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Life in London hasn't been easy, but with strongholds going up to protect the kids who survived, everyone stops thinking about not getting eaten on a daily basis and starts thinking about how to put their lives back together. In the fourth book of Charlie Higson's Enemy series, The Sacrifice, the kids of London have to remember, danger is all around them.
Little Sam survived being kept by an adult for a future snack, but now all he can think about is finding his sister. It is so hard to get from one place to another that friends and family members are scattered in strongholds all over the city. Jordan won't let him leave, but Sam is determined to get to his sister. Even Ed, the nicest guy around, thinks the idea of traipsing across the badlands to find a girl who might already be dead is a bad idea. When the group saves a strange girl named Tish from a horde of sickos, Sam and The Kid get the opportunity they were looking for: a girl with the gumption and determination to leave the Tower of London and help Sam and The Kid find Sam's sister, Ella.
Meanwhile, Shadowman has been doing some traveling of his own. He has been following the nasty father, Saint George, and George's crew. He is the only on who knows the scary new potential of the mothers and fathers. No longer the stupid, shambling, mindless eaters, they have started to hunt and plot against the surviving kids. Something even more dangerous is happening- they are also beginning to congregate and Saint George's group is getting larger and larger. Soon, they will have the numbers and power to overthrow even the most secure stronghold in London. The problem? The kids Shadowman comes into contact with don't believe the adults are changing... until it is too late.
My pet peeves with this series continue to be frustrating, but at least one has been mitigated. I still struggle to pick up one of these books and get right into it because there isn't a good recap in the beginning. I find myself looking up a plot summary for the previous book and reading reviews to remind myself what happened in the book I read more than a year ago. Not ideal. I really wish Higson did a better job of taking a moment to catch you up before jumping right into the insanity, just so I knew what was bloody happening! However, it seems the last two books have gone in chronological order, which I appreciate. At first, the books bounced around, but lately, one follows the next, which makes it far easier for the reader to understand exactly when and where things are happening.
As a story, this series just never lets up. Even though it is a long series, every book is packed with mystery and excitement (or terror). I find myself sucked right in and reluctant to let go. The idea of the adults learning to reason again and plot against the kids is a thought so creepy it gave me actual nightmares! I think this series continues to be a strong plot, writing, and entertainment form the first book to the last, and I think that is a testament to Higson's writing. It just doesn't get old with this series! I think my favorite part of this story is Sam and The Kid, as they are so sweet and innocent yet left to fend for themselves in this ugly world where the flesh-eating adults are the least of your worries. Still, the Shadowman story line is fascinating as well. I can't imagine having all this important knowledge and no one listening to you. He warns kids over and over again not to underestimate Saint George and his crew, but they just won't listen to him, and his guilt over watching the result is palpable.
This series can certainly be gruesome at times, but if you have a kid who watches "The Walking Dead," or any other zombie stories, they should be fine with this series. The interesting part is the complete lack of sexy times so far. I find more parents and teachers find the sexy times to be more objectionable than the violence, so this story would make a great, captivating story that is relatively unobjectionable for readers craving more mature material. Even though the book is long, it reads really fast, which makes it perfect for a struggling reader who wants mature material. Higson sure knows his stuff!
The kids of London have survived a lot since the sickness changed all the mothers and fathers into sickos, but they have no idea about the other horrors waiting for them outside their strongholds. In Charlie Higson's third book in the Enemy series, The Fear, the kids are about to learn just how ugly things can get.
DogNut is determined to find Brooke. He isn't the only one who has lost friends or family in the fray of battle. A number of other kids are willing to leave the safety of the Tower to hike across the city and find those they lost. But traveling in London isn't as easy as it used to be. In addition to the dumb, mindless, shambling sickos, there are new kinds who have grown stronger thanks to all the kids they ate, who are growing accustomed to the sun, and who are smarter than anyone could have anticipated. DogNut and the others manage to make their way up the river, but when they get to Buckingham Palace, they find that not all groups of surviving kids are welcoming visitors out of the kindness of their hearts. Some have bigger aspirations.
For David, the ruler of the Palace, ruling all of London is all he can think about. With plenty of other kids to do his dirty work, he has plenty of time to plot against those who spurned him and those who refused to join his group. The girl DogNut is searching for, Brooke, was the one who started it all by taking the truck full of supplies she promised him for his protection and driving off to the Natural History museum to start her own group. While David doesn't want DogNut and the others to know about the group at the museum, DogNut didn't make it this far by being stupid. In fact, he was built for this world, not for holing up in some fortress pretending the world wasn't being devoured by sickos. Unwilling to remain a virtual prisoner, DogNut and his group manages to escape the Palace and David, but what they find outside might be worse than what was hidden inside.
