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
Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers...
A harrowing tale of survival in the Killing Fields.
The childhood of Arn Chorn-Pond has been captured for young readers before, in Michelle Lord and Shino Arihara's picture book, A Song for Cambodia (2008). McCormick, known for issue-oriented realism, offers a fictionalized retelling of Chorn-Pond's youth for older readers. McCormick's version begins when the Khmer Rouge marches into 11-year-old Arn's Cambodian neighborhood and forces everyone into the country. Arn doesn't understand what the Khmer Rouge stands for; he only knows that over the next several years he and the other children shrink away on a handful of rice a day, while the corpses of adults pile ever higher in the mango grove. Arn does what he must to survive—and, wherever possible, to protect a small pocket of children and adults around him. Arn's chilling history pulls no punches, trusting its readers to cope with the reality of children forced to participate in murder, torture, sexual exploitation and genocide. This gut-wrenching tale is marred only by the author's choice to use broken English for both dialogue and description. Chorn-Pond, in real life, has spoken eloquently (and fluently) on the influence he's gained by learning English; this prose diminishes both his struggle and his story.
Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers will seek out the history themselves. (preface, author's note) (Historical fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: May 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-173093-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
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