Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories

Steampunk is an anthology of stories by many different authors. Some stories were unremarkable, some were really interesting and there were two that I just couldn't finish. I'm not sure why. This was the first time I had tried the steampunk genre and it was quite strange but pleasing--although it does require certain tastes. 

My favorite story was "Hand in Glove" by Ysabeau S. Wilce. It was an intriguing murder mystery that involved misconceptions, a talking chimp, and much more. It's hard to write about an anthology, how about you read it?

Alice, 10

Variant

In Variant, Benson Fisher applies for a scholarship to Maxfield Academy thinking he’ll enter a new life away from the agony of moving to a new foster home every couple months. But Maxfield Academy is not what he thought it would be. It is surrounded by a wall twelve feet high and a razor wire fence. Video cameras are placed all over the building. Many punishments are doled out daily to disobedient students. Some rules are so strict the penalty is death! Yet there are no adults to enforce these rules. Benson wants to find out why, and more importantly, he wants to escape. But how will he manage this? 

This book was so gripping, I read all 375 pages in two days! I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of ten. (It’s kind of violent.) The end was a real cliffhanger and left many questions unanswered. I can’t wait for the sequel!  

Alice, 10

Scored

In Scored, sometime in the near future, cameras monitor your every move and then, using advanced software, give you a score. A score above 90 will get you a full college scholarship, whereas below 75 will mean a difficult time finding a job.
    

Imani LeMonde, a 92, is two months away from her graduation, but suddenly her score drops to a 64. She had violated the top rule of fitness, peer group. Her best friend Cady was a 71 and dropping quickly. And to make it worse, Diego Landis, an unscored, wants to collaborate with Imani on a scholarship essay. Will she go with the choices that don’t harm her score?
    

This book was mediocre. It spent too much time focusing on Imani and Diego insulting each other (overblown twit, clamdiggah, You need a thesaurus.) and Imani’s score issues. Also, the end was unsatisfying. I would recommend this book to teens with too much time on their hands.

Alice, 10