A stand-alone option for die-hard post-apocalyptic fans.
Another adult-killing pandemic rages….
Fifteen-year-old cheerleader Clare is a delayed-onset sufferer of Pest, meaning she is one of the adolescents who, while infected, won’t die from it until later in puberty. Orphaned, Clare briefly survives solo before encountering and joining a schoolmate, 13-year-old chess prodigy Jem, and the two little girls he’s protecting. Jem has no personality flaws and is conveniently supplied with plenty of survival savvy, so Clare frequently defers to his leadership and judgment. Besides surviving without modern amenities, the heroes are threatened by the Cured, people who received an early treatment that failed most patients and drove the survivors into violent insanity. Both the disease itself and the Cured are underdeveloped as concepts, but the story shines in detailing the minutiae of everyday life in a post-apocalyptic world. It highlights the less-than-glamorous complications that other stories overlook, such as figuring out where to defecate and coping with survivors’ stench. The heroes follow broadcasts by a surviving adult who calls himself the Master and promises a cure. The third-person omniscient narration switches occasionally to the Master or his child followers, letting the readers know so much more than the protagonists that all mystery is lost. The Master’s creepiness is drawn in such broad strokes as to make him a caricature rather than an effective villain. The ending concludes the story instead of teasing a sequel.
A stand-alone option for die-hard post-apocalyptic fans. (Post-apocalyptic adventure. 11-16)Pub Date: May 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-78108-248-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Ravenstone
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful.
January 1945: as Russians advance through East Prussia, four teens’ lives converge in hopes of escape.
Returning to the successful formula of her highly lauded debut, Between Shades of Gray (2011), Sepetys combines research (described in extensive backmatter) with well-crafted fiction to bring to life another little-known story: the sinking (from Soviet torpedoes) of the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff. Told in four alternating voices—Lithuanian nurse Joana, Polish Emilia, Prussian forger Florian, and German soldier Alfred—with often contemporary cadences, this stints on neither history nor fiction. The three sympathetic refugees and their motley companions (especially an orphaned boy and an elderly shoemaker) make it clear that while the Gustloff was a German ship full of German civilians and soldiers during World War II, its sinking was still a tragedy. Only Alfred, stationed on the Gustloff, lacks sympathy; almost a caricature, he is self-delusional, unlikable, a Hitler worshiper. As a vehicle for exposition, however, and a reminder of Germany’s role in the war, he serves an invaluable purpose that almost makes up for the mustache-twirling quality of his petty villainy. The inevitability of the ending (including the loss of several characters) doesn’t change its poignancy, and the short chapters and slowly revealed back stories for each character guarantee the pages keep turning.
Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful. (author’s note, research and sources, maps) (Historical fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-16030-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015
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