(Note:  Although this review will not contain spoilers for In a Handful of Dust, it may inadvertently expose plot surprises from its predecessor, Not a Drop to Drink.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

Even though Lynn has learned the value of trusting other people, the 26-year-old is still watchful, still cautious.  Unlike Lynn, Lucy—who is now 16—has grown up in a close community, surrounded by friends.  She knows little about vigilance or surviving in the world beyond their small village.  But, when a deadly disease strikes, killing almost everyone in its path, that's exactly what Lucy must do.  Led by the unyielding Lynn, she leaves behind the people she loves, including the boy she hoped to marry, for the promise of a "normal" life in far away California.

There are a lot of miles between Ohio and the Pacific Ocean, all of them fraught with danger.  It's not just the threat of wildlife or human violence that threatens them, but all the mundane problems as well—hunger, thirst, blisters, sunburns, injuries, squabbles, etc.  Although Lucy pines for her lost love, both women are determined to reach safety on the West Coast.  No matter what it takes to get there—and it will take everything they have.  And more.

One of the reasons I liked Not a Drop to Drink, Mindy McGinnis' debut novel, so much is that it offered an original take on a familiar story.  That, combined with compelling characters, vivid prose and tight plotting made it stand out from all the other YA dystopians out there.  With its sequel, In a Handful of Dust (available September 23, 2014), the story bends in a more generic The Road-type direction.  Still, McGinnis knows how to keep things from getting too stale.  With the bleak, spare style that defined Not a Drop to Drink, she continues to develop the relationship between Lynn and Lucy while hurling enough obstacles in their way to keep their journey exciting.  Although I liked the first novel better, In a Handful of Dust is still a compelling and worthy sequel.  Overall, I enjoyed it.

(Readalikes:  Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis; The Road by Cormac McCarthy)

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(Image from Barnes & Noble)

When 13-year-old Jax Aubrey awakes to an empty world, he assumes he's the sole survivor of some crazy apocalyptic event.  Except nothing seems damaged or different—all the people have just up and disappeared.  If it's a nightmare, it's the most realistic one he's ever had.  When Jax notices his 18-year-old guardian, Riley Pendare, moving around as well, he learns the truth: he's a Transitioner.   People like him and Riley are among the few who are able to slip beyond the week's ordinary seven days into a special eighth day.  

There's little to occupy Jax's time on the eighth day—until he discovers a mysterious girl hiding in the house next door.  Unlike Jax, Evangeline Emrys exists only on this extra day.  Curiosity piqued, Jax determines to find out everything he can about her.  Riley warns Jax to stay away from Evangeline, but Jax can't understand the harm.  As he gets to know her better, though, he realizes who the girl really is and why Riley's so determined to keep her existence a secret.  By nosing around, Jax has added fuel to an ancient feud—now it's up to the two boys to protect Evangeline from an enemy as old as time.

I love books that fire up my imagination by offering me unique, alternate worlds.  The Eighth Day, the first book in Dianne K. Salerni's inventive new middle grade series, does just that.  Although the plot's a little skimpy, its focus being more on world-building, the story is still exciting and absorbing.  It's a fun, original read.  I'm counting down the days until January 27, 2014 when the sequel finally comes out!

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of an old, adult book—The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything by John D. MacDonald)

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Teagan Wylltson lives an ordinary life.  She's just a 16-year-old girl from Chicago who spends her days studying, hanging out with her BFF and working with primates at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  She's no one special.  And she's certainly not crazy.  Except that she's been seeing things.  Strange things.  Things that cannot possibly be real.  

When gorgeous Finn McCumhail shows up out of nowhere raving about goblins, Teagan knows he's telling the truth.  There's no other way to explain what she's been seeing.  But, if Finn's stories about the ancient creatures from Irish folklore are real, that means Teagan and her family are in grave danger.  Finn claims they were born to fight all goblin-kind, but just the sight of the horrible monsters makes Teagan want to run away screaming.  Can Finn teach her how to resist their strange magic?  Can Teagan trust the beautiful boy who is, after all, a stranger?  What will happen to those she loves if she puts her faith in the wrong person?  What evil will she bring down on them all if she chooses the wrong side in the goblin wars?  With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Teagan must decide where her loyalties lie.  

Because I've read so many YA urban fantasies like this one, I put off reading Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton.  And really, the only reason I finally picked it up (so to speak) is that it caught my attention when I was browsing through books on my phone's Kindle app looking for something to keep me awake during a snooze-worthy Diamondbacks baseball game.  Tyger Tyger did the trick.  At least for the duration of the game.  The story drew me in enough that I kept reading, but in the end, I found the novel disappointing.  Why?  Generic plot, annoying insta-love, abrupt transitions between scenes, underdeveloped characters, and just general over-writing.  To me, the novel felt over-long and underwhelming.  I finished it, but I didn't care enough about the characters to bother picking up the sequel.  

(Readalikes:  Reminded me of The Iron King by Julie Kagawa)

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If this were a movie, it would be rated:

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Although no one is allowed to own Sugar anymore, she still feels like a slave.  Spending long, grueling days cutting sugarcane under the sweltering sun doesn't seem very free to her.  She longs for a life beyond River Road Plantation, where she can do as she pleases without the master or the overseer or even her adoptive mama, Missus Beale, looking over her shoulder.  It's only when Sugar's traipsing along the banks of the Mississippi River, exploring and make-believing with the master's son, that she really feels free.  Even then, she can't let her guard down—if anyone catches her and Billy together, they'll both be beaten.  

When Billy tells Sugar a secret—his father is hiring Chinese workers to labor alongside the former slaves in the cane field—she feels a tingle of excitement.  She's the only one, though.  The rest of the plantation workers fear for their meager wages.  They look at their new co-workers with suspicion and doubt.  Sugar can't understand the tension as she finds the Chinese men fascinating.  There's one thing she does understand—she's the only one who can bring all the workers together.  But how?  And what will it cost her to take such a risk?  Her reckless bravery always leads to trouble—will this time be any different?

Sugar, like Jewell Parker Rhodes' first middle grade book, Ninth Ward, offers readers a strong, capable heroine who uses her wits to rise above a difficult situation.  Although she possesses courage and wisdom beyond her years, Sugar's childlike enthusiasm and imagination guarantee she remains both believable and relatable.  Young readers will relish her mischievous streak, while applauding her efforts to promote understanding and peace among two very different groups of people.  Hers is a quiet, enjoyable story that reminds us of the humanity we all share, regardless of our race or culture.   

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly [Dear America: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl] by Joyce Hansen)

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If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence and scary situations