Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders (Unstoppable book 1)

 

“Outsmart Your Enemies. Outrun the Galaxy.

Tina never worries about being ‘ordinary’—she doesn’t have to, since she’s known practically forever that she’s not just Tina Mains, average teenager and beloved daughter. She’s also the keeper of an interplanetary rescue beacon, and one day soon, it’s going to activate, and then her dreams of saving all the worlds and adventuring among the stars will finally be possible. Tina’s legacy, after all, is intergalactic—she is the hidden clone of a famed alien hero, left on Earth disguised as a human to give the universe another chance to defeat a terrible evil.

But when the beacon activates, it turns out that Tina’s destiny isn’t quite what she expected. Things are far more dangerous than she ever assumed. Luckily, Tina is surrounded by a crew she can trust, and her best friend Rachael, and she is still determined to save all the worlds. But first she’ll have to save herself.” - taken from Goodreads.

The story continues with book two, Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak.

Visit Charlie Jane Anders’ website.

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

"Austin Szerba narrates the end of humanity as he and his best friend Robby accidentally unleash an army of giant, unstoppable bugs and uncover the secrets of a decades-old experiment gone terribly wrong"--Provided by publisher.

“Sixteen-year-old Austin Szerba interweaves the story of his Polish legacy with the story of how he and his best friend , Robby, brought about the end of humanity and the rise of an army of unstoppable, six-foot tall praying mantises in small-town Iowa.

To make matters worse, Austin's hormones are totally oblivious; they don't care that the world is in utter chaos: Austin is in love with his girlfriend, Shann, but remains confused about his sexual orientation. He's stewing in a self-professed constant state of maximum horniness, directed at both Robby and Shann. Ultimately, it's up to Austin to save the world and propagate the species in this sci-fright journey of survival, sex, and the complex realities of the human condition.” taken from Goodreads.com

This is the truth. This is history.

It’s the end of the world. And nobody knows anything about it.

You know what I mean.

Grasshopper Jungle is a book that has been on my TBR pile since it first came out. I finally listened to the audio version and I found it hilarious. Austin is writing not only the history of his ancestors but the events that transpired in Ealing, Iowa when Contained MI Plague Strain 412E  is accidentally released into the town and Unstoppable Soldiers, aka six-foot-tall praying mantises, are formed. I will warn readers that language and adult situations occur throughout. The story does switch constantly back and forth between the past and present, which could confuse some. Overall, this was a pretty good read/listen that is in development for the big screen.

Visit Andrew Smith’s website.