Bibliophile Support Group

The True Meaning of Smekday is a middle grade sci-fi contemporary humor novel by Adam Rex. Hoo Boy! I think I’m in love!!! When young Gratuity (Tip) Tucci is assigned a school five-page essay to explain the true meaning of Smekday (previously Christmas, now the day the first aliens invaded and renamed Christmas), she ends up writing a WHOLE LOT MORE than five pages. Instead we get the full story of just what happened to Tip when she determined to find her Mom as the aliens stated that all American humans must migrate to Florida, how she joined forces with the alien J.Lo and kept track of her cat, Pig. I can’t really imagine saying more without giving away too much laugh-out-loud goodness! The True Meaning of Smekday is AWESOME!!! It’s very funny – yet also has enough seriousness and legitimate emotion to have a level of care and investment in the characters to make it, well, all the more AWESOME! I absolutely adored J.Lo – a hilarious, adorable, lovable alien that pr...

Martin King and the Space Angels is a YA contemporary sci-fi novel, and the first book in the Martin King trilogy, by James McGovern. Martin is an ordinary teen in the United Kingdom. His best friend since forever is Darcy – and he struggles with desperately wanting to tell her that he loves more than a friend. He has problems at home. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Until he gets a superpower. Of course, that’s after being visited by an alien that says Martin and his friends are the only ones who can save the world. Yep… Not so ordinary anymore! Martin King and the Space Angels is fast-paced but a bit hard to pin down. The characters are likable enough but they never ended up feeling real to me. To be honest, I felt a little thrown into Martin King and the Space Angels , which is presented as a sort of “epic” story. Since we get very little time getting to know the characters and few details to absorb on the plot itself, I felt little to no investment in the c...

The 5th Wave is a YA sci-fi novel by Rick Yancey. OMG. The 5th Wave left me feeling pretty drained and exhausted. For the best reasons. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s have a little synopsis, shall we? Within a span of less than a year, the world has turned upside down. Sixteen-year-old Cassie saw how people reacted when alien ship first arrived. Some were excited, some panicked – but no one expected the truth. Just how much smarter they truly were than humans. First there was the 1st Wave, then a 2nd, then a 3rd and a horrifying 4th. Each Wave cost humanity more and more until there’s very few left – and of those Cassie knows one thing above all else: trust no one. A single purpose keeps Cassie moving – all alone, hungry, tired – a promise she made to her baby brother Sam. That she would find him again. That they’d be together again. Maybe it’s impossible – but that promise is keeping Cassie alive right now. But on the horizon… the 5th Wave is coming....

Henry’s Stories: Volume 2 is a YA anthology of sci-fi short stories by Henry Melton. Here we have 13 stories from the imagination of Henry Melton. One story speculates what a casual teenage couple might do if suddenly faced with realization of nuclear catastrophe. Another with the age old idea of three wishes, and how we all feel we’d do a better job. Still yet another that focuses on an alien planet, or an alternate reality. In other words, all kinds of sci-fi. Henry Melton’s intelligent, mature offerings make for insight into various different ideas and forays into imagination. Some of them I found quite compelling, others not so much. That’s what often happens with anthologies. Also I can have a hard time because I don’t find as much interest in the deeply technical stories, which he sometimes provides. But for those of you who do like those, Henry’s Stories: Volume 2 should be a treat! At times the hormonal and romantic aspects of Melton’s stories comes off as odd o...

Icons is a YA post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel by Margaret Stohl, of co-author of Beautiful Creatures fame. Dol is haunted by vivid memories of The Day. Of her father, her mother – her family – dying in that moment that took so many lives. The Day the world changed. Even though her life now is simple and quiet, hidden in the countryside along with her best friend Ro and others, the memories still hit her hard and strong, all these years later. It’s because of what she is. Telepathic-like abilities and the power of feeling others emotions plague her, just as strong anger and violent tendencies do Ro They’re different. And they don’t know why. But when she and Ro are captured on one initially normal day they’re taken to the Embassy where they meet Lucas and Tima – both with abilities of their own. Questions, secrets, and dangers abound as they search for answers and a chance of survival under the shadow of one of the largest Icons… I have a copy of Beautiful Creatures ...

Tales of the U’tanse is a YA sci-fi novel, and follow-up to Star Time , by Henry Melton. Now, to get the full impact of this book it’s best to read Star Time first – then Melton takes off on two separate branches: Earth and otherwise. This is the latter, but you can find the next story for the former in Kingdom of the Hill Country . So, best to look away if you haven’t read Star Time yet! When the Cerik attempted to raid the supernova-damaged Earth, they were unsuccessful. Yet before departing back to their home planet, the leader snatched two humans – hoping to breed a new race of slaves to replace those they’d killed off in a fit of rage. Those two were Abe and Shannon, both gifted in their own way. But they had no intention of creating children that would be enslaved. So, Shannon, using her psychic gifts, helps to make sure that the generations of new humanity have powers that will be absolutely necessary to their survival… against masters that are unpredictably violen...