YA Dystopian Thrillers Similar to Squid Game
The breakout Korean show Squid Game is captivating and shocking viewers worldwide. Whether you can’t get enough or are wary of the TV-MA rating, check out these YA dystopian thrillers – where the characters are thrown deep into playing a game, but their survival is never guaranteed!
For trigger warnings, please check out BookTriggerWarnings and/or visit Goodreads to see what other readers and reviewers have to say!
#murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil
Welcome to the near future, where good and honest citizens can enjoy watching the executions of society’s most infamous convicted felons, streaming live on The Postman app from the suburbanized prison island Alcatraz 2.0. When seventeen-year-old Dee Guerrera wakes up in a haze, lying on the ground of a dimly lit warehouse, she realizes she’s about to be the next victim of the app, but Dee refuses to roll over and die for a heinous crime she didn’t commit. Can Dee and her newly formed posse, the Death Row Breakfast Club, prove she’s innocent before she ends up wrongfully murdered for the world to see? Or will The Postman’s cast of executioners kill them off one by one?
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
When Devon and Chiamaka are chosen to be their school’s top prefects, they think the school year is off to a good start – but shortly after the announcement is made, someone who goes by the name “Aces” begins to blackmail them with anonymous texts revealing their darkest secrets. With the game taking a deadly turn, Devon and Chiamaka have to stop Aces before their futures fall apart.
– New York Public Library
The Culling by Steven Dos Santons
For Lucian “Lucky” Spark, Recruitment Day means the Establishment will force him to become one of five Recruits competing to join the ruthless Imposer task force. Each Recruit participates in increasingly difficult and violent military training for a chance to advance to the next level. Those who fail must choose an “Incentive” – a family member – to be brutally killed. If Lucky fails, he’ll have to choose death for his only living relative: Cole, his four-year-old brother. Lucky will do everything he can to keep his brother alive, even if it means sacrificing the lives of other Recruits’ loved ones. What Lucky isn’t prepared for is his undeniable attraction to the handsome, rebellious Digory Tycho – but daring to care for another Recruit in a world where love is used as the ultimate weapon is extremely dangerous. As Lucky soon learns, the consequences can be deadly…
All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban
What do the queen bee, star athlete, valedictorian, stoner, loner, and music geek all have in common? They were all invited to a scholarship dinner, only to discover it’s a trap. Someone has locked them into a room with a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note saying they have an hour to pick someone to kill … or else everyone dies.
Amber Prescott is determined to get her classmates and herself out of the room alive, but that might be easier said than done. No one knows how they’re all connected or who would want them dead. As they retrace the events over the past year that might have triggered their captor’s ultimatum, it becomes clear that everyone is hiding something. And with the clock ticking down, confusion turns into fear, and fear morphs into panic as they race to answer the biggest question: Who will they choose to die?
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
Sisters Scarlett and Donatella “Tella” Dragna have always dreamed of going to Caraval-a once-a-year, multiday event that is part magical spectacle, part treasure hunt. With only a week before Scarlett’s wedding to a man she’s never met, Tella runs away to Caraval and arranges for Scarlett to be abducted by a sailor named Julian and secretly taken to Caraval too. But when Scarlett arrives, she discovers that Tella has become the prize of the game, and all the players are searching for her. In order to save both herself and her sister, Scarlett must figure out the ambiguous clues and confounding puzzles and journey through a magical world where secrets and plots abound, nothing is as it seems, and no one is to be trusted.
– Publisher’s Weekly
Endgame: The Calling by James Frey
Twelve teens who have prepared their entire lives for an ancient life-or-death game must finally come to terms with its arrival, forming tenuous alliances and killing each other for the chance to be the last one standing and the winner of the ultimate prize: the ability to save a select group of people from the end of the world.
– New York Public Library
Annotations from the publishers (unless otherwise noted).
Post by Katie Smith, Reference Specialist
FDL Reads: Eight Pieces of Empire
Eight Pieces of Empire: A 20 Year Journey Through the Soviet Collapse by Lawrence Scott Sheets
Reviewed By: Jeremy Zentner, Adult Services Assistant
Genre: Nonfiction
Suggested Age: Teens and Adults
What is This Book About? Lawrence Sheets is a journalist who reports on the Soviet Union in the 1980s and the Russian Federation after the Cold War, compiling his most fascinating adventures in this book. Eight Pieces of Empire chronicles life amongst poverty-stricken communists, black market gangsters, a proud survivor of the Nazi invasion, secular insurgents turned religious fundamentalists, the inner workings of the Uzbek Stalinist state, the beginnings of the American war in Afghanistan, civil wars and foreign wars throughout the Caucus region, dwindling native ethnicities in Siberia, the excavation of the Romanov dynasty, and communities still living in the radioactive haze of Chernobyl.
