Book picks similar to
The Circle: Taken by Sage Sask


young-adult
netgalley
dystopian
fantasy

PODs


Michelle K. Pickett - 2013
    Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul. After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters. Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

Forget Tomorrow


Pintip Dunn - 2015
    A world-class swimmer. A renowned scientist.Or in Callie’s case, a criminal.In her vision, she sees herself murdering her gifted younger sister. Before she can process what it means, Callie is arrested and placed in Limbo―a prison for those destined to break the law. With the help of her childhood crush, Logan, a boy she hasn’t spoken to in five years, she escapes the hellish prison.But on the run from her future, as well as the government, Callie sets in motion a chain of events that she hopes will change her fate. If not, she must figure out how to protect her sister from the biggest threat of all.Callie herself.

Saven Deception


Siobhan Davis - 2015
    An alien prince. Their unlikely attraction could save two worlds… or doom them all…Sadie Owens desperately needed a do-over. When she’s chosen for a six-month residency in a government-run undersea city, she willingly drops everything to participate. After all, the experiment could be a huge step forward for her overcrowded planet and her life. The instant Sadie crosses paths with a hot guy with ocean-blue eyes she’s drawn to him in a way she can’t explain. But Logan gives Sadie mixed signals, and she can’t figure him out.Logan Chandler has kept a lot of secrets for his species. If humans knew the real reason the Saven were on Earth, then their coexistence would be anything but peaceful. Logan has vowed to stay away from human girls, but he can’t help falling for the different and beautiful Sadie. Unfortunately, protecting the girl of his destiny could destroy his own kind…As the mystery of the Saven starts to unravel, is it too late for Sadie to save her heart and the human race?

Waste of Space


Gina Damico - 2017
    The kids who are cast know everything about drama—and nothing about the fact that the production is fake. Hidden in a desert warehouse, their spaceship replica is equipped with state-of-the-art special effects dreamed up by the scientists partnering with the shady cable network airing the show. And it’s a hit! Millions of viewers are transfixed. But then, suddenly, all communication is severed. Trapped and paranoid, the kids must figure out what to do when this reality show loses its grip on reality.

Defy the Stars


Claudia Gray - 2017
    To their enemies on Earth, she's a rebel.He's a machine - Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel's advanced programming has begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he's an abomination.Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they embark on a daring journey through the stars. Their efforts would end the fighting for good, but they're not without sacrifice. The stakes are even higher than either of them first realized, and the more time they spend together, the more they're forced to question everything they'd been taught was true.Fast-paced, romantic, and captivating, Defy The Stars is a story about what it means to be human, about deciding what you truly believe in, and about finding your place in a dangerous world.

The Waning Age


S.E. Grove - 2019
    In this version of our world, all children start to "wane" when they reach Cal's age; by their teen years, they've lost their ability to feel emotion. But Cal isn't waning. When a mysterious corporation kidnaps him for testing, Natalia's reaction surprises her: she's crushed, and she'll do anything to save her brother from their experiments. But the road to his rescue leads her into the path of a dashing but troubled billionaire's son, a cadre of killers, and, eventually, the shocking truth about waning.

The Chosen


Taran Matharu - 2019
    Throughout history, people have vanished with no explanation. A group of teenagers are about to discover why.Cade is settling into a new boarding school, contemplating his future, when he finds himself transported to another realm. He soon discovers their new world is populated with lost remnants from the past: prehistoric creatures, ancient relics, and stranger still — people. Overwhelmed by his new surroundings, Cade has little time to adjust, for soon he and his fellow classmates are forced to become contenders in a brutal game, controlled by mysterious overlords.But who are these beings and why did they choose these teens? Cade must prepare for battle . . . because hiding is not an option.

Elysium Girls


Kate Pentecost - 2020
    Ever since she was a kid, Sal has been plagued by false visions of rain, and though people think she's a liar, she knows she's a leader. Even the arrival of enigmatic outsider Asa-a human-obsessed demon in disguise-doesn't shake her confidence in her ability. Until a terrible mistake results in both Sal and Asa's exile into the Desert of Dust and Steel.Face-to-face with a brutal, unforgiving landscape, Sal and Asa join a gang of girls headed by another Elysium exile-and young witch herself-Olivia Rosales. In order to atone for their mistake, they create a cavalry of magic powered, scrap metal horses to save Elysium from the coming apocalypse. But Sal, Asa, and Olivia must do more than simply tip the scales in Elysium's favor-only by reinventing the rules can they beat the Life and Death at their own game.

