In My Mailbox (8)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. The point of this meme is to… well, you probably know already. Or you’ll figure it out.

Gone - Michael Grant

Summary from Goodreads: In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE. Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.

It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else...

I love stories where all the adults in the world suddenly die (disclaimer: not true stories) and kids are left to figure out the world for themselves. I’ve even watched nearly every episode of The Tribe ever broadcast, and it wasn’t for the fake American accents. So, Gone sounds intriguing to me. I’ve got the UK cover, but it’s so ugly I don’t feel the need to reproduce it here. It is of course what’s inside that counts, and I’m looking forward to reading this one.

The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness

Summary from Amazon: Imagine you're the only boy in a town of men. And you can hear everything they think. And they can hear everything you think. Imagine you don't fit in with their plans... Todd Hewitt is just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man. But his town has been keeping secrets from him. Secrets that are going to force him to run...

The bookcover blub on this one has never really captivated me, but then I was at Rhiannon Hart’s blog and saw she’d used the magic word about it: dystopia.

This magic word renders me powerless to resist, and so why even try?

Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

Summary from Goodreads: For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

I was always intending to read Shiver, but wasn’t expecting it to be out in the UK for another week or so yet. Then I saw it in my local bookstore, and had to have it… yes, despite the fact I’ve sworn to limit my book habit to three buys a week. It’s so pretty, and Lament was so good, and I can just tell my partner I found it on the bus or something.

The Dead of Night - John Marsden

Summary from Goodreads: A few months after the first fighter jets landed in their own backyard, Ellie and her five terrified but defiant friends struggle to survive amid a baffling conflict. Their families are unreachable; the mountains are now their home.

When two of them fall behind enemy lines, Ellie knows what must happen next: a rescue mission. Homer, the strongest and most unpredictable among them, is the one to take charge. While others have their doubts about his abilities, Homer has no choice but to prove them wrong - or risk losing everything to the enemy.

Loved Tomorrow, When the War Began, so this one’s a no-brainer. No wisecracks: I just really, really want to know what happens to these characters next.

In other news, my Hush, Hush contest is now over. I'll be randomly selecting a winner sometime day, and will contact the winner by tomorrow at the latest. I was also planning to have a 100 followers contest, and since I hit the big 100 yesterday (yay!) I'll be posting news of this later in the week.