Book picks similar to
Within the Water by Kelly Fallows
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The Shock
Scott Nicholson - 2012
While the remaining humans are struggling to adapt and survive, they notice that some among them have...changed.Rachel Wheeler finds herself alone in the city, where violent survivors known as "Zapheads" roam the streets, killing and destroying. Her only hope is to reach the mountains, where her grandfather, a legendary survivalist, established a compound in preparation for Doomsday.Other survivors are fleeing the city, but Zapheads aren't the only danger. Rogue bands of military soldiers want to impose their own order in the crumbling ruins of civilization. When Rachel discovers a 10-year-old boy, she vows to care for him even at the risk of her own life.And the Zapheads are evolving, developing communal skills even as they lay waste to the society they will eventually replace.
Grace Lost
M. Lauryl Lewis - 2012
They are joined by two other survivors, Gus and Emilie. Infected, Zoe must also face the realization that she has developed a telepathic link to the living dead that fills her mind with darkness and evil. Facing unimaginable horrors and unthinkable tragedies, the group must fight both the living and the dead. Zoe and Boggs manage to fall in love while surrounded by death and despair. Before long, it becomes clear that the living dead do not play by usual zombie rules.
Outside
Shalini Boland - 2011
If you’re inside you’re lucky. If you’re outside, life expectancy takes a nose dive.Riley is fortunate to have been born on the right side of the fence. But her life of privilege comes crashing down when someone breaks through and murders her sister.She forsakes her own safety to go in search of the killer. Luc decides to go with her otherwise she’ll be dead before she’s past the security gate. But what awaits her outside is more unbelievable than she ever expected.Cut to the present day, where Eleanor's world is falling apart. This time next year, civilisation won't be quite so civilised...
Partials
Dan Wells - 2012
Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. But sixteen-year-old Kira is determined to find a solution. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that that the survival of both humans and Partials rests in her attempts to answer questions about the war's origin that she never knew to ask.Playing on our curiosity of and fascination with the complete collapse of civilization, Partials is, at its heart, a story of survival, one that explores the individual narratives and complex relationships of those left behind, both humans and Partials alike—and of the way in which the concept of what is right and wrong in this world is greatly dependent on one's own point of view.Supports the Common Core State Standards.
Alive
Scott Sigler - 2015
Total darkness. I hear my own breathing, but nothing else. I lift my head…it thumps against something solid and unmoving. There is a board right in front of my face. No, not a board…a lid.A teenage girl awakens to find herself trapped in a coffin. She has no idea who she is, where she is, or how she got there. Fighting her way free brings little relief—she discovers only a room lined with caskets and a handful of equally mystified survivors. Beyond their room lies a corridor filled with bones and dust, but no people…and no answers.She knows only one thing about herself—her name, M. Savage, which was engraved on the foot of her coffin—yet she finds herself in charge. She is not the biggest among them, or the boldest, but for some reason the others trust her. Now, if they’re to have any chance, she must get them to trust one another.Whatever the truth is, she is determined to find it and confront it. If she has to lead, she will make sure they survive. Maybe there's a way out, a rational explanation, and a fighting chance against the dangers to come. Or maybe a reality they cannot comprehend lies just beyond the next turn.
Fuel
Nathan Jones - 2015
When a major attack cripples the US's oil refining capabilities and destroys a significant portion of US fuel reserves, the nation practically runs out of gas overnight. It's time to see if the preparations he and his cousin Lewis Halsson have made in their hometown of Aspen Hill are enough to carry them through the disaster. His friend Matt Larson isn't quite so fortunate, caught unprepared and unaware of the grim reality of the situation when a society completely dependent on fuel runs out. He finds himself struggling to adjust as everything falls apart around him, fleeing one step ahead of the chaos to reach Aspen Hill. Now he must depend on his own strength and ingenuity and the help of family and friends to see him through. Yet even Matt can consider himself lucky compared to most. The vast majority of people living in the nation's cities are on the move, fleeing population centers in all directions with no food and nowhere to go as starvation looms. Meanwhile emergency services scramble to stay ahead of the disaster with insufficient resources, faced with the impossible prospect of aiding tens or even hundreds of millions of desperate refugees. A number of those refugees are making their way to Aspen Hill, which presents a crisis of its own for a town that has nothing to spare and is struggling to care for its citizens.
Crewel
Gennifer Albin - 2012
Awkward. Artless. That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: She wants to fail. Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen to work the looms is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality. But if controlling what people eat, where they live, and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested. Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and used her hidden talent for a moment. Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her dad’s jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.Because tonight, they’ll come for her.
Birthmarked
Caragh M. O'Brien - 2010
Following in her mother's footsteps Gaia has become a midwife, delivering babies in the world outside the wall and handing a quota over to be "advanced" into the privileged society of the Enclave. Gaia has always believed this is her duty, until the night her mother and father are arrested by the very people they so loyally serve. Now Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught, but her choice is simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying.
