The Fantastic World of A Reader

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Synopsis: Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.   Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.   It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.   But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.   There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He an...

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion Synopsis: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE “Gruesome yet poetic…highly original.” — The Seattle Times “Dark and funny.” — Wired “A mesmerizing evolution of a classic contemporary myth.” — Simon Pegg “A strange and unexpected treat…elegantly written, touching, and fun.” —Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife “Has there been a more sympathetic monster since Frankenstein’s?” — Financial Times In Warm Bodies , Isaac Marion’s New York Times bestselling novel that inspired a major film, a zombie returns to humanity through an unlikely encounter with love. “R” is having a no-life crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization. And then he meets a girl. First ...

Resonate Erin Wilkerson (The Avalon Series, #1) Publication date: May 1st 2023 Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult Sixteen year old Tamar Linsky has had enough! After surviving twenty-two devastating quakes on an increasingly unstable Earth, she leaves the slow destruction of her world behind for an internship as far away from tragedy as she can get—humanity’s first lunar colony. Lunar Base One is a high-tech research facility brimming with the brightest young minds from all over the world, but through it all, she will beat her peers and make a name for herself as a groundbreaking scientist. Even if a good-looking prankster threatens to distract her—knowing relationships are forbidden—bringing more secrets and drama than Tamar can bear. Just when she thought she was getting a grip on the pressure, a geological catastrophe wipes out civilization back home. Now cut off from the Earth she was desperate to escape, Tamar and her crew must find a way to survive on the...

Embers of Mercy Brynn Ford (Ember Glen, #3) Publication date: March 31st 2023 Genres: Adult, Dark Romance, Dystopian Mercy is a sinner , but Arlo is no saint … MERCY For years, I’ve served the men of Ember Glen. I’ve endured their depravity because it’s required. But when the most vicious man in our village decides to target me during a purge, I have to make a choice… I can kneel and serve… or I can run and become a sinner. I choose sin… I choose to run . Only, I didn’t expect another man to chase me… I didn’t expect the harrowing punishments he’d make me endure once I was caught… And I certainly didn’t expect to find passion for him. The man who calls me a sinner sets my soul on fire. ARLO It’s my role to maintain control in Ember Glen. Selected women must serve beneath the full moon, and refusal is not an option. So, when I see her run, refusing to fulfill her duty, I have to take control… I have an urge to follow her… a visceral need to hunt her down. I have ...

Animal Farm by  George Orwell Synopsis: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned—a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible. When Animal Farm was first published, Stalinist Russia was seen as its target. Today it is devastatingly clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwell’s masterpiece have a meaning and message still ferociously fresh. Review: Since I was a child, classic books have fascinated me, but the idea of jargon and queer writing styles makes me hesitant to read them. Upon hearing about it from others, I chose to read A...