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Sometimes we don't stop and think about all the things that could go wrong in our precious, carefully orchestrated lives. When a mega-tsunami creates a chemical leak that changes the Four Corners are forever, a group of kids must learn to grow up quickly. In the Monument 14 conclusion, Savage Drift, Emmy Laybourne wraps up the story of those kids and how they had to change with the world.
It wasn't easy, but Dean, Alex, Niko, Astrid and the other kids made it to Canada. In the refugee camps, life isn't easy, but it is far better than where they came from, running from criminals, looters, and worse, the compounds that changed them with every exposure. They have carved out a little life in the camp, but they never expected to see someone they thought was dead in the papers. When Niko finds the picture of Josie in the news, he insists they must go get her out of the O concentration camps they are keeping everyone who might go crazy in. Josie lost it to save their lives, and they can't leave her there with all those criminals.
At first Dean and Astrid refuse to entertain the idea. They can't leave the kids behind, and with Astrid's pregnancy, it is too dangerous to travel, especially with the rumors of "drifts" where the compound was collecting and moving with the wind. But when they catch on that exposed pregnant women are being taken without their permission for testing, Astrid worries about her unborn baby's life. When they finally make their way out of the camp, the world outside is no longer as they remembered it. Things have changed, but so have they.
This series has always been a little juvenile and unsophisticated. It has been a good alternative to the darker PA stories for middle school students, but it did reveal Laybourne's struggles to conclude and stretch the story simultaneously. I think older students would find it too tame and childish, but my middle school students who wanted to read a PA story seemed to like it, and I didn't have to worry about mature content. Unfortunately, that juvenile quality also made the story a little one dimensional. And the ultimate conclusion, while not that bad, felt rushed and predictable.
Ultimately, I think the story would have been better if it had ended with their arrival in Canada. This installment wasn't really necessary, and that showed. It felt like the push to squeeze out a trilogy along with every other author out there, and the stretch showed through. It was interesting, but I think the story would have been better if the first two books had been combined as one and ended in Canada. I originally picked this story up for the content, but I am not sure if I will read Laybourne's next book, although I imagine it would be a decent middle reader for that age group. I just don't think I am partial to her writing style.
When the world officially falls apart thanks to a virus that originated on an island and couldn't be quarantined. Despite everyone's best efforts for a cure, the only tried and true vaccine was developed on the same island where the virus originated. Now a group of kids are the last hope to get it to the CDC in order to save what's left of their world.
Kaelyn never imagined she would hold the hope of saving the world in her hands. Then again, she never imagined she would watch the people she loved get sick, go mad, and die, either. When her dad died, she assumed the responsibility to get the cure to a place where it could be mass-produced and distributed, but the journey is far from easy. While Kaelyn and her friend Leo are vaccinated, no one else in the group is safe from the virus, including her boyfriend. Without an immunity, Kae's group finds itself with two infected members. Knowing how the virus plays out, they don't think they will ever make it all the way to the CDC in Atlanta.
It doesn't help that there is a gang of malicious, greedy thugs on their tail, either. The Wardens, sent by Michael, their leader, are determined to get the vaccine. Michael has created a group who aren't afraid to profit from the apocalypse, and if they get the vaccine, it will only get to the highest bidders. The group knows their mission is a life or death journey, but the true magnitude of how many lives they hold in their hands with the vaccine is almost too much for a group of teenagers to handle. The only thing that keeps them going is a duty to everything they have lost in this whirlwind apocalypse.
When it comes to the apocalypse, we all know it is going to get ugly, but how ugly should we make it in a young adult novel? Authors like Mike Mullin, Michael Grant, and Lex Thomas show the dirty, ugly side of things with all its grit and grime and don't hide anything from the audience. Then there are authors who can tell the story without getting too graphic, like Mindy McGinnis or Emmy Laybourne. It isn't that they are hiding the grit, they just have a knack for tip toeing around the big, bad and ugly. Everything is behind the black curtain or the "fade to black" where the other authors lay it all out, clear as day. Neither approach is bad, they are just very different, but the thing I like about having both options is that I can get different types and ages of kids to read the same kind of stories while still finding one that is developmentally appropriate for my student. For this series, I have to say Crewe decided to keep the ugly side of humanity behind the curtain and leave it up to the reader's imagination.
