Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

Ella has been bred to be the perfect pet.  She is quiet, graceful, stays when told, and performs on command.  No need to clean up after her or feed her, she can clean up and feed herself.  She’s even potty trained.  The hitch?  Ella is human.  In a world where cloned humans can be bought, sold & treated as pets, Ella finds herself living with a rich family as a playmate for their only daughter.  But as Ella begins to have dangerous thoughts of her own, will she survive to live her life, or will she discover what is behind the red door?

Content Notes:                       

This book alludes to sexual content and is about human pets. 

Teacher Notes:

This was a book I had to seriously think about when I finished reading. I found it disturbing that a book would be written about human pets, which are essentially slaves.  Even though these pets were cloned, they were still human and I had a hard time with the concept & how the characters in the story justified this.  I honestly wouldn’t recommend this to a student to read.

Taken by Erin Bowman

As Gray Weathersby nears 18, he realizes he has two choices.  Face the Heist that takes all boys at the age of 18 or take his chances with the wall, a barrier built around his village that no one has survived crossing.  Contemplating his choices, a startling discovery makes him desire the truth even more.  What IS outside the wall?  How did they all get in the village and what happened to their memories of before?  The more Gray receives answers, the more questions he has.  What is really the truth, and can he survive it?

Content Notes:                       

This book has no bad language, but does allude to sexual content.  Younger readers may be unaware of what is alluded to, but older readers would be.  I would recommend this to Jr. High students and above.

Teacher Notes:

This was an interesting story that I thought was a little slow in spots.  This will be a trilogy but I won’t be pursuing the other books in this series.

Enders by Lissa Price

After bringing down Prime Destination (Starters), Callie wants life to just return to normal.  But when she begins to hear the Old Man in her head, she realizes that things are far from normal and answers must be found to protect the ones she loves.  Things take a startling spin when the identity of the Old Man is revealed and Callie struggles with who to trust….and who is trying to kill her.

Content Notes:

This book is appropriate for middle school readers.

Teacher Notes:

A great sequel to Starters!  I look forward to the third book in the series coming out. J

The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien

In a world where the only hope of receiving an education is through participation in a reality tv school, Rosie struggles to remain within the top 50 students who will make the cut to stay.  As Rosie struggles to remain, she uncovers a startling mystery about the school and what really occurs during the night. This discovery leads to a fight for her life as she tries to outwit the people in charge.

Content Notes:

The book mentions the word “sex” one time and is a vague reference to something that occurs in a rough part of the country.   

Teacher Notes:

I was able to read a pre-released copy of this book (it is scheduled to be published September 16, 2014).  I read another series by this author (Birthmarked) and while that is more Jr. High/High School appropriate, The Vault of Dreamers would be appropriate for middle school students and up.   This book was a little more Sci-Fi in nature and had an interesting cliff hanger twist at the end of the book.  I enjoyed it!

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

A dystopian book like none other, Brandon Sanderson takes the reader on an adventure through a world ruled by Epics, regular people who one day begin to exhibit extraordinary super powers.  Watching his father die at the hand of an invincible Epic, Steelheart, David burns with a desire for revenge.  As he meets up with a band of humans who are fighting the Epics, David has an opportunity to change the face of the human race…if he can stay alive long enough to do it.

Content Notes:

The book has many fight scenes & opens with people being vaporized in a bank. 

Teacher Notes:

This book was recommended to me by my son and when I first picked it up, I did not have high hopes that it would live up to how great he said it was.  I honestly LOVED this book!  I loved the action and suspense that the book brings, as well as the twist on a dystopian society.  This is a wonderful boy book that I highly recommend!

Book Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sC9NtpXLH4

Similar Books:

While not exactly like this, I think if you like this book you would also like the Michael Vey series by Richard Paul Evans

The Selection by Kiera Cass

In a dystopian society ordered by castes, the Selection affords an opportunity to move up.  Thirty-five girls compete to become the Princess of the nation, for most a dream come true.  For America Singer, however, the Selection is an opportunity to send money home to her family and nurse the heartbreak of losing her secret love.  Can anything change her mind and change the course of her future?

Content Notes:

The book references a boy taking advantage of a girl and briefly talks about virginity.

Teacher Notes:

While there is nothing graphic in this book, I feel this book would be more appropriate for Jr. High students or mature 6^th graders.  There is not any bad language or violence, just some boy/girl relationship issues.  This book reminds me a lot of the tv show, The Bachelor.

The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

Racing against time, Allie, Kanin, and Jackal, set out to defeat the evil vampire Sarren.  Dealing with heartbreak of losing Zeke only makes the journey all the more difficult.  Will Allie come to grips with his death and stop Sarren from destroying the world?  Or will she succumb to her grief and become the monster the humans think she has become?

Content Notes:

The book contains several scenes with bad language.  It also has a lot of violence and gore.

