Super Extra Grande by Yoss

Who knew there's a whole sub-genre of Cuban sci-fi? And apparently, Yoss is the crown prince.

This slim volume features a space biologist who specializes in really, really large creatures (partially because he's very big, himself). The one experience that so-far eludes him is actual research on the living, moving lakes of a distant planet.

When he's offered the chance-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do so, it's not without an ulterior motive. Because not one but two of his former employees are MIA, crash-landed in one of the alive lakes, but they were on a secret mission that cannot be revealed. Also, they're both sort of in love with our hero.

The book was entertaining and the characters and creatures were interesting and new. I felt like some things were a bit too pat - just sort of resolved immediately with no drama or tension. I wanted more!

The real reason I picked up the book was that I'd read about a heavy-metal rocker with a degree in biology who wrote sci-fi, and that was just the kind of strange I had to investigate.

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

The bus ride to school takes a fateful turn in this gripping, completely engrossing apocalypse story. Boulder-sized hail and a deadly bus crash are just the beginning, and a group of kids (kindergarten through high school) are forced to persevere during an epic crisis.

Fortunately, they're trapped inside a superstore. As they find ways to be safe, stay well, and keep busy, the kids form a community - complete with romances, rivalries, and disagreements.

I loved this book, until I got to the very end: This book has NO conclusion. Perhaps they're planning on a series. Even with that plan, there needs to be some resolution at the end in order to make a stand-alone story. I needed something! Instead, there's action-action-action ... blank page. 

Room

by Emma Donoghue

I know. Your first thought is that you don't want to read about a woman who has been held captive in an 11 x 11 room for seven years. You especially don't want to know about her five year old son.
Jack is that five-year-old. Everything he has ever known is inside "Room". Now that he is five, he is old enough for his ma to "unlie" about everything. He realizes that, for her, he will need to be braver than ever. Through Jack's eyes you will see the life he has always lived and the world his ma hopes he can one day experience.