For this reason, I really like this story for those younger students who may have liked the dystopias out in the genre right now but aren't really mature enough to handle the graphic side of post-apocalyptic stories. I could give this to a middle school student and they would see one layer, or an older student and they would see a deeper layer. I don't have to worry about situations being too mature or too graphic for a younger student. The story itself was really interesting and would hold the attention of any reader, and Kaelyn is a determined, strong young woman to read about. I was impressed with this trilogy and look forward to more from Crewe!
Lauren Morril broke into the scene with her first book, Meant to Be, and she joined the ranks of Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Dessen in the world of contemporary romance. With her next book, Being Sloane Jacobs, she proves her success with Meant to Be was not beginners luck!
Sloane Emily Jacobs has been out of the figure skating circuit for a while, but her mother insists this intensive camp in Canada is the perfect place for her to get back in the game. While Sloane E wants nothing to do with skating anymore, at least not competitively, she is willing to go to the camp just to get away from her politician father and the tension between him and the family. Always the obediant daughter, Sloane E is having trouble these days being the perfect girl his political career demands. Especially when their family is anything but perfect.
Sloane Devon Jacobs has the yips. Everyone thinks she is just one seriously tough hockey player, but all the checking and aggression is just hiding the fact that she can't make a shot. She can get the puck lined up for the perfect shot, but every time she gets there, she chokes. When she takes it out on a deserving loud-mouthed player, her coach decides she needs to spend a little time a hockey boot camp in Canada. When her father supports the idea, Sloane D feels like she is damaged goods being shipped off and out of the way, just like her mother. Since the camp is Sloane D's only way to keep playing hockey and hopefully get the scholarship that will be her only one-way ticket out of Philly and into a better life, she will do it. But she isn't happy about it.
Then something happens. Sloane E and Sloane D crash into one another. Literally. When the bellhops bring their luggage up to their rooms at the hotel the night before camp starts, they realize the luggage was switched. Their names are the same, but their lives are vastly different. Both girls are running away from something, and finally they have an opportunity to forget who they are and all their responsibilities. They decide to switch. Sloane E goes to hockey camp and Sloane D becomes a figure skater. What the girls don't stop to think about is that you can ignore your life briefly, but it won't go away permanently!
Oh I so enjoyed this story. It was a really cute "chick flick" of a book that gave me the warm fuzzies. While there is a little romance going on for both girls, the focus of the story really was on the girls and what they were both going through. I did, at a couple of points, think to myself it was a little unrealistic that a hockey player could become a figure skater and vice versa in a week or two, or even do it well enough to fool the people at their respective camps, but if you suspend that belief enough to enjoy the story, it is a really fabulous coming of age story. Both these girls have a lot of baggage and have situations back home they are running from, but by escaping that for only a few short weeks, they have a chance to really find out who THEY are. It was a really fabulous story about two really great young ladies!
I am really growing to love Lauren Morrill. I was lucky enough to have a chance to meet her at our local bookstore a few months ago, and I hope she keeps turning out stories like this one. She has an unabashed love for romantic comedies that even the most jaded of ladies out there has to appreciate. And it really shows in her stories that she is a Dessen and Perkins fan. She pays homage to the greats of the genre while still paving her own unique path, and I can't wait to see what she comes out with next!
When a virus takes over, it is only natural to assume the Powers that Be would be developing a vaccine or a treatment to stop the pandemic. People trust the government will save them. But a virus that collapsed all the governing powers is going to squash any hope of finding a cure as well. In the second book of Megan Crewe's The Fallen Worlds Trilogy, Kaelyn has the weight of the world on her shoulders. In The Lives We Lost, the hope of a cure lies in the hands of an orphaned teenage girl.
Kae isn't in the mood for celebrating her birthday with everything that has happened to them. When she grabs her father's coat, the only thing that still smells like him, she discovers the key she has been looking for desperately: the key to his lab where he was trying to develop a cure. When she goes to the lab, she finds 5 vials of a vaccine her father was convinced would work, and as the first guinea pig, it seemed to be protecting him. With the vaccine in tow, Kae convinces Gav to trek with her to Ottawa in search of government scientists who can replicate the vaccine and save the world. What they don't expect are military helicopters to descend on the island in order to destroy what they believe is the epicenter of the pandemic. When a lone soldier speeds up to the dock to save them, Kae piles everyone in to race across the straight to the mainland. Now they are forced to begin their journey with more than they had expected and even with a kid in tow.
