Sci-fi – Page 8 – My Good Reads

‘Remember Yesterday’ – Pintip Dunn

Remember Yesterday

Having loved NYT best-selling novel ‘Forget Tomorrow’ – the first in the series – I was so excited to be asked to participate in the blog tour for Pintip Dunn’s ‘Remember Yesterday’, so thank you to publishers Entangled Teen and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with the series, I strongly advise that you read ‘Forget Tomorrow’ first in order to understand the world in which this story is set. ‘Forget Tomorrow’ ends with Callie killing herself in an attempt to prevent what she has been told is her future. When I reached the end of ‘Forget Tomorrow’ I admit to feeling a little cheated; I wanted to know what happened next. You can only imagine my relief when I received my copy of ‘Remember Yesterday’, thinking I was finally going to get some answers.

There are answers, of sorts, though they are not immediately obvious.

The story picks up ten years later, with Jessa now sixteen and trying to adjust to life without her sister. As the most valuable citizen in Eden City Jessa is only too aware of what could happen if she allows TechRA to study her psychic abilities, so she spends her time sabotaging the experiments undertaken in the labs. In her attempt to fulfil her future, by doing what she can to prevent the creation of future memory, Jessa becomes reliant on arrogant scientist Tanner – the boy from school that she loathes.

Although events twist and turn at some rate, it is only as I got some way into the book that I could start to see just how flawlessly this was plotted. It was interesting to see things from a perspective other than the one I was expecting, and I really felt that things were drawn together well that had been somewhat left hanging in the first part of the series. There also seems to be the potential for a third in the series…

‘The Square Root of Summer’ – Harriet Reuter Hapgood

The Square Root of Summer

Gottie H. Oppenheimer has felt things haven’t been the same since the death of her beloved grandfather, Grey, but when time literally starts to disappear she starts to wonder what is going on.

The explanation we are given is that wormholes have opened up and are transporting Gottie to her past. I won’t pretend to admit I understood even half of the ideas in this, but I found it was an interesting frame on which to hang the story.

I did find that I was intrigued by the love story, but I thought the focus on showing Gottie coming to terms with the loss of her grandfather was touching.

‘The Many Worlds of Albie Bright’ – Christopher Edge

The Many Worlds of Albie Bright

I picked this book up thinking it would be a quick read. It was, but that doesn’t mean it’s a book I won’t be thinking about for a long time afterwards.

My interest in Science is minimal, and I confess that anything linked to what I called “hard maths” (i.e. physics) in school still leaves me cold. So why did I find myself walking down the road with my head in this book desperate to finish it? It is, basically, a book I fell in love with.

Named after his parents’ favourite scientists, Albie Bright is a boy that I immediately warmed to. When we first meet him he and his father are adjusting to life without Mrs Bright, who died of cancer just two weeks earlier. Neither Albie or his father are really doing anything other than existing at the start of the novel, and Albie’s questions about what exactly has happened to his mother would – I suppose – be of comfort to any child in similar circumstances.

Due to the fact that Albie’s parents have always encouraged his natural curiosity, his father’s reluctance to talk to Albie about what has happened shows the depth of emotion these characters are feeling. Rather than dwelling on this however – which I imagine could have been very depressing – Edge takes us in a totally different direction.

When Albie’s father tries to comfort his son, things don’t quite go as you’d expect. Using quantum physics to explain that if there are parallel universes there is the possibility that, somewhere, Albie’s mother is still alive creates a sense of hope in Albie that, while naïve, is touching to watch. Fired up with determination to find his mother again, Albie creates Quantum Banana Theory which allows him to travel to a parallel universe.

This is the point at which we are well and truly in the realm of the fantastical. I found myself laughing at some of the scenes that we get to witness, but throughout there was a thoughtful exploration of Albie’s feelings and a clear focus on showing us just what Albie in each parallel universe gained, and lost. I loved how we got to see Albie slowly come to the realisation that you have to live with what you’ve got and make the most of it.

I can’t wait to see what the students who select this under the BookBuzz scheme make of this one.

‘Bumped’ – Megan McCafferty

Bumped

A virus has made everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, so teen girls have become a commodity as people will pay them to bear children. This was an interesting idea, but I never really felt as though I got any answers to how this virus came about.

Twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have led very different lives. Melody has secured a contract with a wealthy family to breed, while Harmony has spent her early years living in isolation in a rural religious community that believes surrogacy for profit is a sin.

When Harmony turns up on Melody’s doorstep it changes their lives completely. We learn the two sisters have more in common than they realised, but I read the whole book with a sense of detachment. I found the language and attitudes of the society distasteful, and wasn’t particularly impressed by the resolution.

‘Forget Tomorrow’ – Pintip Dunn

Forget Tomorrow

In this futuristic society once a person gets to their seventeenth birthday they are sent a vision – a memory sent from their future self, which is then used to help people make decisions in their present life. The context of the memory is not given, but it forms a crucial role in shaping the treatment someone receives from that point forwards.

Unfortunately, in Callie’s vision she sees herself murder her sister, Jessamine, and she is then imprisoned. With the help of family friend Logan, who is the somewhat inevitable love interest, Callie escapes and so begins the frantic race to change the course of the future.

As I was reading I was reminded of any number of science-fiction novels/films, but the story was just different enough to keep me interested. The interaction between the characters was interesting, but the thing that really got me curious to read the next instalment in the series was the ending. I did not see that coming!

Thank you to publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in advance of publication.

‘The Next Together’ – Lauren James

The moment I saw the cover I knew this would be heavy on the romance (which is not a genre I’m overly fond of), but once I’d read the blurb I couldn’t wait to get started!

Katherine and Matthew are born over and over again. Each time they are born, they meet and fall in love. Something momentous takes place around them, and they die. Until the next time.

