Upcoming Children's and Young Adult Releases

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon this article, "Top 10 Young Adult Fantasy Books You Should Read." After reading the article, I checked the listings on Amazon. I settled upon Divergent by Veronica Roth. I read the book in less than two days. It is very good.

Here is the promotional summary taken from the product page on Amazon.com.

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

I love having a few modern series to follow, because I can look forward to several new releases.

The second book in the Divergent Trilogy, Insurgent, will be released on May 1.

Also on May 1, Rick Riordan's The Serpent's Shadow, the third and final book in the Kane Chronicles series, will be released. I have not liked the Kane Chronicles series quite as much as I did the Percy Jackson series, but I have still found the books worth reading.

Michael Scott's The Enchantress, the sixth and final book in the Secrets of Nicholas Flamel series, will be released on May 22. I have greatly enjoyed the Nicholas Flamel series and have speculated for a long time on how the series will end. Reading the final book will be quite a treat.

May will be a month full of exciting reading.