Higson really has a great series going here. My only qualm about it all is that the stories aren't released in chronological order. They jump all around and each book seems to start earlier than the last, but end up later. It can be really confusing, especially when you are reading about something you know already happened, but can't quite fit the puzzle piece into the whole equation. I struggled with this a bit, but I have just allowed myself to sink into each book and enjoy it. It's a shame about the order of the books, because otherwise, this is a near perfect series. It has excitement, twists, action, and some terribly tough, butt-kicking kids!
Even though the sickos aren't true zombies, they still love to eat little kiddies. In fact, they are learning to think and plot and hunt, which, in my opinion, makes then all the more scary. Obviously, this makes the book pretty violent at times, but all the different kids' stories come together to make a true masterpiece. While DogNut was the focus, Courtney, Brooke, Shadowman, Jester, etc. are all fabulous characters, for better or for worse, and you want to hear more and more about them. As a chapter jumps to a new character, you find yourself wanting more from the one you just finished and still dying to dive into the next story. If you can get a student into this series, you will watch them plow through every book, they are really just that good!
There is nothing more terrifying than every adult turning into a flesh-eating zombie-like creature who likes to munch on kids, right?! With his first book, The Enemy, Charlie Higson told the story of kids trying to survive a year after a plague ripped through England and left all adults gross, hungry beasts. Now, with the prequel The Dead, he has gone back to the beginning of the plague and told the story of another group of boys making their way to London.
When a YouTube video shows a boy terrified and filming a bunch of adults attacking and eating a kid in the streets, everyone thinks it is a joke. But a couple of weeks later, it becomes clear that was the first recorded outbreak of the virus that turns anyone 16 or older into zombies (sort of). They can still think in a way, and aren't technically dead, but they are creepy and want to eat little kids. A group of boys had been holed up in their prep school dorm, but when the adults threaten their stronghold, they know they must leave the school. Along the way, they pick up more kids, lose some kids, and eventually, just before a group of teen zombies wipes them out, they are saved by a man driving a bus. Greg and his son Liam have survived the plague so far, and Greg keeps driving, trying to find a safe place and saving kids on the way. What they don't know is the virus is slowing breaking Greg down until he becomes one of them.
Alex and Ed are the closest thing to leaders the motley crew of kids has, and they are reluctant to assume the roles. Ed can't bring himself to kill the adults, even when they are trying to rip his friends apart, and Alex just wants to go home. The boys finally arrive at the Imperial War Museum, but it is already being held by a group of boys who has no intention of giving up their stash. They agree to let the group stay, but only if they forage for their own food. In the meantime, a blazing fire is working its way up the south end of London, straight to the museum. The boys know they need to leave the only safe place they have found in weeks, but they are reluctant to do it, until they find the fire and a swarm of adults rushing towards them. Now it is a race against time, an inferno, and flesh eating zombies to get across the river. Can they make it?
This was an awesome prequel. Even though the first book did a good job with explanation, this book clears up some confusion, especially about the state of the virus and what it does to people. There are some chapters where the zombies are actually thinking/talking/planning, and you get to see how the virus affects them and creates the flesh eating monsters. It made the clear distinction clear between a traditional zombie and the virus that changed these people. While the story had the chance to be very bloody and gory, it really isn't. Of course their is violence, but it is tame compared to what it could have been.
Instead the focus of the book is primarily on character development. You see certain types of kids, like the dumb (but sweet and heroic) jock, the nerd, the brain they nickname Wiki, the natural leaders, and the power hungry bullies. The stereotypes are certainly there, but the characters don't really fit into these preordained molds. They tend to surprise you time and time again, giving real life to the kids in the book. This book, like the first, had a certain Lord of the Flies quality to it that is hard to miss. The language is very tame, but the content can be a little serious in terms of death and violence. I would say this book is good for most middle school through high school students. It might not be for the more delicate souls, but a feisty kid who needs a thrill-filled book would love this one! I think you can understand the story in either order, since this is a prequel, so don't be afraid to try this one even if you haven't read The Enemy. And remember... don't let the zombies bite!
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!
