Book picks similar to
Hold by Marilyn Grey


dystopian
young-adult
dystopia
science-fiction

The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer


Laxmi Hariharan - 2012
    Criminals run the streets of Bombay. Jam-packed with the worst degenerates. The city is a shell of the pride and joy it used to be. Ruby knows something must be done, but it isn’t until her best friend is kidnapped by the despotic Dr. Braganza that she knows that she and she alone must save city, save her best friend, save the world from total destruction. Armed only with with Vikram, a cop-turned-rogue they are about to embark on a road they may never return from.

Configured


Jenetta Penner - 2016
    Divided into three levels of intellect, Citizens focus solely on duty.Due to her advanced intelligence, seventeen-year-old Avlyn Lark is separated from her twin brother at birth and raised by adoptive parents. She gains privilege, the ideal future. He dies. Avlyn barely knows him yet remains linked to his memory.But following a string of rebel intrusions on the city, Avlyn receives a cryptic message and begins seeing visions of her dead twin. The mysterious radical who urges Avlyn to join their fight becomes her link to answers. Freedom.Opportunity awaits, but if she says yes will she lose it all?Configured is the first novel in a trilogy YA dystopian/light romance that poses the question: does humanity need love for survival? Fans of Divergent, Matched, and the Maze Runner will love this world of dark secrets, intrigue and desire for a better tomorrow.

Marked


Bridget E. Baker - 2018
    then a kiss is deadly. All Ruby Behl wants for her seventeenth birthday is a good career path match, and to kiss her best friend and long time crush, Wesley Fairchild. Unfortunately, the simplicity of teenage wishes evaporated a decade ago when the Tercera virus nearly wiped out the human race. Transmitted through touch, the slightest contact is prohibited in the safe haven community of Port Gibson. An innocent game of Spin the Bottle, a rite of passage for Port Gibson’s teens, provides the opportunity Ruby’s been waiting for, but when Wesley winds up Marked, Ruby realizes her first kiss may also be her last. Ruby races the viral clock to uncover long buried secrets about her dead parents, and her once cloudy future becomes clear. She’s the key to finding the cure, but is she willing to pay the price?

Until the End of the World


Sarah Lyons Fleming - 2013
    After all, she’s been on a self-imposed losing streak since her survivalist parents died: she’s stopped painting, broken off her engagement to Adrian and dated a real jerk. Rectifying her mistakes has to wait, however, because Cassie and her friends have just enough time to escape Brooklyn for her parents’ cabin before Bornavirus LX turns them into zombies, too. This is difficult enough, but Cassie’s tag along ex-boyfriend and her friend’s bratty sister have a knack for making everything, even the apocalypse, more unpleasant. When the two attract a threat as deadly as the undead to their safe haven, Cassie’s forced to see how far she’ll go to protect those she loves. And it’s a lot farther than she’d anticipated. This, coupled with Adrian’s distant voice on Safe Zone Radio and, of course, the living dead, threaten to put Cassie right back into the funk she just dragged herself out of. Survival’s great and all, especially when you have leather armor, good friends and home-brewed beer, but there’s something Cassie must do besides survive: tell Adrian she still loves him. And to do that, Cassie has to find faith that she’s stronger than she thinks, she’s still a crack shot and true love never dies.

Cipher


Aileen Erin - 2014
    She can’t let anyone get that close. At least, she shouldn’t.Knight is working undercover for the bad guys. He’s done things that have marked his soul, but it’ll all be worth it if he can save the girl who means everything to him—the girl who saved his life by putting herself in danger. It’s been twelve years, but Knight knows she’s still alive, and he’s made it his mission to find her and keep her safe.When Knight finally catches up to Cipher, electricity sparks. He’s crazy gorgeous, stupid brilliant, and begging to lift the burden from Cipher’s shoulders. Can she really trust him with her secrets? With her life?She doesn’t have long to decide, because Knight isn’t the only who’s been looking for her. Now Cipher can’t run without leaving him behind. What good is being together if they’re both dead?To save Knight, Cipher will finally stop running…one way or another.