While Matthew and Katherine seem to have vague recollections of their shared histories, we are treated to seeing them interact in four very different periods in time. In 1745, they are involved in the Carlisle Uprising. In 1845, Matthew is a journalist sent to report on the conditions the soldiers fighting in the Crimea are experiencing. In 2019 – our closest future – they are scientists accused of terrorism and trying to manufacture a biological weapon. In 2039, they are lab partners who stumble across a link between themselves and them in the past (try not to think too much about the logistics) and they end up on the run.

Curiously, there is a very real sense of the characters being slightly different each time and this brought each period to life in a way that was fascinating. For me, the real pull was the little excerpts of what look like coding interspersed throughout the text which heavily suggest that someone/something is actually directly in charge of these characters’ experiences. The idea that they are being manipulated for some other purpose is intriguing, and there are definite hints that we will get some answers – and, no doubt, some new questions – in the sequel, due out in October 2016.

‘The Death House’ – Sarah Pinborough

Toby is part of a group of children who have tested ‘Defective’. They are isolated on a remote island and live in what is known as the Death House. The children who live there are constantly monitored by very creepy nursing staff, and taken to the sanatorium if sickness is suspected. Nobody ever returns.

We are never told the exact nature of this illness, how it came about or why it is such a threat. The world setting is also quite vague – but the Death House and surrounding area are a fully contained setting. Sometimes answers are a good thing, and I was curious to know more about how the world as it is described here came into existence.

All the characters cope with their enforced isolation and imminent deaths in different ways. Some are angry, some retreat into themselves and others seek solace in the nightly sleeping tablets that the children are given. When new arrival Clara comes to the Death House, however, patterns are disrupted and she quietly brings about a sense of wanting to enjoy the life you have rather than dwelling on the one you had.

While the lack of background detail was a little infuriating, I felt the shifting relationships between the characters was well-depicted and I didn’t even feel that the romance between two of the characters was out of place, as it allowed us to gain more of a sense of who they were.

The novel doesn’t shy away from some complex ideas, and the sinister setting really contrasted well with the joyful outlook that Clara brings to the novel. The ending was not what I wanted at all, but it was poignant and will certainly encourage readers to question what’s important to them.

‘Time Travelling With A Hamster’ – Ross Welford

“My dad died twice. Once when he was thirty nine and again four years later when he was twelve.

The first time had nothing to do with me. The second time definitely did, but I would never even have been there if it hadn’t been for his ‘time machine’…”

When Al Chaudhury discovers his late dad’s time machine, he finds that going back to the 1980s requires daring and imagination. It also requires lies, theft, burglary, and setting his school on fire. All without losing his pet hamster, Alan Shearer…

For a childrens’ book, this packs a real emotional punch.

Here we have the story of twelve year old Al Chaudhury who is coming to terms with his dad’s shock death and moving away from everything he knows to live with his new step-family.

Al is, to put it mildly, something of a eccentric character. His curiosity is limitless, and we get to travel with him on the most amazing journey.

With a gripping opening that immediately arouses our interest, we learn that Al’s dad invented a time machine and is trusting his son to go back in time and save his dad’s life.

For someone who will always have a soft spot for Back to the Future, this novel really is fascinating. The science might be a stretch for younger readers at times, but it is about a lot more than the concept of time travel. Welford, with real humour, explores issues of grief, friendship and identity.

Definitely, a gem.

‘The Program’ – Suzanne Young

A dystopian novel with a bit of a difference.

At this point in time we are led to believe that suicide has become an epidemic. We’re not told why – though it’s laid at the door of our dependence on anti-depressants – but with so many teenagers killing themselves, society has turned to The Program as a way of controlling this problem. Anyone under the age of 18 who shows signs of being depressed/uncertain or even experiencing excessive emotion (tell me if I’m missing something, but I thought that was the expected result of lots of hormones and someone lacking life experiences on which to draw) is enrolled into The Program.

Sloane and her boyfriend James have experienced their fair share of tragedy. Sloane’s brother killed himself, her best friend is taken away as she’s depressed, another friend kills himself and James eventually succumbs to his emotions. One by one, everyone she relies on and interacts with is removed, and it is perhaps inevitable that Sloane is taken into The Program.

The second part of the novel chronicles Sloane’s experiences, and it is here that we get our strongest hints that all is not quite what it seems. Sloane is never entirely sure who to trust, and what feelings are caused by the obscene amounts of drugs pumped into her during this process. She comes to trust Realm, who seems like one of the good guys, but even that isn’t quite as straightforward as we think.

The final part of the novel focuses on what happens when Sloane is returned home. She doesn’t quite feel as she’s meant to, and she has the opportunity to regain some of her memories. Her dilemma is whether it is worth it when those she shared the experiences with have no recollection of the events.
This reminded me a little of ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, though here the actions are placed firmly in the hands of the adults who believe they are acting in their children’ best interests.

The Epilogue really sets up our interest in what comes next. I can’t wait to find out where this goes.

‘Chimera’ – Vaun Murphrey

This certainly has an interesting premise.

Cassandra, 13, has spent eight years in captivity having witnessed her parents’ murders and then she is rescued by family that she didn’t know she had.

Upon discovering she is a Weaver – which involves having use of some seriously enviable skills – Cassandra comes to realise that she has talents beyond those she is expected to have. It seems there hasn’t been anyone quite like Cassandra beforehand, though there are plenty of hints that some do know about her and have chosen to keep her ignorant for some reason.

Initially, the setting felt a little confusing. The story also began quite slowly but once Cassandra rediscovers her ‘sister’ and we see her emerging talents things get very interesting.

There are elements of the story that I would have liked further details about, but the way this ends does suggest that we’ll get that information…eventually.