Who are the Kids' Enemies Now?

Oh, Lord, more zombies! Well, actually these aren't true zombies, int he strictest sense. But they are still terrifying! The Enemy, by Charlie Higson, has zombie-like adults (anyone over 16 years old) who are so sick and diseased they have gone mad. They shamble around like zombies, but they aren't the living dead. They can be injured and scared, and other than the overwhelming hunger that will lead them to eating anything, they don't bear much resemblance to real zombies- just a pack of crazy, plotting, adults ready to kidnap and eat any kid who dares come into contact with them.

Enemy starts out with a group of kids who have been living in Waitrose, a grocery store in a good neighborhood. There is another group of kids farther downtown in the poorer neighborhood hiding in a grocery store called Morrisons, but the two groups don't cooperate. Life is difficult for the kids, as they are finding barely any food while scavenging, are losing kids all the time to attacks from grown-ups, and morale was gone long ago. When an odd boy named Jester shows up with grown-ups after him, the Waitrose crew and the Morrisons crew save him and bring him into Waitrose. He tells them of his job, to gather kids all over London to come and help grow food and defend Buckingham palace.

With the situation growing more and more dangerous each day, both crews decide to travel across town to the palace. This is no easy feat, of course. They must battle everything from smart, plotting bands of grown-ups, to apes from the zoo who seem to be suffering from the same sickness that attacked the adults. When they finally arrive after having met another crew of kids called the Holloways and having lost many kids, they realize life in the palace isn't as idyllic as Jester told them. There isn't much food and the leader, David, plans on ruling all of London, even if it means war with other kids. Blue, head of the Morrisons, and Maxie, new head of the Waitroses, must figure out whether safe life controlled by David in the palace is better than a free life outside the palace where danger is at every turn.

This was an enthralling story, but I warn you, there is absolutely no closure. Higson is clearly gearing up for a sequel, and I cannot wait! The story is great for boys, primarily, or any girls who need suspense, and can be used for high level middle school students all the way to high school students. The violence isn't particularly gruesome. Although there are zombie-like adults walking about, there is no gore. Any violence is done tastefully without reaching for the blood factor. The interesting part is how similar the last quarter of the book is to Lord of the Flies when the 3 crews get to the palace. The acts of kids trying to play at "government" and "politics" gets out of hand and dirty real quickly. The characters are very interesting, and the side story of Small Sam, a kid taken from the parking lot at Waitrose, gives another side to the city. This is a great book for a kid who needs action to keep them reading, because in The Enemy, the action never stops!