Origins


Kristen Middleton - 2012
    Seventeen year old Cassandra Wild thought living in the chaos of her mother’s home daycare and dealing with her developing feelings for Bryce, her new Martial Arts’ instructor, was a struggle, until the night her world turned upside down.When an untested vaccine kills more than just a rampant flu virus, Cassie learns how to survive in a world where the dead walk, and the living…run!

Of Silver and Beasts


Trisha Wolfe - 2013
    Now, a cybernetic clamp filters it, but the silver streaks swirling beneath her skin are a constant reminder that she’s different.When Kaliope is chosen as head of the Nactue Guard, she becomes the sworn protector to her empress. In the midst of an invasion on a neighboring land, Kaliope is placed in charge of guarding Prince Caben, the last heir to his kingdom. But when they’re attacked by the feared Otherworlders, Caben and Kaliope are abducted and taken below to a realm where they must fight for their life in a caged arena. Kaliope struggles to protect her princely charge, keeping him and herself alive while battling inhumanly opponents, and trying to save the stolen, sacred relic that will restore her empress’s life force and all of Cavan. And if she can somehow awaken the goddess within her, she may save what’s most important.A Dark Romantic Fantasy series.

Anathema


K.A. Tucker - 2011
    Her foster parents have the emotional aptitude of robots and her classmates barely acknowledge her existence. About to turn eighteen and feeling like a social pariah, she is desperate to connect with someone. Anyone.When Evangeline meets Sofie after literally stumbling upon her café, she believes she’s found that connection. Willing to do anything to keep it, she accepts a job as Sofie’s assistant and drops everything to fly to Manhattan, where she is thrust into a luxurious world of Prada, diamonds, and limitless cash.With such generosity and kindness, it’s easy for Evangeline to dismiss certain oddities... like Sofie’s erratic and sometimes violent behavior, and the monstrous guard dogs. She’s even willing to dismiss her vivid dreams of mob-style murders, beautiful homeless people living in caves, and white-eyed demons that haunt her each night as figments of her imagination—especially when one of those figments is the gorgeous Caden. When she wakes up with bite marks on her neck, the fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare. She slowly unravels the mystery surrounding Sofie and friends, and the reality of the bites and the “dreams.” What she discovers is far more mysterious and terrible than anything she could have imagined.In a world where everyone has motive to lie for personal gain, Evangeline must decide which deception is least likely to get her killed.

The Sphinx Project


Kate Hawkings - 2012
    All Michaela wants is her own life, to be able to go to school, flirt with boys, maybe eat ice cream now and then. So when the chance to escape finally comes, Michaela and her sister grab it, taking their friends with them.But they weren’t the only ones to find their way out of those labs. Following close behind are another breed of creature, one that doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong, who exist only to feed their own hunger. The appearance of a strange boy who seems too much like them to be a coincidence makes things even more confusing. But as the world begins to literally fall apart around them, Michaela must accept his help, especially when she could lose the very thing she holds dearest: her sister.

Arrival of the Traveler


A.L. Tyler - 2011
    Some rooms even seem to have been walled off completely. No one will talk to her. It's been a difficult year for Abilene Collins. Since her father's death, her whirlwind life of adventure and travel has come to an end. Now, she's living with her mysterious uncle. He's a man with secrets, living almost alone in a ridiculously large mansion that he doesn't own. He doesn't like questions, and when Lena starts asking about his job, it isn't hard to tell that he's keeping some family secrets from her. The young and ambitious groundskeeper has become her only friend, and one day he tells her that she was stolen from her mother years before. Lena's family are all telepathic, and that isn't all...they're a religious pillar of the Silenti society. Her grandfather has used his standing to gain political power, decimating his rivals along with anyone who gets in his way. Suddenly thrust into a life of political plots and religious fanatics, Lena finds herself struggling to navigate her own life. Some people aren't fond of the Darays, and the family has nearly died out through assassination. It appears Lena is the latest target.

