The Roar by Emma Clayton

I found this book on my local library's recommended books shelf, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. The Animal Plague forty years ago forced surviving humans to build a huge wall for protection. The northern parts of Europe, Asia, and North America are the ony places on Earth where humans are able to live safely. Today, Mika is a mutant, twelve-year-old boy, and most people believe his twin sister is dead. However, she was kidnapped by Mal Gorman, and doctors have been performing tests and developing her special abilities. Also, all children are now required to drink Fit Mix, go through intense physical training, and play the Pod Fighter arcade game. Mika doesn't want to take part in the program, but a counselor secretly says it will help him find his sister. She also tells him that his life is in danger, but Mika won't stop until he's reunited with Ellie. Gorman has evil plans for all of the children remaining on Earth, and he won't let anything stop him.

The plot mostly follows Mika's character, but it shifts to Ellie and Gorman too. Ellie's powers frighten Gorman, but he feels there is some way to control her. Mika starts to show some of the same powers, and the twins can sense each other's thoughts. This mostly allows Mika to excel as a pod fighter pilot, and it keeps him motivated to find his sister. The thickness of the book might scare some readers, but the events and font size allow the plot to move along quickly.

The Whisper by Emma Clayton

This book is the sequel to The Roar, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. Mika and Ellie are reunited, and they realize all of the children have been trained to fight a war against the people north of The Wall. Mal Gorman has the twenty-seven thousand children sleeping until he wants them to attack, but the twins are able to mentally communicate with them. Mika and Ellie decide to capture Gorman, take control of the fortress and its defenses, and then negotiate peace between the governments north and south of The Wall. However, the plans go haywire when the children's parents discover The Secret and build a huge bomb to blow a hole in the wall separating the two worlds. The twins may not be able to stop the war and all its destruction once it begins.

This book has a dystopian setting where the humans almost destroyed all of the plants and animals. While Mika and Ellie are main characters, the author allows other characters to have important roles too. Kobi acts as a spy while helping to build the bomb for the parents, and Leo is in charge of negotiating with the government south of The Wall. I was expecting a third book in the series, because there seemed to be too many conflicts to resolve. However, the plot came to a nice resolution.