Flipped, Divergent, Maze Runner

In the book Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen, Bryce and Julianna tell their stories as the book bounces back and forth between their perspectives.  It is a lesson for the reader as the stories come out from each perspective and we learn that narrators are not always the most reliable.  Bryce learns a lot of important lessons about the person that he wants to be and the assumptions that people make.  He is forced to see that his father has some narrow views and he does not like what he sees when he looks closely.  This book is a great book for a quick and fun read.  The characters are likeable and there is a good lesson in the book about judging people. 

The book Divergent by Veronica Roth was reminiscent of The Hunger Games.  In this book what seems to be a Utopia at first is revealed to be a dystopia on the verge of a big change.  Beatrice has grown up in Abnegation, one of the four factions in this future world.  The story is set in Chicago in the future after the world has gone through some sort of destruction.  Different factions thought different traits in people were responsible for the destruction of the world so they each pledged to live in certain ways to keep that evil trait from coming out.  At the age of 16 Beatrice has to choose which faction she will go to.  Then there is an initiation period which each person must pass through.  It is during this initiation period that Beatrice learns that the world may not be as figured out as she first imagined it to be.  I would highly recommend this book to fans of The Hunger Games. 

The other books that I would highly recommend for The Hunger Games fans are The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials by James Dashner.  Thomas is thrown into a situation with all of his memories wiped.  He must help the people that are living in the maze to find a solution and escape.  Up until he comes there, they have had one new person join their community each month.  Everything changes on the day after Thomas arrives and this sends everyone into a panic. This is a gripping adventure with a big mystery that kept me turning the pages until the end and then some more as I immediately sought out the next book in the series.  Both of these books have danger, adventure, intrigue, and some kind of weird world in which people seem to be setting these teenagers up in these horrible situations.  It is the right formula for an entertaining yet thought-provoking dystopian series.