If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

This novel reminded me of Homecoming by Voigt, Pictures of Hollis Woods by Giff and half dozen stories about young people abandoned or stolen by mentally unstable folks.  Carey has been told for some 10 years that she was taken to the trailer with no running water, no heat, no electricity because her father abused her.  She didn't know any other story so she believed it must be true.  But, mom had a string of scarey men visiting her, mom left her and later her little sister too alone for weeks at a time.  So a man she doesn't know and a woman called a social worker show up at the trailer in the deep woods of Tennessee.  They show her a letter from mom to the social worker saying she cannot take care of the girls and please go take care of them.  Carey and little sister Jessica suddenly find themselves experiencing things Carey can't remember and Jessica has never experienced, things like electricity, bubble baths, pajamas and more.  Jessica has selective mutism.  Jessica seems to be nobody's child except Carey's.  On that basis she stays with the family with whom the girls are placed and cared for and adjusts quite well.  Carey is narrating the story.  She has secrets she both needs to tell and needs to keep.  Slowly over time, her and Jessica's story of horrific deprivation, abuse and more come out.  There is a three legged dog that takes to Jessica and Carey and helps to ease their transition that is quite important to the story.  I want folks to know since it also takes some of the horror for the reader who likes pets.  I've always taken to "rescuing kids from bad situations" stories quickly and this one is no exception.  Recommend.

Fugitive X - Gregg Rosenblum

Nick, Kevin, and Cass have escaped a City where they tried to rescue their biological parents.  They head into the woods where they are barely surviving.  As Kevin goes in search of water he encounters bots and is captured. Cass and Nick hear his cry for help and try and find him.  Cass is severely injured, and the only way for her to survive is to be taken by the bots.  After Cass is taken Nick continues searching for Kevin.  Nick encounters Erica in the woods and she agrees to help him look for Kevin.  On an island sanctuary run by The Governor, Kevin is interrogated and then joins in the workforce of the island.  Nick and Erica find the Freepost where they got word of two brothers and a sister would be coming.  Cass has been healed, re-educated, and will be placed with her biological parents and her sister.  The bots attack and the Freepost is destroyed.  Nick and Erica continue through the woods till they encounter rebels and join them to fight the bots.  Back on the island Kevin is first put on wall duty to help construct the wall around the island.  When he shows his engineering background The Governor puts him to work on fixing things.  Back in the rebel camp Nick and Erica are washing dishes when Nick hears about half the camp heading north to get refugees.  Nick insists on going hoping Kevin might be among them.  When they encounter the refugees Lexi and Farryn recognize Nick and ask where Kevin and Cass are.  In the city Cass is taken away from her parents and younger sister by order of the Senior Advisor.  She is left outside the city in the woods, and told to wait until she is collected.  On the island Kevin feels something isn't right there and makes an unscheduled visit to The Governor.  The Governor reveals he is Dr. Winston, the creator of the robots who rebelled against the humans.  Back in the rebel camp Nick, Erica, Lexi, and Farryn escape to search for Cass after seeing a bot vid that was broadcast earlier in the day.  They find Cass in the woods, but she has no clue who they are.  Back on the island Kevin tries to escape but is unsuccessful.  The Governor is not happy with Kevin, but he will let the escape attempt slide for now.  With Cass and Nick somewhat reunited will they be able to find Kevin, and rescue their parents while trying to survive against the bots?

The sequel to Revolution 19 was a good continuation of the story.  I liked how each chapter was focused on either Nick, Kevin, or Cass after they got separated in the woods.  I also liked how Rosenblum brought everything together in the end.  There is still that air of mystery surrounding the Senior Advisor and it's hand in all of this.  This is book two of the trilogy and I'll be waiting for the third book to come out to see how the story ends.

T.B. 2/5/14

In The After - Demitria Lunetta

One day They come.  All it takes is one night and most of humanity is wiped out.  Amy has come to acknowledge the fact that her parents are gone.  She has survived mainly because her mom, who worked for the government, had an electrical fence put around the house.  This has kept Them at bay.  They have good hearing and any sound brings them running.  Amy walks around barefoot or with socks as not to make any noise.  She has gotten food by raiding houses around her and making trips down the block to the convenience store.  On one of these trips she comes across a toddler left behind in the store.  Amy takes her back home and calls her Baby.  For three years it is just Amy and Baby.  Amy teaches Baby sign language and this is how they communicate to not make any noise.  Amy also teaches Baby how to be quiet when they go looking for food.  On a trip to gather food and clothing they come across Amber, who has been left behind by her brother and his gang.  Amber comes home with Amy and Baby.  Amber stays with them and Amy teaches her how she and Baby communicate and to be quite so They don't come.  On one of their trips to a neighbors house to get clothes Amber finds a Prada bag in a closet.  She squeals and that brings Them to the house.  They think they are done for when a black helicopter comes and captures one of Them.  Amy, Baby, and Amber are able to escape and make it back home.  Amy tells Baby that Amber has to go, but Baby doesn't want her to.  The next morning Amber is gone.  Shortly after Amber leaves a group of men come looking at the electrical fence outside the house.  When Amy suspects they are connected to Amber she tells Baby to get things ready in case they have to go.  When the fence goes down Amber and Baby run away.  They make it to a nearby lake and as they are bathing the black helicopter comes and takes them away.  They are taken to a government facility, which used to be a college.  It is run by Amy's mom, who she thought was dead.  Amy finds it a bit hard to live with other people when it's just been her and Baby for the last three years.  She starts poking around and finds out the truth behind the They.  She is put in The Ward and is given drugs to make her forget what she knows. 

I really liked this book.  It is a good story about doing what you need to do to survive, especially when the enemy can hear really well.  I liked how Amy was resistant and kept on trying to get information about what goes on in the building.  She knew something wasn't right and her mom was hiding things from her.  I liked the way the book ended.  Even though most of the human race was killed, what remains of humanity still fights and lives on. 

T.B. 9/27/13

Columbine by Dave Cullen

This book is about the Columbine school shooting in 1999. This book is a well-rounded account of what happened at the school, the shooters, victims, and investigation.

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold brought guns and bombs to their high school and killed thirteen people and injured multiple others. They had an elaborate plan to outdo the disasters of Waco, Texas and Oklahoma City, but many of the plans fizzled out due to technical errors. While the death toll wasn't as high as they hoped, the lives they changed were numerous. Many of the injured faced struggles to recover and the families of the victims would never be the same, nor would the parents of the killers. With the killers dead, the investigation should have been open and shut, but larger questions loomed, like what led the boys to this point? As the truth about the boys and their evolution emerged, people couldn't help but wonder if this could have been prevented. This novel addresses how the boys got to April 20th, as well as the victims' struggles to move on and get their answers they need.

The attack on Columbine is one of those moments in history that affected the nation. It seemed to be one of the first major attacks on a school, and while there have been many afterwards and even bigger ones, such as Virginia Tech in 2007, Columbine has made a lasting effect on history. I work in a school, and you can see how the events in 1999 set forth a reform to classroom procedure. Reading this novel, there didn't seem to be any kind of procedure for teachers and students. Now, though, on top of tornado and fire drill, schools practice lockdowns. It even changed the way police handle these types of situations.

I felt as though this book did an excellent job recreating the event without glorifying the killers. While I read this book, the  account of what happened on April 20th sent chills up my body to realize the horrors that people went through and the coldness of the killers. In general, I found this book fascinating, especially to realize all of the warning signs, particularly from Eric, and how maybe it all could have been prevented. As chilling as it was to read about the killers' downward spiral, it was encouraging to see the victims rebuild their lives and yet heartbreaking to see many struggling.

Non-fiction is not my genre of choice, but this book held my attention and even had me looking online for more information. While this book does not serve create a profile for teen shooters, this book is eye-opening and worth the read.
MMK

If We Survive - Andrew Klavan

It began as a mission trip to a town in Costa Verdes, but ends in a revolution.  Pastor Ron, Nicki, Jim, Meredith, and Will were getting ready to leave after helping rebuild a wall for the school in town.  As they are waiting for Palmer, their driver, Mendoza, a mercenary, comes in and shoots the owner of the cantina dead.  Mendoza says he was an enemy of progress.  On the TV there are scenes being shown from all over the country of revolutionaries rebelling against the capitol and government.  Mendoza has orders to take all Americans prisoner for suspicion of being spies.  All of them are taken to a prison in town.  Pastor Ron is taken from them and dragged down the alley and shot to death.  The order is given to execute all of them.  Palmer had given the revolutionaries the slip to go get his van to escape.  Palmer rescues them and they head to the airstrip.  Once they get there they discover that the revolutionaries have destroyed all of the planes to prevent anyone from leaving the country. They escape into the jungle and everyone thinks they are going to die there.  They encounter an old Indian tribe that lives there.  The tribe helps them out of the jungle and they all head to the village.  Palmer, Nicki, Jim, Meredith, and Will leave the next day and get to the airfield.  Once there they are captured again by Mendoza's men.  Will they be able to escape back to America, or will their lives be cut short because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

I enjoyed this book just as much as Klavan's Homelanders series.  It had the same pace of action and adventure, and it kept you guessing about who really wanted to help Nicki, Jim, Meredith, and Will escape and get back to the United States.  I also recommend Klavan's Homelanders series.

T.B.
12/26/12

The Kill Order - James Dashner

Before the maze and before WICKED there was the flares.  The sun has scorched the earth leaving people either dead or infected with madness.  Those who are infected will eventually die.  Some have survived the madness, but one day the bergs come.  The people on the bergs shoot darts with a virus that will kill the remaining people.  Many people die with in a day or two of being shot by the darts.  Mark, Alec, Trina, Lana, and a few other people make it out of their village alive.  Mark and Alec take down a berg, and via a pad they find out where the bergs are coming from.  They decide to make their way to the berg home base.  They come across another village where in the middle of all the corpses is a little girl, who appears to be immune to the virus.  As they make camp in the forest, Mark and Alec scout ahead and come into contact with a group of survivors from the little girl's village.  They are captured when their fate is about to be decided more darts fly through the air killing most of group.  There is also a forest fire, which forces Trina, Lana, and the little girl to flee.  Mark and Alec track them to the berg command center, fearing that they have been captured.  They get trapped on a berg where they discover what the Post-Flares Coalition has in store for the rest of the human population. 

I'm glad James Dashner did a prequel to the Maze Runner series.  There were a few questions going through my head when I was reading Maze Runner and the other two books.  The Kill Order gives you insight into what the world was like before WICKED formed, and before Thomas when into the maze.  It also introduces us to the virus that would become the Flare.  If you are a fan of the Maze Runner series this is a must read. 

T.B. 10/9/12

Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari

Probably, I am just weary of dystopic and apocalyptic novels for teens, so I was not especially thrilled with this one. Bird flu has evolved into an especially virulent form and is still evolving, still raging at books end. Most of the people in the world have perished in this epidemic. Young children, teens, a few elderly people and rare badly scared survivors are all that remain alive. There have been catastrophic earthquakes, floods, tsunami's as well. And, there are the sweepers who gather up the sick, dying, dead and tend to them. But, recently they have been carting off apparently still healthy individuals using mean dogs to hunt them down. Lucy has been surviving on her own since her family died. Aidan discovers her and asks her to join his small community of survivors, which she does when yet another tsunami wipes out the area in which she lived. Sweepers come and kidnap some in the community. A couple escape this time, something that suspiciously has never happened before. One of the escapees persuades Lucy, Aidan and some of the others to go on a rescue mission to bring back others who were stolen. Its a trap to get Lucy who has some sort of special immunity to the flu and who doctors want to study. The place they are held in resembles more of a prison than a research hospital, they are drugged and locked in. With the help of the one who set them up, now repentant, and an apparently friendly former school nurse Lucy, Aidan and the others escape. The doctor in charge is perhaps mad or crazy. An so the life of barely surviving goes on. I assume there will be more books in the future. I suspect Lucy will by rather like an Eve figure. She undoubtedly has whatever it takes to survive even the evolving flu and start a family which could help repopulate the world.
jdw 12/30/11

Dust and Decay - Jonathan Maberry

After the events in Rot and Ruin Tom Imura has been training his younger brother Benny, Nix Riley, Lilah a.k.a the Lost Girl, Chong, and Morgie how to fight and quiet the zombies that live out in the Rot and Ruin. Morgie is the only one who doesn't go with as they leave town to follow a plane Benny and Nix saw flying over the Rot and Ruin. As they venture out from the town they run into bounty hunters who are working for White Bear. They find out that there is a price on their heads, and they are worth more alive than dead. After an attack by a white rhinoceros they come upon Brother David's place, with no Brother David. Chong thinks that the attack is his fault and runs away. Tom decides to go looking for him leaving Lilah, Benny, and Nix at Brother David's. Later that night a zombie attack on Brother David's place forces Lilah to separate from Benny and Nix. Eventually everyone makes their way to the Wawona Hotel, either by being captured by White Bear, or making it on their own. The hotel has been turned into the new Gameland. Gameland is run by White Bear and Preacher Jack, and it is where kids are put in pits with zombies and people bet on who will survive. The battle for the Rot and Ruin begins and ends at the Wawonda Hotel. Will our heroes survive the battle, or will White Bear and Preacher Jack continue to control the Rot and Ruin?

I absolutely loved this book. I like how Jonathan Maberry didn't just make it about people fighting zombies, he made it about what it means to survive when 90% of the world are zombies. He has created characters that you care about, and ones that you can't help but hate. You can place yourself inside the mind of any character, and feel like you are actually there with them. I hope he writes a third book or even a fourth book, because to me the story isn't done yet. Rot and Ruin along with Dust and Decay are two of the best zombie books I have read, and I highly recommend them.

T.B. 9/21/11