But life on the mainland has changed. Leo tried to warn them about what it was like in a world where everyone was scared of dying, people were freezing to death, and starvation was imminent, but Kae is determined to save people with her vaccine. She uses 2 of the vials to vaccinate her little cousin Meredith and Leo, but Gav refuses to use one of the precious vaccines on himself. As they get further into the mainland, however, it becomes clear the virus isn't the only thing they have to worry about. When Meredith tells a group of hostile strangers about the vaccine, the group finds themselves dodging the murderous gang all across Canada. There are a lot of people who would love to save themselves with the few vaccines instead of save the world, but a few brave teens know the right thing to do, even if it kills them.
There is a lot about this book, the group of teens tracking across the countryside, the snow, the food, etc. that reminds me of Ashfall by Mike Mullin, but this story is much less mature than Mullin's series. That isn't to say it isn't a good story, but if you have read some of the more gritty and mature versions of this story, this one won't be as exciting. There were quite a few instances where I wanted to just smack the kids as they announced their possession of a vaccine, got in arguments with people on the street, and trusted people WAY too easily, but I imagine there are a lot of naive young adults out there who would fall into the same traps (although letting your little cousin announce you have a vaccine is quite possibly the stupidest thing you could ever do). I wanted them to maintain a lower profile, but they seemed hell-bent on walking in and announcing their presence with every step. It was maddening at times.
Even with the lack of maturity, this was a fun story. It's mild nature would make it great for a younger reader who was new to the post-apocalyptic genre, but it would probably be too immature for a reader who had finished a story like Ashfall. I would give it to your stronger middle school readers, and it would be really interesting to see how many of those kids would find the actions of the book's characters to be childish as I did. Maybe they wouldn't even notice! But, Crewe did a pretty good job, and I will definitely be coming back to the third book to see the final leg of their journey.
I love the television show "Supernatural", with all their ghost hunting and crazy experiences. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake is like Supernatural's little brother trying to make his place in a world of creepy ghouls and murderous ghosts. Theseus Cassio chooses to be called Cas. His father not only left him with an odd name when he died a few years ago, he also left Cas with the legacy of ghost hunting. Cas, using his father's athame, continue the work his father started, ridding the world of murderous ghosts across the country. But he can't stop remembering how his father died, eaten in hunks by the very ghost he was trying to kill. When Cas heads off to Canada on a tip of Anna Dressed in Blood who likes to rip innocent passersby into pieces, he is in for the surprise of his life.Anna is as lethal as the rumors claim she is, and when a group of boys drags Cas into her house, she splits one in half. Then the remaining boys and Carmel, the school's queen bee, are involved in the vanquish. Cas also has to trust the son of the local witch, Thomas, who helps him create the spells and get the ingredients to weaken Anna. But when they do, they are able to see the horrible story of how she was murdered. On an impulse, they were able to release her from the curse that made her murder. No longer bound by the house, Anna is still haunted, but at least no longer a threat to the public- or at least it seemed that way until a hiker is found ripped into 6 pieces in the woods. One of the boys threatens to kill Anna with Cas's own athame, but Cas is convinced she's innocent. Unfortunately, the ghost responsible might be one Cas isn't ready to deal with, both as a hunter and as boy who lost his father brutally and viciously.This was a very interesting story that poked a little fun at supernatural stories. For instance, when Cas gets a tip of a rampant wendigo (werewolf), he mocks the tip, claiming people shouldn't believe in silly stories. His hunting is very serious, as well as dangerous, and these ghosts are not the kind who just close doors and make the room go cold- they are stuck on this plane and filled with anger and revenge, which they take out on innocent people. The hunting isn't gratuitously violent, but the very nature of hunting murderers is bound to get pretty bloody. The material isn't too mature, and would be appropriate for more mature middle school students through high school. The language can be a little "colorful" however, and might not appeal to some people for younger students. The language isn't overdone or out of context, but rather a pretty logical response to some of the stressful situations these kids find themselves in. Nevertheless, some people are uncomfortable giving a young kid a book with a lot of adult language, so that should be considered.The story is really well done. It is realistic with strong, deep characters, and the story ends well. It keeps you wanting more, but it doesn't end with a cliff-hanger. Cas's history is very interesting, as is his self-imposed loner style. In this story, you see him struggle with the idea that anyone he gets close to will either be left behind once the job is done or be in grave danger. He really wants to be a normal kid, but the legacy of being a hunter weighs him down and makes his decisions for him. I really loved this story and hope Blake continues Cas's story. It could very easily be an exciting series with Cas traveling and make friends like Thomas and Carmel in each of his hunts!
