Top Ten Tuesday is back after a short hiatus (Congratulations on the new baby, Jamie!) and today's topic is a fun one: Top Ten Hidden Gems in X Genre.  I'm always excited to find a great book that has somehow slid under the radar.  I easily thought of 10+ fitting post-apocalyptic novels which I'll be sharing with you in just a sec. 

First, though, you need to click on over to The Broke and the Bookish so you can join in the fun, too.  Just read over the TTT guidelines, make your own list, use the linky to add your post to the master list, and have fun visiting other TTT posts.  It's a great way to get to know others in the book blogging community while learning about awesome reads you're going to want to add to your TBR pile.  Be there or be square.  For reals.  TTT is always a good time—I promise!

Here we go with my list of Top Ten Hidden Gems in Post-Apocalyptic Fiction:


1.  The Tomorrow series (Tomorrow, When the War Began; The Dead of Night; A Killing Frost; Darkness, Be My Friend; Burning for Revenge; The Night is for Hunting; The Other Side of Dawn) by John Marsden—I'm in the middle of this YA series written in the 90s by an Australian author and I'm still enjoying it.  The story revolves around a group of teens who are camping in the bush when an unknown enemy takes over their town.  They return to discover that their families and friends have been rounded up at gunpoint.  Not knowing how widespread the invasion is or what they can do to stop it, the group has to figure out how to survive in a world that has literally changed overnight.


2.  The Wool trilogy (Wool; Shift; Dust) by Hugh Howey—This trilogy of very chunky books looks intimidating, but in fact, tells a very absorbing story set in a unique dystopian world.  Okay, I've only read Wool, the first installment, but I imagine its sequels are just as good.


 3.  Orleans by Sherri L. Smith—Set in a Gulf Coast that is half-drowned after repeatedly being hit by devastating hurricanes, this novel seems especially apropos right now.  It's a chilling, atmospheric tale about a teenager with highly-prized blood who's trying to keep herself and a newborn baby alive in a ruined, ruthless world.  I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for a sequel to Orleans, but so far I haven't seen one.  Pity.


4.  The Hallowed Ones and The Outside by Laura Bickle—When the world is overrun by a dangerous menace, Katie's isolated Amish village is the last to know about it.  To protect their people, the elders close off the community—no one is allowed out or in.  It's only when a handsome, injured Canadian comes begging for help that Katie dares defy her religious leaders.  Will her rash decision to shelter him prove fatal for everyone she loves?


 5.  The Horse trilogy (White Horse; Red Horse; Pale Horse) by Alex Adams—I've only read the first installment of this gritty, gory series about a woman trying to find the man she loves in a Europe ravaged and ruined by a vicious plague.  It's grim and graphic, but addictive.  Adams writes in raw, beautiful prose that makes the book impossible to put down.


 6.  The Ashes trilogy (Ashes; Shadows; Monsters) by Ilsa J. Bick—I'm not sure why I haven't finished this absorbing YA series yet because it's tense, twisty, and thrilling.


 7.  Wayward Pines trilogy (Pines; Wayward; The Last Town) by Blake Crouch—I loved this enthralling trilogy about a secret service agent who wakes up in a strange, secret-filled town after a car accident.  The less you know going into it, the better, but be aware of this: you won't be able to stop reading until you know every one of Wayward Pines' tantalizing secrets.


 8.  The Gone series (Gone; Hunger; Lies; Plague; Fear; Light; Monster) by Michael Grant—This series has a lot of different elements (sci fi, romance, dystopian, survival, supernatural, etc.) that combine to make for always-compelling reading.  I'm stoked that, four years after the series ended, Grant is publishing a new installment.


9.  The Forgetting and The Knowing by Sharon Cameron—Cameron introduces us to an interesting society where memories are wiped out every 12 years.  Unbeknownst to anyone else, Nadia is immune to whatever causes the phenomenon.  Thus, she becomes privy to the shocking secrets of her walled community.  A haunting, hopeful series (I believe it will be a trilogy), these books are not to be missed.


