Escape From Genopolis by T.E Berry Hart

'Escape From Genopolis' is the first book of a trilogy, written by T.E Berry-Hart.

With a young-adult futuristic-fiction genre, the story is set in the year 2064 - a time after an Apocalyptic event.

The story begins with Arlo, a ten-year old orphan, living in the hands of professors at a University. Up till now, Arlo has no idea of where he was born, who his parents are, or how he ended up there. All he knows about himself is the fact that he is an upper-class Citizen, and he has been living at the university since he was a new-born baby. But one evening, when his mentor, Doctor Ignatius sits Arlo down for a talk, he finds out the terrifying truth about himself and the world around him.

Meanwhile, Usha, an eleven-year-old Gemini, lives with and serves her ninety-nine year-old Citizen mistress - who she calls Auntie. Usha has always known that Auntie accepts her as family. Thus, she has always obeyed her mistress with positivity. But one day, when Usha wakes up on an operating table opposite Auntie, she suddenly becomes aware of the Citizen’s intention of having her as her servant. In panic, Usha escapes the hospital, leaving Auntie to die, but with nowhere to run to.

Usha and Arlo’s lives come to a halt when they both discover the truth. They have no choice but to escape their lives, and run away from everything they knew. The two children make allies and enemies along the way, before Usha and Arlo’s tracks meet, when they quickly decide to join forces to escape from Genopolis.

‘Escape from Genopolis’ is a gripping adventure and a visionary piece. In this novel, Berry-Hart tackles issues that are relevant to us presently, and always will be. This achievement truly marks the book as a classic. The characters are easily likeable, and the story has many different twists, which could be comparable to a roller coaster. I have read the second book of the trilogy, Fearless. I am glad to say that Berry-Hart takes the initial ideas from the first book and further complicates the story with more exciting twists in the next book! Since I began reading, I was immediately immersed in the plot. It was a successful page-turner for me! I’m sure this trilogy would capture the imagination of children and adults alike.

Chasers by James Phelan (first of Alone series)

The story opens with a catastrophic event. It could be a bomb, chemical warfare , even an alien invasion and this confusion heightens the tension in the story. The main character Jesse and three friends miraculously survive, climb out of the subway and find themselves in a New York in complete chaos. They manage to barricade themselves in a building that provides them with shelter and food while they plan a course of action . Most other survivors are infected with a horrible virus that gives them a raging thirst for any liquid, including human blood.
Through necessity , the characters quickly develop the maturity to start planning for their own survival, though there are leadership tensions between Jesse and Dave. The characters discover toughness and courage in themselves as they negotiate the snowy streets and fend off attacks from infected survivors.
The New York setting works well as the tall buildings, the river and Central park have particular parts to play in the story.
The author maintains a high level of tension and ends the story with a surprising twist.