Dualed by Elsie Chapman

You're a twin. You must prove your worthiness to use up some of the communities' valuable resources by murdering your twin if you want to live to be an adult. And there's a time limit. And you can't just nuke everyone, but a few deaths on the side aren't a big deal. And rich kids hire assasins to do their dirty work for them. Alright, take the love story drama between Katniss and Peeta and shove it into this world and BAM! you've got Dualed.  It's fun to read, but the last quarter felt too much like Hunger Games to me.

Prisoner B-3087

This is a very difficult review to write. Prisoner B-3087 reads as a retelling of what happened to Yanek Gruener as he faced horrible terrors in the ghettos, camps, and marches that so many Jews faced during WWII. I was so incredibly moved by everything that this young man went through, but then something happened that kind of broke the spell for me. This book is fiction, based on the life of Yanek Gruener, but not everything that happened in the story actually happened to him. Yes, they happened to someone, but I wish it could have been told that way. I don't remember the incident, but something happened in the story that made me think "Hey, I read that somewhere else. But it wasn't about this kid." So, instead of focusing on Yanek's amazing story, I became skeptical, wondering if each event actually happened to him, or if artistic license was making someone else's story into his own. The revolting crimes of the Holocaust are bad enough without having to create a character who single-handedly experienced all of them. I really enjoyed this story, but wish it could have been a non-fiction telling of Yanek's life so I could have had an honest look at what he personally faced and overcame. That being said, I would recommend this story with the understanding that it toes a fine line: sounding like fact, but admitting to fiction. I also recommend reading it in small parts and reading something more upbeat in between, or you may have trouble sleeping.