Read in September, 2014: There are several commonalities with Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Jewel" by Amy Ewing. The Jewel has surrogate mothers who bear children for a "royal" class located in what seems to be a central city called the Jewel. This book does not however have the ritualized sex or sexual violence portrayed in "Handmaid's Tale". There is an element of magic in the book, but the most gripping scenes for me were from the human auction of surrogates. THE WHITE ROSE the second book in the Lone City trilogy will not be available until October 6, 2015
Read in June, 2012: This "Fierce Read" left me wanting the sequel ASAP. But I had to wait a year just like I have to wait for the second Ewing book above. Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne is an apocalyptic / post-apocalyptic novel. Most of the characters are children or teens, who survive a disaster and are taking refuge in a shopping mall. Fortunately, this series is complete, and a good trilogy to read over the Holidays.
