Under the Dome by Stephen King

     Under the Dome by Stephen King takes us to the smallish town of Chester's Mill. When an invisible barrier crashes into existence around the town, its residents find themselves trapped and under the eventual, horrifying understanding that the barrier is an impenetrable dome.

     The town takes no time at all in falling into panic and irrational behavior with large thanks to the ignorance and thirst for power of one of the town's selectmen, Big Jim Rennie. Rennie has no intention of attempting to get rid of the dome and is prepared to murder anyone who stands in the way of him and the realization of his dream for complete control. To ensure he continues to hold executive (and exclusive) control of Chester's Mill, he manipulates the town's residents and incites fear to produce a false trust in his leadership. As long as the dome is up, he can do whatever he wants.

Author Stephen King

     There are, of course, those who oppose the leadership of Rennie. These characters become the minority in the town as Rennie singles them out as internal terrorists, blames the dome's existence on them and even throws in his personal underground meth lab industry for good measure. In short, most of Chester's Mill believes Rennie that these "rebels" can't be trusted and is prepared to murder them "for the good of the town". 

     Under the Dome boasts a phenomenal wealth of characters. We, as readers, are taken from one perspective to another and back again to put together the pieces as the residents of Chester's Mill are. The suspense between personal accounts is wildly breathtaking at times and leaves you burning through the pages to get to each resolution and the final, epic conclusion. 

Television Mini-Series on CBS and Amazon

     No one is safe inside the dome over Chester's Mill. Find out what happens by checking out Under the Dome from your local library. You can also purchase it from Amazon for your kindle, as a hardcover, paperback or audiobook.

     Also be sure to check out the television mini-series (on CBS or free with Amazon Prime) based on the book for a significantly different, but just as engaging story-line of what happens when the mysterious dome closes over Chester's Mill.

Pi in the Sky by Wendy Mass

     My husband picked up a copy of Pi in the Sky by Wendy Mass at this year's ALA conference in Chicago. From the cover art and the quick blurb on the back cover, I knew I was in for a cute, clever read.

     Pi in the Sky tells the tale of Joss, the seventh (and youngest) son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe. Joss and each of his brothers are responsible for some aspect of the managing/operating of their home, The Realms, which exists entirely within dark matter and is the "control center" of the universe. Because time moves incredibly slowly in The Realms and all inhabitants have a seemingly infinite life span, Joss has been a teenager for what literally feels like "forever". Entire planets and species can come into existence and disappear again in what seems like no time at all to Joss and The Realms.

     One planet in particular, however, has survived by the laws of nature and by allowance of The PTB (Powers that Be) for an exceptionally long time...until almost-thirteen-year-old Annika of Earth accidentally catches a glimpse of The Realms through her telescope. To keep the universe unaware of The Realms' existence, The PTB orders the removal of Earth from ever having existed in time or space. It's an unfortunate fact that Joss' best pal Kal's parents were on Earth at the time and seem to have disappeared as well, erasing Kal as well soon afterwards.

Author Wendy Mass

     A completely crazy occurrence of events finds Annika, the girl responsible for Earth's disappearance, the last human being in existence stranded in the Realms side-by-side with Joss. At first, Joss is hesitant to look after this Earthling but soon comes to understand she's the only chance of getting his pal Kal back to The Realms.

     It's up to Joss and Annika to bring Earth back. A seemingly impossible task but with just the right amounts of courage, determination and friendship - it might just happen. Maybe some hydrogen, nitrogen, helium and silicon too, but that's beside the point.

     Find out more about The Realms, Joss and his "royal family" and whether or not Earth has a chance to return to space and time in Pi in the Sky by Wendy Mass.

     Check out Pi in the Sky at your local library. You can find a free preview of the first 7 chapters of Pi in the Sky for Amazon Kindle or buy the hardcover book here. It is also available as an unabridged audio edition via Audible.