Whether I'm visiting with family or chilling on a tropical beach somewhere, the holidays are when I make sure to set aside time to escape into a good handful of books. And because I can't handle anything too heavy this time of year, it's a great opportunity for me to tackle the stack of young-adult paranormal romances and dystopian adventures on my desk. Here's what I've got packed for winter break:
"Torment": I included Lauren Kate's "Fallen," the first in a four-part series, on last year's winter reading list, so this is for symmetry—and also because I can't believe I've waited so long to find out what will happen to Luce now that she's learned that her boyfriend, Daniel, whom she met at a boarding school for troubled kids is actually a fallen angel whose been her boyfriend for quite a few lifetimes, each ending in her untimely death. Now, as he goes off to battle those who want her dead for good, she's sent to yet another boarding school, this one meant for Nephilim. Should be interesting!
"Incarceron": Taylor Lautner fans already know all about this book by Catherine Fisher, since he's now reportedly going to star in its movie adaptation. It's the story of a sort of living, breathing prison, whose inmates have been sealed inside its run-down cities and metallic wilderness for centuries, and the one boy who believes he belongs on the outside. Catherine blends old-school fantasy detail with dystopian futuristic vision—the best of two genres, if you ask me. The sequel, "Sapphique," comes out on December 28, so it's time to catch up now!
"Wake": I like to use holidays to catch up on my sleep, so it may be a little counter-intuitive to be reading about a girl who's got some really bad dreams, but oh well. Miley Cyrus is attached to star in the movie being developed by our own MTV Films—and I'm extra curious about how Miley would do in such a dark role. She'd play 17-year-old Janie, who's been getting sucked into other people's dreams since she was 8, which has made her feel like quite the freak. But things in this novel by Lisa McMann go from weird to scary when she gets pulled into one twisted person's nightmare. Sequels "Fade" and "Gone" are already out too, in case we need to lose any more sleep.
"Matched": I promise, I didn't mean to pick all books with just one word in the title. But that does make them seem more mysterious, doesn't it? As does this one's cover, which shows a girl wearing a lime-green dress trapped in a green-tinted bubble on a strangely iridescent white backdrop. The story, by Ally Condie, takes place in a supposed utopia, where there is no disease and also no indecision, because "Society" makes all your choices for you, down to when you'll die. But when Cassia witnesses a glitch when she's supposed to find out her mate, she begins to doubt that this is a flawless system. Love triangle + struggle against the powers that be = perfect winter escape.
What's on your holiday reading list? Have you read any of the books above? Got some recommendations? Share it all in the comments!
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