Annihilation is about Area X, a place blocked from society due to how weird it is. The government sends a team of four people—a biologist, an anthropologist, a surveyor, and a psychologist—to investigate this place, but they do not return the same. Some do not remember what happened. They act strangely as if they are in shock. Others do not come back at all, and their partners do not know what happened to them. The main character, a biologist, describes her surroundings from Area X. As you progress in the book, Area X gets weirder by the second, and the characters start to uncover its origin.

I love this book. It is unique because you do not even know the characters by their name or profession. The book leaves you as clueless as the main character. You are learning with the main character. The book is weird. If this is your thing, then you found the right book. But if you are uncomfortable with weird things, you might not like it. However, this book teaches the reader an important lesson: there is beauty in all things, even though they might be weird. This book made me see the world with different eyes.

Annihilation is part of a trilogy. The first book is excellent, but the second book bored me quickly. No matter how many chances I gave it, I couldn't finish it. I would only recommend the first book because the others are just painful to read due to how slow they are. The first book is worth reading even if you do not read the complete trilogy!

Review by: Lauren

Lauren is a teen volunteer at the Granada Hills Branch Library who is a senior in high school from the San Fernando Valley area.

—Rachael Zak, Young Adult Librarian, Granada Hills Branch Library