Teacher Notes:

While I really enjoyed this series, like the 2^nd and third books, this book is not appropriate for middle school students.  It would be appropriate for mature Jr. High students or High School students and above.

Inhuman by Kat Falls

Lane McEvoy has always enjoyed the safety and security of living in the sterile environment behind the wall.  In a post viral world, Lane’s curiosity about the Feral Zone is not strong enough to make her leave the safety of home.  Things change however, when her dad is accused of illegally smuggling and Lane is forced to confront her biggest fears in order to save her dad.

Content Notes:

The book briefly mentions kissing in the first chapter. Other content includes violence when the main characters fight some inhuman characters.   

Teacher Notes:

This book is appropriate for all middle school students.  This book is a dystopian book that has a fantasy element to it.  I haven’t read anything like it and thought it was great! J

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

Alli Sekemoto’s adventures continue as she struggles back across the United States looking for her creator, Kanin.  During her search, she unwittingly crosses path with her “brother” Jackal.  Despite their differences, they join together in their search; a search that leads right back to where Alli started….New Covington and a deadly new plague that hunts both vampires and humans.

 Content Notes:

This book has some boy/girl relationship issues, language, and violence.  If made into a movie it would be rated PG-13.

Teacher Notes:

While the first book in this series didn’t have anything I felt was major, this second book isn’t appropriate for 6^th grade students.  I would recommend this book for 7^th graders and up or mature 6^th grade students whose parents were aware of the content.

The Scourge by A.G. Henley

In a world where the Lofties and Groundlings live separately, Fennel’s responsibility is to carry the water from the watering hole during the Scourge invasions.  While her sightlessness affords her protection, Fennel is forced to work with a Lofty Keeper named Peree.  What starts as a tumultuous relationship turns to friendship as the two set out to find a different water source…and stumble upon a truth that shakes everything they know about their world.

Content Notes:

This book has several fighting scenes and some “bloods and guts” type stuff.  For this reason, if made into a movie it would be rated PG-13.

Teacher Notes:

This book would be appropriate for most 6^th grade students. 

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

In a dystopian society, Allie Sekemoto has been struggling to survive.  When an illness called Red Lung began to kill off the human population, hidden vampires emerged attempting to save their food supply.  Allie has a deep hatred for these vampires and has spent her life trying to avoid them, until she is faced with death and chooses to join them.  What follows is her struggle to keep her humanity and save the remnants of the human population.

Content Notes:

This book has numerous fighting scenes and lots of “bloods and guts” type stuff.   It also contains a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship although it’s mainly kept in the PG realm.  If made into a movie this book would be rated PG-13. 

Teacher Notes:

This book may not be suitable for all middle school students.  A similar book would be the Twilight series.

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

While browsing at Barnes and Noble this week, I stumbled across this book in the young adult fiction section.  It was located on a table with several other futuristic dystopian books and the cover art looked interesting.  I should have kept walking!  Monument 14 describes a group of kids who wind up living in a grocery store after their bus is pelted with gigantic hail stones, their town is hit with a large earthquake, and finally a chemical weapon fog makes everyone with certain bloodtypes have various issues ranging from hallucinations to raging anger.  All of this unbelievably crazy set of events occurs over a span of less than 24 hours.  Sounds unbelievable?  It is. 

Content Notes:
The language in this would give this book a PG13 rating.  It also has sexual content not appropriate for middle school or junior high students.  The story line is unbelievable and the writing at times didn't even make sense.  The only reason I finished this book was so that I could write an accurate accounting of the story.

Teacher Notes:
This book has a lexile level of 590.  I would not recommend any student reading this book.

Similar Books: (futuristic but SO MUCH BETTER!)
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Ashes Ashes by Jo Treggiari

Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony

Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

Legend by Marie Lu

The Pearl Wars: Skyship Academy by Nick James

Set in the future, this action packed novel written by Nick James explores the possibilites of a world struggling to survive.  Following several wars, the earth has been divided into three factions, a ruthless surface government, the Skyship dwellers, and the Fringers.  The groups spend their time competing for Pearls, giant mysterious orbs fallling from space that are used as electricity.  When Jesse Fisher, a Skyship dweller, and Cassius Stevenson, a Surface operator, compete over an orb strange things begin to happen and they quickly discover that not everything in their world is exactly how it appears.

Content Notes:
There is some slight language and fighting in this text which would earn it a PG rating. 

Teacher Notes:
This book has a lexile level of 640.  Struggling readers may want to create Somebody Wanted But So summary statements for each chapter or create a summary picture book as they read to comprehend the text.

Similar Books:
I honestly haven't read anything exactly like this book!  Another mystery/dystopian book I would suggest is Ashes Ashes by Jo Treggiari.  Other space books would be the Star Wars series of books.