Release date: July 10, 2012
Publisher: Egmont USA
Series: Quarantine #1
Author: Lex Thomas
Thank you to Net Galley and Egmont for providing this galley for review.
 It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning. A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent gangs have formed based on high school social cliques. Without a gang, you’re as good as dead. And David has no gang. It’s just him and his little brother, Will, against the whole school. In this frighteningly dark and captivating novel, Lex Thomas locks readers inside a school where kids don’t fight to be popular, they fight to stay alive. |
This book sucked me right in and I was shocked that it did it so quickly!
Right from the beginning, the action starts and it doesn't stop until the very last page. It was intense!
The characters are likable, but I didn't get attached to any one. Will, however, is annoying and I wanted to punch him. Many times. ;)
The gangs are very cool. As I read I found myself wondering where I would have fit in high school.
The story is seriously amazing. It's like nothing I've ever read before.
It's kind of a mix of The Breakfast Club meets Lord of the Flies. And it's dark. I mean DARK. Violent and bloody and terrifying.
Again I found myself wondering...how possible is it that events would unfold the way they do in the book if something like this were to happen in real life?
Sadly, I think the book comes pretty close to nailing it.
This is NOT a book for younger teens. I'd really only recommend this book for more mature 16+...especially boys. MATURE boys who can handle gore and bloody fights without wanting to reenact them with their friends. ;)
This would definitely make for some great conversation with your boys (and girls! I'm not forgetting them!) if you were to read it together.
How would teens today adapt if they were left on their own, trapped in a large group in a relativity small area? How would they survive?
I'd love to hear what your teens say if they read it!
Comments are always welcome!
Breakfast Club meets Lord of the Flies. Whoa! Interesting.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting book!
ReplyDeleteMy son, who is almost 15 and home schooled, read a series this year kind of similar in idea. The first book was The Enemy and the author was (I believe)Charlie Higson. He loved the idea of the children fending for themselves against the zombies (the adults). But the kids in the book separated into groups, or gangs, and fought each other. The first book to come to my mind as comparative was Lord of the Flies, as well. My 23 year old daughter read these books with him and enjoyed them, too. This book sounds right up their alley. YA Horror.
ReplyDeleteWow, The Enemy series sound good! Thanks! It's now on my TBR list! :D
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