Exiled


RaShelle Workman - 2011
    DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER. ONLY LOVE WILL SAVE THEM.Venus isn't from Earth, she's from Kelari. On her planet she's next in line to rule, but there are those who will go to great lengths to make sure that doesn't happen. Including frame her as a traitor.Accused and sentenced, the gods of her planet exile her to Earth. They've given her one week to help a human find his true love. If she doesn't succeed, she'll die, but if she does she might lose her heart. Praise for this series:  "Michael and Venus have probably been the best pairing/couple that I've read about this year! GO READ THIS BOOK! You will love it. Seriously." Nancy, reviewer Tumbling Books"Writing that moves readers to ponder their hearts is good writing, and that's what readers will find with Workman. Her protagonist is strong willed, her antagonist is easy to hate, and her mentor is easy to love." Kathleen Brebes"What a ride!" Taffy Lovell Books in the Immortal Essence Series: EXILEDBANISHEDDISPLACEDBEGUILEDTEMPTEDMERGEDUNITED

You Are Mine


Janeal Falor - 2013
    She will always be owned by a warlock. She will never have freedom. She will always do what her warlock wishes, regardless of how inane, frivolous, or cruel it is. And if she doesn’t follow the rules, she will be tarnished. Spelled to be bald, inked, and barren for the rest of her life—worth less than the shadow she casts.Then her ownership is won by a barbarian from another country. With the uncertainty that comes from belonging to a new warlock, Serena questions if being tarnished is really worse than being owned by a barbarian, and tempts fate by breaking the rules. When he looks the other way instead of punishing her, she discovers a new world. The more she ventures into the forbidden, the more she learns of love and a freedom just out of reach. Serena longs for both. But in a society where women are only ever property, hoping for more could be deadly.

Alive


Megan D. Martin - 2013
    On the hunt for her sister, she runs into Gage—the first and only boy to have her heart and break it. It’s been four years and he isn’t a boy anymore, nor is he the same person he used to be. Against her better judgment, Eve agrees to stay with him when he divulges information on a safe haven near the small town they grew up in—but that doesn’t mean she has to like it…Returning home elicits a myriad of emotions that both Eve and Gage thought they had buried. The past and present collide and they are forced to the face bitter deceits that ruined them in the before and threaten to destroy them now…

The Savage Series, Books 1-3: The Pearl Savage, The Savage Blood and The Savage Principle


Tamara Rose Blodgett - 2013
    word count: 95,000THE SAVAGE BLOOD:Matthew and Bracus of the Band travel alongside eighteen-year old queen, Clara Williamson, as she journeys to the sea to unlock the puzzle of her lineage.Trouble strikes when the fragment absorbs Prince Frederic and undertake plans that involve Clara and her home sphere in a dangerous scheme of coercion.It isn't long before Clara discovers the Guardians terrible secret through horrible circumstances she must escape from.Can Clara protect herself from her own destiny?App. word count: 85,000THE SAVAGE PRINCIPLE:King Raymond is betrothed to Princess Ada of a neighboring sphere in an arranged match not of his choosing. Travelers from a parallel world have bargained to save the future of his people and he cannot refuse their offer.Raymond does not believe that an alliance with the savages would result in a life-altering experience. He soon finds himself overwhelmed when an entanglement of emotion and love conspire to undermine his vow in the most unlikely place.Rowenna, warrior female of the Band, is a much sought-after female select. When her kin agree to an offer that will unite the races of their future, they do not realize what the sacrifice will cost her.Can the two peoples of separate societies survive the prejudicial position that has been hoisted on them? Will their sacrifice afford a future of liberty, or will heartbreak be the only consequence of their love?App. word count: 30,000

Infected: The Shiners


Tara Ellis - 2013
    A sixteen-year-old girl. A fight to save the world. When a rare meteor shower unleashes a mind-altering infection, the people Alex loves begin to change. They’re smarter, faster, emotionless, and they have a plan. One that doesn’t include her. Guided by cryptic clues left behind by her deceased father, Alex follows a trail of increasingly shocking discoveries. Earth’s history isn’t what she learned in school, and a new hive mind threatens to rewrite the future. Alex is a fighter, but pursued by both friends and an unknown enemy, it will take everything she has to fulfill her destiny. Desperate to save her little brother, she flees to the mountains surrounding her home, where the only chance for humanity has lain hidden for thousands of years. WINNER, Reader's Favorite Book Awards, 2015, Honorable Mention, YA scifi FINALIST, Young Adult Finalist in the IAN Book Awards, 2015 Infected, The Shiners is book one in the Forgotten Origins Trilogy