The Death Cure, by James Dashner (2011)

It was the smell that began to drive Thomas slightly mad.

Thomas has been in complete isolation for three weeks.  Thomas has endured the Maze and the Scorch Trials and has been infected with the Flare.  All at the hands of WICKED.  What's next?

WICKED had taken his life and those of his friends and were using them for whatever purposes they deemed necessary.  No matter the consequences.

On the 26th day, the door opened:  Rat Man.

"Do you think we enjoy all this?  You think we enjoy watching you suffer?  It's all been for a purpose, and very soon it will make sense to you."

Rat Man admitted that WICKED has done some awful things to Thomas and his friends, but he insists that it's all part of a plan that Thomas not only agreed to, but helped set in place.

"You are obviously well aware that we have a horrible disease eating the minds of humans worldwide.  Everything we've done up till now has been calculated for one purpose and one purpose only: to analyze your brain patterns and build a blueprint from them.  The goal is to use this blueprint to develop a cure for the Flare.  The lives lost, the pain and suffering - you knew the stakes when this began.  We all did.  It was all done to ensure the survival of the human race.  And we're very close.  Very, very close."

The virus is man made, airborne, and highly contagious.  Thomas learns that he and most of his friends are Munies, and on the outside they are really, really hated. 

The Death Cure is the third and final book in the Maze Runner trilogy.  Can Thomas and his friends stop WICKED from starting another round of trials?  Can they find a cure?  Can Teresa and Brenda be trusted?  Is this the end of our world?  You'll enjoy this thrilling, and often times terrifying, adventure.

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars
*mild language

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

The Dark and Hollow Places, by Carrie Ryan (2011)

The city used to be something once.  I've seen pictures of the way it gleamed - sun so bright off windows it could burn your eyes.

Winter.  Dark City, once known as New York City, is dying. 

Annah lives in Dark City, waiting for Elias' return.  He's been gone for three long years with the Recruiters.  Annah is a survivor in a dangerous place.  Annah is covered with physical and emotional scars.

It's haunted me.  Tormented me.  It's who I am:  the girl who left her sister behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

Catcher finds Annah in Dark City. 

"Because I promised Elias I'd find you," he finally says.

He has brought Gabry with him.

When Gabry and Catcher travelled to Dark City, they passed a horde, awakening thousands and thousands of Mudo.  Unconsecrated.  Plague rats.  Catcher and Gabry hurried to Dark City to save Annah from the horde.  Millions of plague rats are about to overtake the city.

Catcher is Immune, and the Recruiters need him for their survival.  Catcher can gather supplies and food for the inhabitants on Sanctuary.

"Remember this:  Catcher is what matters.  You're just ancillary to that end."

Annah finds the map room, what's left of the world.  Black push pins mean there's nothing; overrun by the dead. 

I stare at the wall, eyes traveling from pin to pin.  Almost all of them are black.  "That can't be right," I say.  The entire country - the entire world - is covered with black pins.

Annah is filled with questions.  What makes us alive?  What is the difference between the living and the Unconsecrated? 

"That's the question, isn't it?  What's life and what's existence?"

Carrie Ryan's third book in the Forest of Hands and Teeth series is equally as exciting as the others.  The relationships the characters have, the morals they follow will resonate with most young adults.  The imagery is, as always, absolutely delicious.  The scene where Annah is in the subway tunnels at the end of the book is gripping.

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars
*violence, religion

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

The Dead-Tossed Waves, by Carrie Ryan (2010)

The story goes that even after the Return they tried to keep the roller coasters going. 

Unconsecrated.  Mudo.  The monsters who are infected, dead, and Returned.  They hunger to rip through your flesh, to infect you.

Gabrielle, or Gabry, and her mother live in the sea town of Vista, far from the Protectorate.  They live in a lighthouse, protecting Vista from the Mudo that wash upon the shore.  They have a quiet life. 

I like to think that somewhere out there is a girl like me who stands in the night and wonders what else exists in the world but who is too terrified to find out. 

As a child, Gabry was proud of her mom's courage, but as she got older, Gabry was embarrassed because her mother didn't quite fit in; her mother grew up in the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

One night Gabry follows some friends over the Barrier to the ruins of an amusement park.  The Barrier separates Vista from the ruins, protects the town from the Mudo.  Gabry is terrified, she's never done anything like this before.  But Catcher makes her feel safe.

Suddenly a breaker runs towards them.  In a mass of confusion, two friends are dead, three are infected and two are missing.  Catcher begs her to leave the ruins, to run home to safety.

"Please, Gabry" is all he says.

"For me," Catcher adds.

Gabry decides to run, leaving her friends to face the wrath of the Militia and the Council.  This one decision fills Gabry's life with many "ifs" and "should haves" - if she would have done this, she should have done that.  Gabry also learns secrets about her past.  Secrets about her mother's past.  Secrets about the Return.  She meets Elias, a Souler, and everything Gabry once knew, changes.  Gabry learns too well that every choice has a consequence.

If I could choose the life I would have wanted to lead, which one would I pick?

The companion novel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth is terrifyingly delicious.  The imagery is rich, the characters are strong, and the plot is filled with twists and turns. 

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars
*violence, religion

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!


Next:

The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan (2009)

My mother used to tell me about the ocean.  She said there was a place where there was nothing but water as far as you could see and that it was always moving, rushing toward you and then away.

Maria's father is missing and her mom is now dead.  They live in a small village that is surrounded by a deadly forest, the Forest of Hands and Teeth.  The village is surrounded by fence, protecting the inhabitants from the Forest, which is filled with Unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead.  The Unconsecrated are driven by the desire for human flesh, spreading the infection.  Maria's village is an enclave of hundreds of survivors in the middle of the vast Forest.  Lost to them is who they are and why they're here.  Life before the Return is a mystery.

The Sisterhood governs the village, the Guardians protect the village, and the Unconsecrated are insatiable.  The secrets the Sisters hold abound.

Unmarried women don't have a lot of freedoms in the village.  They can live with their family.  A man may speak for her, court her, and marry her in the spring ceremonies.  Or she can join the Sisterhood.  But the village is about survival, and all healthy young adults are encouraged to marry.  After their mother dies, her older brother rejects her and Maria is forced to live with the Sisters in the Cathedral. 

"I hear you are to join the Sisterhood," he says.  His words hit me like a slap.  I don't know what I was expecting - anger, pain, regret, but not for him to turn me away.  Not for him to cast me out and leave me to the Sisters before I've even had a chance to speak with him.

While Maria lives in the Cathedral, she notices a gate that leads to a path stretching into the Forest, forbidden by the Sisters and the Guardians.  She notices a set of footprints. 

Someone from Outside has come to our village. 
     Which means that there is an Outside - something beyond the Forest.

Maria begins to ask questions, to wonder about what else is out there.  Her mother always told her stories of life before the Return, especially about the ocean.  Maria's curiosity turns into a desire to know the truth.

There is a breach in the village and Maria is forced to use the forbidden gate to leave the village.  Unconsecrated are everywhere, infecting hundreds of friends and family members.  Can Maria find the truth?

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a fascinating read, but I was disappointed with the ending.  There is a lot about religion and Maria rejects God.  The premise of the book is interesting, but I was dissatisfied with the resolution of the story.  The imagery, however, is gorgeous.

Rating:  6 out of 10 stars
*Mild language, sexual references, violence, religion

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

The companion to this book: