(4) YA Blood of the Lamb series. Fleeing the religious island community that subjugated her race as forced blood donors (The Crossing), Maryam and her fellow refugees search the seas for other people in an apocalyptic post–climate change Pacific landscape and finally find another (oppressive) regime. Despite overwrought prose, the well-defined characters, genuine plot turns, and hard-hitting commentary on colonialism make this a memorable addition to the dystopian genre.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(4) YA Blood of the Lamb series. Maryam returns to her Australasian island home with medicine she hopes will unseat the corrupt theocracy whose rule she fled in the trilogy's first book. This series-closer continues to tackle themes of colonialism, racism, and exploitation against the backdrop of a near-future dystopia rocked by environmental disaster. Purple prose sometimes distorts emotional impact, but depth of theme, character, and setting carry the book.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(4) YA Blood of the Lamb series. In a future devastated by plague, one indigenous people is immune. Maryam, a young acolyte of the island's all-powerful (and white) Apostles, realizes that their spiritual leaders have designed a callous scheme to acquire indigenous blood. Hager weaves critiques of systemic racism and religious absolutism into her suspenseful and horrific series opener, but the people's universal cultish credulity is not always believable.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross