Nothing Stops the Pandemic

Are any of us prepared for a true pandemic? If a plague hit us, how would we survive it? Those are the questions you are going to ask yourself and are going to keep you up at night as you read Yvonne Vontresca's Pandemic. 

No one knows what happened to Lil except her parents and her two friends. Well, the one who believed her is still her friend. The other? Let's just say she didn't believe Lil's big secret. Since everything happened, Liz has broken up with her boyfriend, doesn't go out, and certainly doesn't want her parents to see her grades. She has also started slipping into "Prepper" habits. With her father working for Disease Control, it isn't hard to imagine what could happen to everyone if there was any kind of pandemic. She hides her supplies in a closet, and doesn't tell anyone about her disaster monitoring, but her mom finds out anyway. While her father is less disturbed by the behavior than her mother, it is clear they are both worried about what has happened to Lil. 

When Lil sees a strange flu that is hitting south of their NJ home, she decides to keep an eye on it. Her mother is heading out of town, which means she doesn't have to keep such a careful check on her concerns, but when her father is called to a conference that is focusing on the disease, she becomes concerned. He tries to soothe her worries, but at the same time, they both know the flu seems to be spreading, and its deadly. When her father gets quarantined at his hotel, it is clear the pandemic isn't a figment of Lil's imagination. Now she is alone, she is terrified of the flu that has hit her home state, and out there is the man who changed her life not too long ago. 

There are two stories in this book: the pandemic, and Lil's big secret. They are both interesting, both are handled well, but it still seemed weird to me to have both in the same book. Not sure why, it just didn't seem like they belonged together in the same story. Still, both were very interesting, so I got over my weirdness and just enjoyed the story. I like disaster/pandemic stories, so this was right up my alley. As disaster stories go, this is a fairly tame one, so feel free to use this story for your middle school through high school students. As for the big secret? It isn't graphic, and it is rarely dealt with once the pandemic starts, so it shouldn't be too distracting. 

As for Lil? I actually really, really liked her. She was quirky, and I loved the little prepper in her, but when push came to shove and she should have been locking her windows and doors and pretending she wasn't around, instead, her worry for her friends and neighbors overcame her need to stay safe and control her surroundings. It was a good display of how we can overcome our own demons in the wake of a tragedy, and I really enjoyed watching her transformation. Like all disaster books, there are obvious losses, and it was sad watching Lil deal with them, but she is a tough girl. This was a great first novel, and I am interested to see what Vontresca does next!

In the World We make

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!

So Many Lives Lost

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. 

No Safety in Malls

As a person who hates malls with every ounce of her being, I can honestly say the idea of being trapped in a mall with tons of other people and no way out might be my idea of the seventh layer of hell! Now add a possible biochemical weapon, and I am terrified by Dayna Lorentz's No Safety in Numbers!


As Marco was running for his life in the mall parking garage from the beefy jerk from school, he had no idea his hiding spot was also the hiding spot of something a lot more sinister. A bomb. Lexi's mom, The Senator, thought a family outing was going to make up for all the time she has to work, but she couldn't have predicted how wrong she would be as the mall had to be quarantined. Now tons of people are locked down in the mall with no idea what is happening.


At first it seems like a slight inconvenience for most, and maybe even a fun sleepover for others, but the novelty of being held captive in a mall wears off quickly. The bathrooms quickly become filthy, food starts to run out, and riots break out when people realize just how trapped they really are. When people start getting sick and the government agencies require everyone to submit to a blood test, people begin to realize there is something even scarier than being trapped in a mall- being trapped in a mall with a deadly virus rampaging through its halls.


This was an interesting story and one a lot of kids would not be able to stop thinking about. The mall is a place of fun, a haven for kids to shop and goof around and just be kids. So when it becomes a nightmare, it makes everyone reevaluate their previous beliefs. The story also does a good job of showing the progression of such a situation. People aren't panicked at first. They are bored and making the best of the situation. But when things go south, they really get ugly. Looting, violence, and every other manner of human nature when people are scared and determined. 


Although the story was good, it had some huge holes. First, I can't imagine it would take people 6 whole days to panic. I think a day, maybe two, and everything would just implode. People don't just accept a quarantine, and especially not when there is the threat of a deadly virus. I know FEMA and the other government agencies would be relatively good about locking things down, but no force could control tat many scared people. And why didn't anyone question the store that was taken over as a command center until the very end? And why did the credit card machines still work when the phones and internet lines were taken down? There were definitely some holes in the story, but it was still entertaining, which is all you can really ask for.  It would be appropriate for any manner of student and has an average reading level. But be forewarned, it is apparently a trilogy, so there is no resolution at ALL at the end of the book.

A Plague Will Bring Them Together

Just thinking about what could go horribly wrong in the world will make you crazy, so why would someone want to read (so many) books about the apocalypse, you might ask? Well, because they always have an underlying positive message (well, except The Road, of course). The world may have ended, but somewhere out there is a community, a new life, a new start. The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch is a story about a boy who had nothing to lose, until he almost lost everything.

Stephen and his father just buried Stephen's grandfather, but they aren't sad. In fact, they feel relieved to have lost the burden of his grandfather's cynical, dog-eat-dog mentality. Not even 24 hours after his death, they are caught in a situation where they could either walk away and save themselves or help a person in need. They know Grandfather would make them walk away, but he isn't there anymore. Unfortunately, the very first time they take a chance to help someone, it goes horribly awry and Stephen's father is seriously hurt. With a number of broken bones and sunken into a coma, Stephen has no idea what to do, until some people stumble upon them.

At first Stephen thinks they might be the slavers returned for revenge, but after a few wide shots and a crack to the head, Stephen wakes up and finds friendly people- something he didn't think existed anymore in the world after wars, plagues, starvation, and pollution made it only a shell of what it used to be. So when he is taken to their village and they treat his father with precious medicines- a stranger they didn't even know- Stephen feels wildly out of place. He doesn't know how to react to such kind people. In the village is another person who bucks the idea of community- Jenny, the lone Chinese girl a family took in years ago. As the Chinese were responsible for releasing the Eleventh Plague which decimated the population, it is no wonder why Jenny seems to be constantly at war with the idea of a community that expects her to act and react a certain way. When Jenny and Stephen band together to seek innocent revenge on a bully, they release a band of aggression that will show the true and sometimes evil nature of human beings. What they don't realize until it's too late is that their harmless pranks could risk the lives of the only people who have ever cared about them- the people of Settler's Landing.

This was a short read, but it wasn't a disappointing one. I read a lot of post-apocalyptic and dystopia stories, as well as a lot of young adult stories (with plenty of crossover), and I was very impressed with this story. It dealt with many of the common PA themes of survival and community while still appealing to the younger crowd. Stephens character is a boy forced to grow up quickly in order to survive who is both terrified to be alone and terrified to belong to and be responsible to a community. When he sees the kids playing baseball and going to school, he can't help but yearn for a life where things were simpler and life or death wasn't a daily concern. This perspective might be nice for kids who trudge to high school begrudgingly and complain about every single homework assignment.

The story is appropriate for a wide range of students from lower middle school through high school students. In particular, it would be good for low-skilled high school students who need an easier book to read but want mature subjects. The subject matter is deep, but still appropriate for younger students. This book would also be good for any post-apocalyptic fans who also like YA! The world might have ended, but the people who survived have a good story to tell!