Spymaster
Margaret Weis - 2017
On a world already riven by the ancient hatred between the Rosian and Freyan empires, privateers of each nation have long preyed on the ships of the other. What few realize is that a sinister cabal controlled by a rogue dragon is not only behind this piracy, but is organizing criminal enterprises all over the world.As one privateer and her dragon corsairs try to keep their enterprise afloat, they are caught up in a conspiracy hatched by the cabal . . . and threatened by a mysterious magic crafter who works in the shadows.Freya, in turmoil because of the accidental death of the heir to the throne, is also deeply in debt. Sir Henry Wallace, their master spy, is charged with replenishing the treasury by inviting dragons from Travia to make Freya their home—a decision that will have disastrous consequences for everyone involved.In a riveting novel of pulse-pounding suspense, the ruthless conspiracy of humans and dragons plots against Sir Henry and the Dragon Corsairs.. And waiting in the wings, planning to throw everything in turmoil, is a young man known as Prince Tom, who claims to be Freya's true and rightful king.
Children of the Comet
Donald Moffitt - 2015
Torris's daily struggle for survival includes harvesting frozen air to keep breathing, dodging flutterbeasts, and hunting meatbeasts for food.When the time comes to make his vision quest to the top of the Tree, Torris is completely unprepared for what he finds: a thieving and hostile fellow quester; Ning, a female hunter in search of food to save her family on a neighboring comet; and humans from a massive starship that has spent billions of years crossing the galaxy from Earth's solar system.Perfect for fans of Arthur C. Clarke, Larry Niven, and Peter F. Hamilton, Children of the Comet is an enthralling space odyssey about a young man grappling with unexpected cultural differences and learning to adapt in the face of an uncertain and rapidly changing fantastical future.
The Lake House
Kate Watterson - 2022
He’s trying to solve the mystery of a drowning with an unidentified victim. But with no leads, he’s getting nowhere. And now, at the same lake, two more women suddenly have gone missing.Chris suddenly finds he has an array of murder suspects but no bodies. At the center of it seems to be a young woman, Lauren Mathews. He doesn't know what role she plays, but he does know she is of interest to at least three of the men under suspicion.But a pattern is emerging. Another body surfaces.The killer will stop at nothing to stay hidden. But as he draws closer to unraveling the mystery of dead women, Chris begins to fear Lauren will be next on the killer’s list.
Dead Weight
Matt Casamassina - 2016
What happened? Where did everybody go? Why is he still here? The boy soon embarks on a journey for answers and companionship in a new reality where great cities lay in ruins, food and water grow scarcer by the day, and every other survivor is a potential threat. There are secrets waiting in California. Still, is the trek halfway across the country worth the risk? Zephyr and his new friends decide to find out. Some of them may not return.
A House Divided
Rachel McLean - 2018
When the government she has served targets her Muslim husband and sons, her loyalties are tested. And when her family is about to be torn apart, she must take drastic action to protect them.A House Divided is a tense and timely thriller about political extremism and divided loyalties, and their impact on one woman.
Solar Reboot
Matthew D. Hunt - 2017
The electrical grid will come back up. The government will reassure the panicked populace. The hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes will abate. Most importantly, Cameron’s husband and daughter will get home safely from New York City. Instead, Cameron finds herself alone as the world tears itself apart. Her best hope for refuge is the family’s isolated cabin, but distance isn’t the only obstacle Cameron faces. Society has been destroyed, and a bunch of scared, confused people are trying to figure out how to survive. They need a leader with a firm grip on reality and a steady hand, but does Cameron want the responsibility of so many lives? Meanwhile, Cameron’s family travels across a ruined America in a quest to reunite with her. Alex believes that his wife is safe at their cabin in the Pacific Northwest, but he doesn’t know if his diabetic daughter, Piper, can survive the journey without access to insulin. As father and daughter fight to survive, they bear witness to not only the horrific violence desperation unleashes but also the grace and compassion of ordinary people.
Tome of the Undergates
Sam Sykes - 2010
When they're not insulting each other's religions they're arguing about pay and conditions. So when the ship they are travelling on is attacked by pirates things don't go very well. They go a whole lot worse when an invincible demon joins the fray. The demon steals the Tome of the Undergates - a manuscript that contains all you need to open the undergates. And whichever god you believe in you don't want the undergates open. On the other side are countless more invincible demons, the manifestation of all the evil of the gods, and they want out.Full of razor-sharp wit, characters who leap off the page (and into trouble) and plunging the reader into a vivid world of adventure this is a fantasy that kicks off a series that could dominate the second decade of the century.