The Seventh Day by Scott Shepherd47North; 4 June 2013
Science Fiction
I'm a sucker for a post-apocalyptic book, but I've become a little jaded with the same old formula. Shepherd's book The Seventh Day takes a trendy but slightly worn-out topic and makes it new again. Set seven years after The Strangers destroyed Earth and left few resources and even fewer people, this book keeps the reader guessing as to what will happen next. Shepherd originally wrote this story as a Kindle Serial - books released in episodes - but this version of the book includes all the episodes together. I'm glad I only just found this book because I wouldn't have been able to wait between episodes!
The characters' adventures through the ravaged world gradually reveal a deep relationship, and the reader sees what happened on The Seventh Day through a series of flashbacks. Described as a purple light, The Strangers quickly take all technology, valuable resources, and most of the population into their spaceships, leaving only The Remaining behind. Joad travels on a desperately hopeful journey to find his wife. Fixer, Doc, and a young girl named Laura only want to be free of four criminal brothers, but the reader soon discovers that The Strangers left The Remaining a little something extra. Shepherd's book takes the reader on a science fiction adventure and leaves us with a heartfelt message. Maybe there is a reason they were left behind, and maybe their journey doesn't end here.
READ-A-LIKES
In the After by Demitria Lunetta
HarperTeen; 25 June 2013
Amazing book where the apocalypse is zombie-alien! Because of the creatures' crazy sensitive hearing, Amy quickly finds a way to survive without making noise - until she comes across a two-year-old. Can Baby and Amy survive in a world where the only sound is the scratching and howling of creatures outside their house? Read to find out! I could not put it down! The main character is young, but the plot is clever.
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Putnam's Sons; 2013
If you haven't read this book, you need to read it immediately. By far one of the best books I read this fall, Yancey's science fiction thriller will keep you at the edge of the page. The aliens are killing the population one wave at a time, and the book shows us what it takes to survive after the 4th Wave. This book is a roller coaster of twists and turns. Although the character is YA, the book works for adults too.
The Stand by Stephen King
Doubleday; 1978
Although not an alien invasion, King's apocalypse is caused by a devastating plague. A classic tale of good vs. evil, the survivors band together and Stephen King gives us another of his classically chilling tales. Similar to The Seventh Day because of the setting, this book is definitely more for the horror fan.
Lucy,
ReplyDeleteWe discussed one of your read-alikes, The Fifth Wave, last month in our Adults Who Read YA book discussion group. We all enjoyed it, but we wondered why the aliens didn't just wipe everyone out in the beginning. Why kill them off slowly? Any thoughts? Maybe it will addressed in the sequel.
That's a great question, and what an awesome discussion group! I am definitely an adult who reads YA :) Supposing the aliens are real and not a creation of Yancey's brain, I would say they kill them off slowly as a way to "test" the human population while also saving Earth's resources. If they did a complete slaughter, it might harm more than they want. Maybe they have a purpose for the leftover humans, and they only want the strongest. What if they are harvesting Earth? If we look at the Waves as a creation of Yancey's brain, I would say he used them as an amazing and constant element of suspense. Because of the way the aliens kill humans one wave at a time, we are constantly on the edge about what might happen next. I know I can't wait for the sequel!
DeleteHi Lucy - You alluded to several different appeals (pacing, characterizations, style, and tone) and did a fantastic job on your read-a-likes. I wouldn't change a thing!
ReplyDeleteGreat! Thank you!
DeleteLucy -
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job with your annotation; I enjoyed your more narrative style. I could pick out each of the important elements (appeals, genre characteristics, etc.), but it was written in a way that better fits a blog format, which I really appreciated. I also really loved the way that you presented your readalikes. Rather than just including a list (like I did), you made the original book even more exciting by summarizing other stories with similar appeals. Great job!
Thanks! I wanted the blog to be easy and fun to read. I was hoping it didn't read like a class assignment - but I still needed to meet the requirements :) I thought about just listing the read-a-like books, but I wanted people to know a little bit about them before checking them out on their own. I included a description of what I would want to know if someone suggested a book to me. I'm glad you liked it!
DeleteGreat job! I also liked how that you, and several other students, put the covers of their read-a-likes with their annotations. Should've done that myself! I'm glad we have had this exercise, it's interesting to see how people are presenting their annotations, blogs and (the best part) finding good books to read.
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