THE ACCELERATES։ FORTY DAYS TO DUST

Siblings struggle to survive a global virus that aggressively targets children in this speculative-fiction debut.

GeneCorp saves Ethan Mercer’s 9-month-old brother, Leo, from an illness. But the American-based company’s injection has done much more—Leo’s limbs stretch, his skin thickens, and his face takes on an “almost ethereal quality.” When he turns 1, his body resembles a 5-year-old’s. Shortly thereafter, other children are infected in the same way once an airborne virus apparently goes worldwide. The kids, dubbed Accelerates, violently and fatally attack others, even adults. But Leo’s the exception, convincing the 14-year-old Ethan that the ostensibly helpful military will want his baby brother for tests. The siblings hide from everyone until they meet Clara Davtian and her slingshot-toting little sister, Mia. While Clara fears a run-in with her violent Accelerate baby, Ava, the new mother is herself infected, though she experiences no bodily changes or aggressive tendencies. The group’s potential salvation is a GeneCorp facility, but Ethan and the others will have to get there somehow. And does the company even have a cure for the virus? Salmastyan’s concise prose aids in setting a brisk pace—dishing out an engaging backstory and putting the brothers in immediate peril. Narrative descriptions likewise establish an unnerving mood; searching for food stirs up assorted odors when preserved fruit’s “sickly-sweet scent” clashes with “the metallic tang of rust and the musty rot of soaked pages” of books nearby. The main characters will rope readers in with their fierce loyalty (Clara never forgets that Ava, who’s an indisputable menace, is her daughter) and their resilience as they trek a land rife with dangers. Scenes do, on occasion, become repetitive. Characters often question whether those infected are “monsters,” and the myriad encounters with Accelerates don’t offer much variety, with the same tactic repeatedly used against them. Still, the gripping novel ends strongly.

A riveting post-apocalyptic tale with a memorable cast.