Weekend Recommendations #18

This is a weekly feature, where I get to go all fannish about two randomly-picked favvies (which may not actually be favorites, but got a rating of 3 or higher) that I would recommend to friends! So, here are this week's two picks:

Title: The Darkest Minds

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Genre: science fiction

Part of a Series: Yes

Rating: 3 out of 5

Who'll Like It: Mostly a girl read, though some guys might enjoy it, appropriate for seventeen-and-up, Readers who like dystopian-esque worlds, futuristic, and stories about teens with "super powers" caused by a weird virus.

Why I Like It:

This sort of book has been done so much that I rarely get entertainment out of them anymore. But The Darkest Minds manages to take this overused idea and make it fresh. I liked the characters pretty well, and more importantly I liked how realistic the internment camps were. Realism, when it comes to such things, is key for me. I also really liked how the Author kept referencing Watership Down. It added a bleak and downright dark element to the whole thing, which it needed in order to be totally successful.

Title: Seraphina

Author: Rachel Hartman

Genre: fantasy/mystery

Part of a Series: Yes

Rating: 4 out of 5

Who'll Like It: Girls and guys alike with enjoy this original dragon story, fifteen-and-up, great for fans of fantasy, dragon stories with original twists, and a hint of mystery.

Why I Like It:

I love dragons, I love mysteries, and I love originality. And it is very hard to find an original dragon story these days. But Rachel Hartman manages to pull some unique and original ideas with her dragons, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved her Elizabethan-inspired world, the characters, and the writing. The only real complaint I have is that the mystery aspect of the plot is not as big a part of it as you would initially think. And some people find the story itself a little slow, but I enjoyed the Author's careful world building.