10.  The Ship Breaker Trilogy (Ship Breaker; The Drowned Cities; Tool of War) by Paolo Bacigalupi—I read—and loved—Ship Breaker back in 2010.  It's a watery dystopian about Nailer Lopez, a salvager looking for treasures to sell, who comes across a half-dead woman draped in enough gold to feed him for the rest of his life.  As Nailer sets about rescuing snooty Nadia, the pair find themselves in a frenzied race for survival.  Bacigalupi is a skilled writer, who offers up a story rich in character, setting, and plot.  I need to re-read Ship Breaker and continue with its sequels.

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As a bonus, I discovered five other hidden post-apocalyptic gems that I just added to my TBR list on Goodreads:

1.  The Last One (2016) by Alexandra Oliva—Contestants on a reality show must survive in a real emergency.
2.  Zone One (2010) by Colson Whitehead—described as "literary zombie fiction"
3.  The Quiet Earth (1981) by Craig Harrison—A man wakes up and finds himself all alone in a world gone wrong.
4.  Icequake (1979) and Tsunami (1983) by Crawford Kilian—Devastating natural disasters create chaos and fear.
5.  Down to a Sunless Sea (1979) by David Graham—An airplane full of passengers escaping the apocalypse runs head-on into a nuclear holocaust.
6.  Emergence (1984) by David Palmer—A young girl with a unique genetic makeup sets off through a wasted world to find others like her.

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Phew!  So, there you have it ... some hidden post-apocalyptic gems for you to try.  What do you think of the list?  What am I missing?  What's on YOUR list today?  I'd love to know.  Leave me a comment and I'll gladly return the favor.

Happy TTT!

It's Tuesday, which means it's time for more bookish list-compiling.  Love it!  Before we get to this week's topic, though, let me give a shout out to our lovely hosts over at The Broke and the Bookish.  Be sure to click on over there to get all the details about this fun meme.  If you haven't joined up, do it now!  It's a good ole time, I promise.

So, today's topic is: Top Ten Books Dealing With Tough Subjects.  "Tough" is defined as issue-y type things (suicide, grief, abuse, etc.).  Since conflict is an essential ingredient in every story, most books deal with "tough" things.  These ten, though, are the ones that popped into my mind when I read the prompt: 




1.  The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams—If you've ever been asked how many wives your dad has (and if you're Mormon, you probably have), you know what an uncomfortable subject polygamy can be!  Still, it's a fascinating topic.  In this novel, Williams explores it in a forthright, but sensitive way.  The Chosen One is such a haunting tale that I still get the shivers just from glimpsing its cover!  



2.  The Fault In Our Stars by John Green—What can I say about this one?  It's about kids with cancer.  It's sad, yes, but also irreverent, funny and touching.  

I hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween.  My legs are sore from walking all over our hilly neighborhood with my trick-or-treaters.  It's a good thing I got some exercise, though, because now I've got mounds of candy all over my house.  The good stuff (meaning anything chocolate) has this funny way of disappearing while the kids are at school—into my mouth!  Just another reason I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween ...

At any rate, I thought you might be interested in seeing who won my giveaway for Shadows, the second book in Ilsa J. Bick's YA zombie trilogy.  It was ...

So, here's the thing: The best zombie apocalypse book I've read to date isn't even really about zombies. I mean, it is. They're definitely there in all their blank-eyed, foot-dragging, gut-slurping glory. It's just that there's so much more to Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick that you kind of forget about the zombies. How to explain this epic novel, the first in what promises to be a most excellent trilogy? Well, it's like dumping all your favorite dystopian stories into a blender, selecting the finest mix-ins (vivid prose, intriguing characters, heartpounding suspense, etc.), hitting puree, and pouring out the perfect blend of dystopian goodness. Yep, that's Ashes.

If you're new to BBB, you may be wondering what in the world a "Mormon Mention" is. You may even be wondering what the heck a Mormon is. Well, a Mormon is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Like me. As such, I'm naturally concerned with how my church is portrayed in the media. Since this blog is all about the written word, every time I see a reference to the church in a book written by someone who is not LDS, I post it. Why? That depends. Sometimes it's just to snicker along with the author at my crazy Mormon culture, other times it's to correct a misconception or simply to offer my view as an "insider." I always welcome your thoughts, opinions, comments and questions on these posts and if you have no interest in them, feel free to skip right over them. I won't be offended. Promise.

