“The Safe Lands” series by Jill Williamson

Book Titles: 

1. Captives
2. Outcasts
3. Rebels

An engrossing post-apocalyptic series for young people.

Recommended age: 16 – 18; Adult.   This should not be read by anyone who doesn’t understand the “facts of life” and who is not mature enough to see through the lies of this world regarding sexual immorality and drug use. 

The year is 2088.  The world’s population has been decimated due to a pandemic that, among other things, infected the water supplies.   It appears, at this point, that only one place in the world has safe water, and the Safe Lands were set up there.  However, at some point, certain people left the Safe Lands due to the political repression and the widespread immorality in the Safe Lands.   These people set up small villages outside the Safe Lands compound and lived there for many years. 

However, the virus has spread and mutated into an AIDS-like virus that has infected everyone in the Safe Lands due to their immorality.  This disease makes it almost impossible for the people in the Safe Lands to reproduce.   So, finally, they raid Glenrock, one of the small surrounding villages, to capture young men and women who will then serve as breeding stock for the Safe Lands.  This attack works and soon virtually all the Glenrock villagers are either in the Safe Lands or dead.  However, there are some young people from Glenrock who don’t like this turn of events, and they won’t let the Safe Landers defeat them without a fight. The story continues in the second and third books.

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Havana Storm (A Dirk Pitt Adventure) by Clive and Dirk Cussler

Fast-moving Clive Cussler action.

Recommended age: 16 – 18; Adult

Back in the 1500s, the Aztecs sent their treasure off on a secret voyage in an attempt to protect it from the Spanish.  They also left an inscribed wheel with the record of the trip, and broke it into two pieces and hid those as well.  Five hundred years later, Dirk Pitt’s two children, Dirk and Summer, are seeking those two pieces of stone, pursued by ruthless enemies who are racing them to get the treasure.  In the meantime, Dirk Pitt is locked in a life-and-death battle to stop illicit underwater miners from poisoning the entire Gulf Stream.

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“Supers of Noble’s Green” series by Matthew Cody

Book Titles: 

1. Powerless
2. Super
3. Villainous

Imaginative and interesting stories about children super-heroes.

Recommended age: 12 – 14; 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

Daniel has moved into the town of Noble’s Green where he meets some children with some amazing powers.   However, there is a mystery—all of the children lose their power when they turn thirteen.   Daniel discovers that there is a dangerous secret to this mystery, and it takes all of the super children, together with Daniel’s help, to defeat the villain who is the real reason that the children lose their powers.  In the second book, he learns that there is more to this mystery than he thought.   The battle isn’t quite over, and the super children are still in danger. In the third book, another group of super-powered kids starts launching a crime spree around town, but Daniel suspects that this is only part of a bigger plan.

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 “Rapunzel’s Revenge” series by Shannon Hale

Book Titles:

1. Rapunzel’s Revenge
2. Calamity Jack

Graphic Novel

A fun and unusual take on the Rapunzel story.

10 – 12; 12 – 14; 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

Evil Mother Gothel stole Rapunzel when she was little and used magic to dominate the land.   When Rapunzel challenged her, she imprisoned Rapunzel in a tower.   But Rapunzel escapes and uses her long hair to fight her way across the land to rescue her real mother, defeat Gothel and free the land from Gothel’s domination.   In the following book, Rapunzel and her friend Jack set off to Jack’s hometown where giants are oppressing the city.   Aided by a newspaper publisher friend, they work to foil the plans of the giants and rescue Jack’s mother.

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The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke

An interesting book set in an entirely new world—the ocean.

14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

Nere lives in a post-apocalyptic world which is ruled by the cruel Western Collective. The world’s temperature is rising, and all hope for mankind seems lost. But some scientists have come up with a desperate plan for the continuation of the human race: the Neptune project. They’ve genetically changed the makeup of the kids in the Neptune Project giving them all sorts of abilities to help them survive underwater. Nere, unknowingly and unwillingly, is a part of it. Once she is fully transformed, the above world is lost to her. However, the depths of the ocean are not a safe place to be, and Nere has a long journey before she reaches safety.

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Unnatural Death (A Lord Peter Wimsey Novel) by Dorothy Sayers

Lord Peter takes on an opponent whose murders leave no evidence.

Recommended age: 16 – 18; Adult

Lord Peter believes a murder has been committed, even though there is no evidence.   He doesn’t give up; instead, he digs deeper and flushes the murderer out, forcing his foe to overplay his or her hand.

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