My Review: This is an amazing historical and contemporary chronology of war and strife in the former Soviet Union. I have always been fascinated by soviet and Russian history, and Eight Pieces of Empire does not disappoint. Lawrence Sheets does a phenomenal job in bringing testament to some of the most historic events in modern Russia, as well as the former soviet republics. The reader will learn things that never received much media attention, while also getting a first-hand look at some of the subtle intricacies of what life was like in the former USSR. What I also like about this book is that Lawrence Sheets depicts how the United States’ war in Afghanistan is intertwined with the previous Soviet invasion that occurred in the 1980s. This is by far one of the most interesting reads on contemporary Russia and Central Asia.
Three Words that Describe this Book: Informative, Gritty, Historic
Give This A Try if You Like… Bloodlands, Imperial Cruise, A History of Russia, Into the Wild, Under the Banner of Heaven
Rating: 5/5
National Friends of Libraries Week 2021
Join us in celebrating the Friends of Fondulac Library during National Friends of Libraries Week, October 17-23! The Friends of FDL provide crucial support to the library through advocacy, financial support, and volunteerism. Our Friends are an amazing group of volunteers who dedicate countless hours of their time to the library. The Friends of FDL maintain our ongoing Book Sale and host the annual BIG Book Sale, volunteer for events like Star Wars Day and the FOLEPI Enchanted Forest, sponsor our summer reading programs and babysitting classes, and more! We’re so grateful for all they do!
The best way to support the Friends is to join them (annual dues are only $5), but there are many ways to support them throughout the year. This week, visit the library on October 20 to sign holiday cards for members of the U.S. military. Stop by the Clock Tower Bank on October 22 to meet members and learn more about the Friends’ services. Join the Friends to walk in the Veterans Day Parade on November 6 to pass out book sale coupons and give free books to veterans after the parade.
The Friends will also host their annual Holiday Gift Basket Drawing (for 3 family baskets) November 29 through December 12, and more treats, gifts, stocking stuffers, and handmade items will be available at the annual Friends of the Library Holiday Craft and Bake Sale on December 2, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and December 3, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Proceeds from the sale support the library and its programs.
#FDL: Fall Reads for Cooler Weather
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson (YA)
With a flick of her paintbrush, Isobel creates stunning portraits for a dangerous set of clients: the fair folk. These immortal creatures cannot bake bread or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and they trade valuable enchantments for Isobel’s paintings. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—Isobel makes a deadly mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes, a weakness that could cost him his throne, and even his life.
Furious, Rook spirits Isobel away to his kingdom to stand trial for her crime. But something is seriously amiss in his world, and they are attacked from every side. With Isobel and Rook depending upon each other for survival, their alliance blossoms into trust, perhaps even love . . . a forbidden emotion that would violate the fair folks’ ruthless laws, rendering both their lives forfeit. What force could Isobel’s paintings conjure that is powerful enough to defy the ancient malice of the fairy courts?
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
One of Ray Bradbury’s best-known and most popular novels, Something Wicked This Way Comes, now featuring a new introduction and material about its longstanding influence on culture and genre.
For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin. Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. A calliope’s shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. Two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes…and the stuff of nightmares.
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last—inexorably—into evil.
Death by Pumpkin Spice by Alex Erickson
As if a run-in with an old flame and a failed marriage proposal weren’t enough to horrify Krissy for one night, a woman is found strangled to death in a room filled with ominous jack-o’-lanterns. All signs suggest a crime of passion—but when the hostess’s jewelry disappears, malevolent intentions seem way more likely . . .
With the estate on lockdown and a killer roaming the halls, Krissy must help Officer Paul Dalton investigate each nook, cranny, and guest for answers—while also confronting a few demons of her own. Someone has lots of skeletons in the closet, and Krissy better tread lightly to expose them.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away-by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother’s stories are set. Alice’s only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”
Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother’s tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.
Annotations from the publishers
–Post by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist
#FDL is a weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and East Peoria.
