wall and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife, Gaia Stone, who live outside. Gaia has always believed it is her duty, with her mother, to hand over a small quota of babies to the Enclave. But when Gaia's mother and father are arrested by the very people they so dutifully serve, Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught to believe. Gaia's choice is now simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying.

Starters by Lissa Price

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

If I Had ALL the Time in the World, Teen Edition part 1

There are so many books I'd love to read, both old and new.  Since I won't actually get to read them all, I figure I could showcase some.  Maybe other people will read them and tell me what I'm missing. :)

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells and corridors, but metal forests, dilapidated cities, and wilderness. It has been sealed for centuries, and only one man has ever escaped. Finn has always been a prisoner here. Although he has no memory of his childhood, he is sure he came from Outside. His link to the Outside, his chance to break free, is Claudia, the warden''s daughter, herself determined to escape an arranged marriage. They are up against impossible odds, but one thing looms above all: Incarceron itself is alive . . .

The Bridge by Jane Higgins

The City is divided. The bridges gated. In Southside, the hostiles live in squalor and desperation, waiting for a chance to overrun the residents of Cityside.

Nik is still in high school but is destined for a great career with the Internal Security and Intelligence Services, the brains behind the war. But when ISIS comes recruiting, everyone is shocked when he isn''t chosen. There must be an explanation, but no one will talk about it. Then the school is bombed and the hostiles take the bridges. Buildings are burning, kids are dead, and the hostiles have kidnapped Sol. Now ISIS is hunting for Nik.

But Nik is on the run, with Sol''s sister Fyffe and ISIS hot on their trail. They cross the bridge in search of Sol, and Nik finds answers to questions he had never dared to ask.

The Bridge is a gritty adventure set in a future world where fear of outsiders pervades everything. A heart-stopping novel about friendship, identity, and courage from an exciting new voice in young-adult fiction.

Brain Jack by Brian Falkner

In a dystopian near-future, neuro-headsets have replaced computer keyboards. Just slip on a headset, and it''s the Internet at the speed of thought. For teen hacker Sam Wilson, a headset is a must. But as he masters the new technology, he has a terrifying realization. If anything on his computer is vulnerable to an attack, what happens when his mind is linked to the system? Could consciousness itself be hacked?

Brian Falkner, author of The Tomorrow Code and The Project, delivers an action-packed and thought-provoking sci-fi thriller in which logging on to a computer could mean the difference between life and death.

If I Had ALL the Time in the World

There are so many books I'd love to read, both old and new.  Since I won't actually get to read them all, I figure I could showcase some.  Maybe other people will read them and tell me what I'm missing. :)  Synopses are from the Indigo website.

Bone Song by John Meaney

In this darkly luminous thriller, John Meaney blends gritty futuristic noir with gothic fantasy to create a stunningly seductive world of death and desire. Here an honest cop must face his own darkest impulses as he hunts a perverse killer through a city of the dead. 

There have been four celebrity murders already. Now it's up to Lieutenant Donal Riordan to make sure that Tristopolis isn't the scene of a fifth. But the necropolis's vast underground network is already mobilizing for a battle of epic proportions against a powerful death cult whose dark influence reaches up to the highest echelons of Tristopolis's elite. Riordan's only hope is an unlikely alliance with a para-live female agent as they hunt-both aboveground and below-among gargoyles and zombies, spirit slaves and assassins, for the killers even the dead have reason to fear.

The Repossession Mambo by Eric Garcia

Thanks to the technological miracle of artiforgs, now you can live virtually forever. Nearly indestructible artificial organs, these wonders of metal and plastic are far more reliable and efficient than the cancer-prone lungs and fallible kidneys you were born with-and the Credit Union will be delighted to work out an equitable payment plan. But, of course, if you fall delinquent, one of their dedicated professionals will be dispatched to track you down and take their product back.

This is the story of the making-and unmaking-of the best Bio-Repo Man in the extraction business, who finds his soul when he loses his heart . . . and then he has to run.

The Electric Church by Jeff Somers

Avery Cates is a very bad man. Some might call him a criminal. He might even be a killer - for the Right Price. But right now, Avery Cates is scared. He''s up against the Monks: cyborgs with human brains, enhanced robotic bodies, and a small arsenal of advanced weaponry. Their mission is to convert anyone and everyone to the Electric Church. But there is just one snag. Conversion means death.

Up Against It by M. J. Locke

Jane Navio is the resource manager of Phoecea, an asteroid colony poised on the knife-edge of hard vacuum and unforgiving space. A mishap has dumped megatons of water and methane out the colony's air lock, putting the entire human population at risk.

Jane discovers that the crisis may have been engineered by the Martian crime syndicate, as a means of executing a coup that will turn Phocaea into a client-state. And if that wasn''t bad enough, an AI that spawned during the emergency has gone rogue…and there's a giant x-factor in the form of the transhumanist Viridian cult that lives in Phocaea''s bowels.

Jane's in the prime of her career-she's only a bit over a century old-but the conflict between politics and life-support is tearing her apart. To save her colony and her career, she's going to have to solve several mysteries at once-a challenge that will put her up against all the difficulties, contradictions, and awkward compromises entailed in the human colonization of outer space.

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey

Humanity has colonized the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars are still out of our reach.

Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, The Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for - and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.

Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him toThe Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.

Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations - and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.