28. Girl in the Arena, by Lise Haines

This YA novel is set in an alternate America, in which gladiatorial combat is a popular sport -- and is completely controlled by a corporation, which hires gladiators (mostly men), encourages "Glad culture", which is celebrity culture taken up to 11, and changes the rules and bylaws to avoid having to pay out what was promised.

This book takes a rather scathing look at corporate corruption and celebrity culture. It's not a dystopian novel, but rather a look at a very plausible alternate reality.

29. Seriously, Snow White Was So Forgetful! The Story of Snow White as Told By the Dwarves, by Nancy Loewen

This children's book tells the story of Snow White from the POV of the dwarves. Snow White comes to live with them, but then proves very forgetful. She makes banana cream pie with no bananas, knits 10-foot scarves (because she forgets to stop knitting), and worst of all, forgets the dwarves warning not to open the door to strangers, thus allowing the evil queen to try to kill her, not once, but three times.

30. Noune: Child of Prehistory, by Michel Vaidis

In this children's book, which was originally written in French, a small boy, Noune, lives in prehistoric France (17,000 years ago) with his parents, Mah and Pah, and his older sister, Malina. Over the course of a year, he asks questions about everything around him, learning the lifeways of his ancient people, including how the caves were painted.

My parents just returned from a trip to France, and they brought this book back with them. They viewed a lot of ancient artwork, including a replica of the rock art of Lascaux. This book helps to explain that artwork, although in reality some of it was painted as long as 37,000 years ago and was rediscovered in the 1940s.

31. Invasion, by Robin Cook

An alien virus comes to Earth and starts infecting people, changing them into shells of their former selves. It reminds me strongly of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, only without the pod-people.


"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland