Harmony in a Harsh New World

When the world changes drastically, one expects hardship and struggle. While this book is certainly not without hardship and struggle, its focus is on family and making do in hard times. Not to mention the main character plays a fiddle! I love fiddles! If I had even a smidge of musical talent, I might even want to learn to play a fiddle!

Molly McClure is only 16, but she is the only logical choice to pilgrimage from Canada to California in order to find her grandparents. Molly's parents received word that her grandmother was in the hospital after a stroke, but the communications systems are so bad, they were never able to find out if she survived. Molly's mother is also pregnant, but when the only doctor in many miles is killed, her complicated pregnancy desperately needs a doctor, and Molly's grandfather is a doctor. So Molly must make the difficult, illegal journey across the border to find her grandfather, in whatever state he may be in.

After the long trip, Molly finds her grandparent's house and learns her grandmother indeed survived the stroke, but is not in the best of health. Her grandfather reluctantly lets her in the house, but his long-standing feud with Molly's mother keeps him from opening up to Molly too quickly. Molly expects to see her grandfather doing well, but quickly realizes any money he had before the Collapse is gone and he is barely scraping by. When she sees his neighbor's garden, strangled and full of weeds, she can't resist getting into it and taking care of the vegetables. Although the neighbor doesn't trust Molly at first, he quickly realizes she is just trying to help. Together with his niece and nephew who he reluctantly takes care of, they help the garden get back on its feet enough to keep them all from starving.

When Molly made the trek to her grandparent's house, she met a young man who seemed to know the lay of the land well. Now that she is desperately trying to find a way to get her grandparents home, she must take advantage of Spill's knowledge, even when she realizes he is dangerously connected to The Boss and the organized crime family that controls the area. Can Spill help them get away when The Boss wants Molly to stay put? Can they get back to Canafa before Molly's mom has the baby?

Among some serious doom and gloom in the post-apocalyptic genre, this is the nicest, most beautiful story. The backdrop of the Collapse is not overwhelming. the story focuses on a family, whether by blood or circumstance, that come together to survive against all odds. Molly, the main character, is so nice and caring. When she plays her fiddles, Jewels, she not only makes herself forget all the hardship around her, she makes others forget as well. She is also the type of person who refuses to accept the "Every man for himself" notion. Molly is the type of person who will always do the right thing, even if it involves hard work and tough decisions. When it becomes clear her neighbor Doug is not fit to take care of his niece and nephew, she doesn't hesitate to take them in and be sure they are fed and housed. Molly is the type of person we all hope we could be!

The reading level is moderate without any adult or mature language. The situations aren't overly mature, and would be well-suited to a middle school or junior high student. There is enough action to keep a student's attention, but the real story is the characters and their lives. They are good people who are just trying to live in a hard world, and you find yourself hoping for the best for all of them. You won't be disappointed with this story!

The Wells Have Run Dry

We really have no idea how much we rely on fossil fuels in this world. When I think of a gas shortage, I think of having to cut down on driving, but really had never thought of just how many products are petroleum based, from toothpaste to ball point pens. Our reliance on fossil fuels is terrifying, and Empty by Suzanne Weyn shows just how quickly everything can fall apart.

Sage Valley is your average town full of middle class folks who work hard every day and live their lives as though nothing in the world will ever drastically change. When a global-wide oil shortage begins, however, they are in for a rude awakening. Suddenly kids are biking to school. Sports teams stop because they can't drive to the opposing schools. Gas costs $40, $60, then $90 dollars per gallon. People can't heat their homes. Medicines are in short supply. Food deliveries stop. Very quickly, people start to get desperate.

Tom is your average second-string football player who only worries about his crush, head cheerleader Nicki. When the gas shortage begins, his biggest concern is not being able to drive her home. Nicki's biggest concern is having to wear her glasses because there haven't been any deliveries of her contacts to the pharmacy in a long time. Gwen has gone from the outcast to the only kid who has a warm house thanks to her brother's black market dealings. As if the gas shortage wasn't the worst problem, the climate change is finally about to get the better of them. Two enormous hurricanes from the gulf coast and the East Coast merge and make their way up the East to practically destroy everything in their "superhurricane" path. Disaster relief is virtually nonexistent in the current times, and Sage Valley is left to survive by its own devices.

This is not only a story of how everything falls apart (although that is certainly in the foreground). It is also a story of how tragedy brings people together. How people in dire circumstances can become selfless. Heroes even. It is also a story of how things need to change if we are to survive. Towards the end of the story, the kids find a "Green" house that was built to be self-sustainable with low amounts of electricity, food production, and heat. Are we prepared for what is going to happen when the non-renewable resources we gobble up are gone?

In the deluge of apocalyptic books these days, this is a fairly good one, especially for adolescents. It directly deals with their lives and can be an eye-opener for just how drastically their worlds can change. Sometimes it is hard for kids to understand how things truly affect them, like wars, natural disasters, etc., until they are in their backyards. This book puts the disaster in the worlds of these kids. It is also a fairly short, low-skilled book that would be perfect for younger or low-skilled students. The plus is that it isn't nearly as depressing as some of the stuff out there. Sure everything changes, but that doesn't mean it needs to be the end of the world! We can still find ways to survive, even in circumstances we never thought we would face!