FDL Reads: What the Lady Wants
What the Lady Wants: A Novel of Marshall Field and the Gilded Age by Renee Rosen
Reviewed By: Deb Alig, Circulation Assistant
Genre: Historical Fiction
Suggested Age: Adult
What is this book about: On the night of the Great Chicago Fire, October 8, 1871, seventeen year old Delia Spencer, daughter of Franklin F. Spencer of Hibbard & Spencer, meets Marshall Field, famous Chicago department store mogul. He is twice her age. They are introduced to one another at a party celebrating the grand opening of the Palmer House Hotel, and Marshall is immediately smitten with Delia. When the fire grows close to where they are, he grabs Delia’s hand and helps her to evacuate. This is the start of a romantic relationship that lasts more than thirty years.
Marshall Field, called Marsh by his friends, is an unhappily married man. Delia is married to her wealthy best friend Arthur Caton, son of a powerful Chicago judge. Their marriage, however, is a sham as Arthur is portrayed as a homosexual who is in love with his best friend Paxton Lowry. Throughout the story, Delia tends to her obligations as a member of high society. She and Marsh also have an extra-marrital affair, which Arthur is okay with, but which causes Delia to be ostracized by friends and family. Regardless of this, Delia stands by Marsh through good times and bad times while he builds his famous department store empire which is traditionally known for giving a lady what she wants.
My Review: I really enjoyed reading this novel because I was a child who grew up near Chicago. My family and I visited the Marshall Field’s on State Street during Christmas time so we could see the decorated windows, shop in the store, and drink hot cocoa in the Walnut Room. Marshall Field’s is a Chicago icon and it was interesting to read about the man (and woman) behind the business. Much of the plot is based on historical fact; however, the author notes that some of the secondary characters are not real. Regardless, this novel celebrates Marshall Field and his contributions to the great city of Chicago. I highly recommend it.
Three Words that Describe This Book: romantic, interesting, dramatic
Give this a Try if You Like: Marshall Field’s: The Store That Helped Build Chicago by Gayle Soucek or Remembering Marshall Field’s by Leslie Goddard
Rating: 5/5
Interactive Books
When you mention “reading to children,” lots of people envision curling up in the rocking chair with little kids sitting quietly and listening to the story from beginning to end. Those day are wonderful and make lots of happy memories! However, there are also the times when kids are flipping the pages, crawling down off the chair, or crying because they have better things to do.
This happens occasionally during story time at the library, too. Kids are just finding their feet and going on adventures as they learn to move around. Children are often very busy! There is so much to explore, who can sit down?
On days when your children don’t want to sit down and listen to a story, interactive books may just be the ticket! Not only do interactive books let the child participate in the reading, there are also developmental benefits.
Touch and feel books offer sensory experiences. Pushing, pulling, turning, and lifting tabs help with the development of fine motor skills, as do touching and tracing the images on the pages. Tracing the words, starting at the top, moving left to right, down to the bottom of the page also gives children a very important beginning skill for learning to read.
Movement books help with the development of gross motor skills. Children learning how to walk, dance, run, jump, and wiggle will have lots of fun acting out the stories in these books. Interactive books make it easy to take a break from reading and ask some questions. Taking time to ask children questions throughout the story can help develop critical thinking skills. A great question is “What do you think will happen next?” This will help children make predictions, a skill that is very important throughout life.
Here are some fun books and activities that you and your child can interact with.
Touch and Feel![](https://fondulaclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/P-is-for-puppy-1.jpg)
That’s Not My Giraffe … by Fiona Watt
P is for Puppy by Ellie Boultwood
Happy Thanksgiving Day! by Jill Roman Lord
Lift the Flap
What is Poop? by Katie Daynes
Jonny Lambert’s Construction Site by Jonathon Lambert
Peek-a-Boo Little Dinosaur by Yu-Hsuan Huang
Rapid Responders by Finn Coyle
Movement Books![](https://fondulaclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Dancing-Feet-1.jpg)
From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
Boogie Monster by Josie Bissett
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig
Wiggle by Doreen Cronin
You are a Lion! by Tae-Eun Yoo
Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas
Clap Your Hands by Lorinda Bryan Cauley
Move by Robin Page
Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson
Rhymes![](https://fondulaclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/We-are-the-Dinosaurs.jpg)
If You’re Happy and You Know It by Jane Cabrera
The Itsy-Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear by Timothy Bush
The Wheels on the Bus by Annie Kubler
We are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner
Baby Shark by John John Bajet
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
Games
– Kris, Youth Services Specialist