The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee

Ummmm....you can't go to Sunday Mass on a Friday night...Saturday night, yes. Friday no.
Me trying to keep all of the girls straight.
Children. Children. Just speak. Use your words. Communication.
WHY IS EVERYONE ON THE ROOF... GUYS.
And yup.
496 Pages

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

 The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff
Pages: 352
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This book discusses the way the current teens and college-age students are being raised and taught. A lot of groups including schools don't allow competition, saying that just participating should be enough. But without friendly competition in schools how do kids learn to compete in life as adults. And perhaps just as important how do they learn to compete in a mature manner. These authors look at social trends that started in the 1980s (when I was a kid) and have progressed to today. 

I wanted to read this book after learning about "helicopter" parents. So, are just over-protective while others are over-protective to the extreme and their kids don't know how to do anything for themselves. I was shocked to learn of parents going on job interviews for their kid. So, I wanted to see what others would say about the trends I was seeing around me. 

The authors discuss how American society has gotten to this point and make some suggestions for ways to change this trend in the future. The authors are concerned about the stability of the country both economically and politically. We already have some people in power who do not know how to act like adults in public, so no wonder that kids accept this as normal. We all have to learn to compromise, to get along, to agree to disagree and still stay friends, with at least some people. But that is not what is being taught in some schools, some homes or other youth organisations. 

Lots of provocative and discussion worthy topics here.

Scythe (Arc of a Scythe) by Neal Shusterman

Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award–winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.

Loved.  Couldn't put it down.  Immediately bought book two.

5/5

464 pages

Alex + Ada, Vol. 3 by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn

Alex + Ada, Vol. 3 by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn

Alex and Ada continue to struggle with the world's increasing fear of sentient androids and their allies. Ada must find a balance between freedom and safety, while Alex has to juggle his family, friends, and their knowledge of Ada. With their life together at stake, are they both willing to do what it takes to protect each other?

Book 3 in the Alex + Ada series. 136 pages.

Alex + Ada, Vol. 2 by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn

Alex + Ada, Vol. 2 by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn

Upset that his X5 couldn't think and feel for herself, Alex took the huge risk of unlocking her. So far, making her sentient seems to have paid off. Alex continues to become happier as he and Ada grow closer. But as tensions between the android and human communities rise and restrictions are placed on androids, Ada becomes unsure about her place in Alex's life and the world.

Book 2 in the Alex + Ada series. 128 pages.

Alex + Ada, Vol. 1 by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn

Alex + Ada, Vol. 1 by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn

When Alex is given an X5 robot as a birthday present from his grandmother as a way of getting over a bad breakup, he is less than thrilled. If he wanted a girl in his life, he would have gone out to find one. But as he gets to know Ada, he is surprised to find she isn't just any robot.

Book 1 in the Alex + Ada series. 128 pages.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Yet another teen novel about a dystopic future society.  This has an interesting premise - a world divided into a lower class of red-blooded normal humans, and a superior class of silver-blooded humans with a variety of supernatural abilities.  Mare Barrow, a young red-blooded teen, does what she can to help her family survive (she's a pickpocket), but she and her sister take a risk to help a friend who is about to be conscripted into military service and likely death.  In a plot twist, Mare lands a job as a servant in the palace of the Silvers, where it is discovered that she also has a supernatural ability - she can produce and direct lightning.  Of course there's an underground group plotting to overthrow the Silver regime, and of course Mare becomes involved in the terror group and in a romance with both of the king's sons.  There are many plot twists, quite a few of them strain belief.  This is one of only a few books in which I grew to like the heroine less and less as the book progressed - she seemed to become more naïve as the story worked to its climax.  This would have been more interesting if it had broken out of its formula a bit more.  383 pages.