The Rules


Stacey Kade - 2013
    Never trust anyone.2. Remember they are always searching.3. Don’t get involved.4. Keep your head down.5. Don’t fall in love.Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

The Continent


Keira Drake - 2018
    It seems an unlikely destination for a holiday: a cold, desolate land where two nations remain perpetually locked in combat. Most citizens lucky enough to tour the Continent do so to observe the spectacle and violence of battle, a thing long vanished in the peaceful realm of the Spire. For Vaela, the war holds little interest. As a smart and talented apprentice cartographer and a descendent of the Continent herself, she sees the journey as a dream come true: a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve upon the maps she’s drawn of this vast, frozen land.But Vaela’s dream all too quickly turns to nightmare as the journey brings her face-to-face with the brutal reality of a war she’s only read about. Observing from the safety of a heli-plane, Vaela is forever changed by the sight of the bloody battle being waged far beneath her. And when a tragic accident leaves her stranded on the Continent, Vaela finds herself much closer to danger than she’d ever imagined—and with an entirely new perspective as to what war truly means. Starving, alone, and lost in the middle of a war zone, Vaela must try to find a way home—but first, she must survive.

Outview


Brandt Legg - 2013
    For thousands of years, humans have sought to lift it. Imagine the secrets waiting for discovery, insights into the unknown, and powers beyond the possible.Nate wondered.After the death of his father, the loss of his brother, and mysterious messages, he finds himself enmeshed in a centuries-old conspiracy to hide the truth about what lies beyond that veil. He must juggle prophecies and mystic knowledge, trace a quest across countless lifetimes, and grasp a complex destiny, before he can unravel the ancient puzzle. Scores have died to protect the secrets. The "trusted"few whispered clues, guarded locations, and hid keys to what humanity was not yet ready for.Until Nate found a way.Those protecting the “veil” know he did. And so do the ones who have been searching since before he was born. At the same time, a clandestine group, wielding overwhelming power, wants him silenced.Nate is running.

Freefall


Joshua David Bellin - 2017
    And Cam can’t wait to leave. After sleeping through a 1,000-year journey, he and his friends will have a pristine new planet to colonize. And no more worries about the Lowerworld and its 99% of rejects.Then Cam sees a banned video feed of protesters in the Lowerworld who also want a chance at a new life. And he sees a girl with golden eyes who seems to be gazing straight though the feed directly at him. A girl he has to find. Sofie.When Cam finds Sofie, she opens his eyes to the unfairness of what’s happening in their world, and Cam joins her cause for Lowerworld rights. He also falls hard for Sofie. But Sofie has her own battles to fight, and when it’s time to board the spaceships, Cam is alone.Waking up 1,000 years in the future, Cam discovers that he and his shipmates are far off-course, trapped on an unknown and hostile planet. Who has sabotaged their ship? And does it have anything to do with Sofie, and the choices—and the enemies—he made in the past?

Flashfall


Jenny Moyer - 2016
    For generations, her people have chased cirium—the only element that can shield humanity from the curtain’s radioactive particles. She and her caving partner Dram work the most treacherous tunnel, fighting past flash bats and tunnel gulls, in hopes of mining enough cirium to earn their way into the protected city.But when newcomers arrive at Outpost Five, Orion uncovers disturbing revelations that make her question everything she thought she knew about life on both sides of the cirium shield. As conditions at the outpost grow increasingly dangerous, it’s up to Orion to forge a way past the flashfall, beyond all boundaries, beyond the world as she knows it.

Eight Will Fall


Sarah Harian - 2019
    Descending into an underground realm full of unspeakable horrors, Larkin and her party must use their forbidden magic to survive what lies in wait, teeth sharp and jaws deadly. As she fights for her life, Larkin finds a light in Amias, a fellow outlaw with a notorious past. Soon Larkin and Amias realize their fates are entwined. The eight of them were chosen for a reason. But as the dangers multiply and her band of felons are picked off one by one, Larkin must confront a terrible truth: They were never meant to return.

The Intuitives


Erin Michelle Sky - 2017
    Seven years later, every public school student in America takes a strange new test, but only six are chosen to attend a summer program at the mysterious Institute for the Cultivation of Intuitive Cognition, where nothing is as it appears to be, including the students themselves.Roman Jackson, 11—the lonely artist.Sees things. Around people. Things he can never, ever tell.Samantha Prescott, 16—the sarcastic nerd.Isolated by a premonition even she doesn’t understand.Daniel Walker, 17—the shy musician.Hides his private thoughts in the soundtrack of his mind.Kaitlyn Wright, 15—the bubbly engineer.Can fix anything, except the one thing that matters most.Mackenzie Gray, 17—the disciplined athlete.Armors her deepest fears against a world she can’t control.Ashton Hunt, 17—the frustrated gamer.Hoping to turn pro, and a constant disappointment to his father.But why is the U.S. government so interested in six outcasts? And what, exactly, is it teaching them to do? Now, they must band together to uncover the true purpose behind the institute—and the ancient secrets that lie hidden beneath its surface.Before history catches up to them.