With that disclaimer, here we go:

In Ashes, Ilsa J. Bick's new YA dystopian novel (see gushing review above), the heroine finds her way to a walled village called Rule. In trying to figure out how the town works, Alex has this conversation with Kincaid, one of Rule's residents:

"Why is it so important that I see this Council and the Reverend? I mean, they can't decide where everyone goes. There are too many people."

"Five hundred, give or take, yeah. And no, they don't eyeball everyone. Wardens - men who've been given the keys - do that."

"Keys? You mean, like, to unlock doors?"

"Not physical ones, no. It's, ah, a biblical reference. Matthew: And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Same concept as the Mormon priesthood, although we're not Mormons. What it boils down to is that the Council awards certain men the authority to make decisions in certain areas: the farms, the armory, supplies, sanitation, for example ..." (319).

Twenty-some pages later, Alex asks Kincaid, "What is this place? Are you a cult or, you know, one of those really religious ..." She groped for the right word. "You said you're not Mormons or something, but like the Amish? Some kind of weird sect? Things seem so decided."

[Paragraph omitted]

Kincaid studied her for a long few seconds. "Considering some of my best friends are Amish, I might take offense. They're not weird, or a cult. They're gentle, good people."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do" (346).

Let's go ahead and deal with the second passage first ... I realize Bick's not suggesting the LDS Church is a cult, but it's such a prevalent myth that we might as well get this out of the way once and for all: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (members of which are commonly known as Mormons) is not a cult. It's a church, which - as its name indicates - is centered around Jesus Christ and His teachings. Yes, members of the mainstream church did practice polygamy in the 1800s. This no longer occurs. Hasn't for over 100 years. It is against the laws of the country and the LDS Church.

Disagreements among early church members over various doctrines led to the formation of off-shoots like the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These sects are not affiliated with the LDS Church. They differ in theology, practices, leadership, everything. While I have no personal experience with the FLDS Church (run by famed polygamist Warren Jeffs), it is often referred to as a cult and I don't disagree.

Make sense so far? Let's recap: The LDS Church (also commonly known as the Mormon Church) is not a cult. Not. A. Cult. Got it? Good. Let's move on.

The comparison Bick makes between the "Mormon priesthood" and Rule's government is interesting. In some ways, it's apt; in other ways, not so much. Let me explain.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe the priesthood is the power of God. The keys are the right to use this authority in certain ways. Jesus Christ has always held all the keys of the priesthood. When He called the Twelve Apostles, He gave them the priesthood. Before He was crucified, He gave the keys of the priesthood to Peter, James and John (see Matthew 17:1-9). In the ensuing centuries, this power was lost. We believe it was restored via Joseph Smith and that, today, those same keys are given to all the apostles and the prophet/president of our church. Although all of the apostles hold the keys, only the prophet/president can exercise them in behalf of the church.

Because The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is an enormous church, with congregations all over the world, the prophet/president cannot manage it all alone. He delegates certain of the priesthood keys to men who then use it to preside over their specific area of responsibility. They, in turn, appoint other men and women to help with necessary tasks. Thus, every active, adult member of the church has a "calling," or a job within the church. I, for example, teach a weekly Sunday School class for 10-12 year old boys. Someone else plays the piano/organ for meetings, while another person is in charge of scheduling church activities, while yet another organizes meals/housecleaning/yard work, etc. for people who are too ill or elderly to do it for themselves, and so on. Callings are voluntary, unpaid positions which are absolutely vital to the efficient running of church congregations everywhere.

With me so far? Totally lost? Either way, click here for a much, much better explanation of everything I said above and more.

So, what do you think? Clear as mud?

Or maybe he's just crazy, like everyone says. All he knows is that when he draws, his illustrations have a strange way of coming true. And killing people.