Think your life is difficult? Try imagining how it would be growing up as a foster child. Diffenbaugh’s depiction of the foster care system and how her lead character discovers what she truly wants in life will grab hold of you in a way you might not expect. No matter what age, foster children need good respectable homes.
She’s blonde, I’m blonde. Sookie likes to improve her vocabulary and I do too. Sookie struggles to pay for things and wants more from life, as do I. I also want a vampire boyfriend. Sookie and me, me and Sookie. Except I’ve never been to Louisiana.
Josh is fifteen, lives in the small town of Prosser, Washington State with his dad, mom and elderly dog. He’s got a girlfriend, friends and it’s normal for his mom to be out of town on business. A big black sphere appearing above his neighbor’s house that shoots a beam that makes anyone it comes in contact with disappear is not normal. Alone with his dad and dog, Josh’s sixteenth birthday passes without notice as food runs out, electricity shuts off, and water becomes a limited resource. His house is a prison and the guards outside show no signs of leaving.
Megs is twelve, stuck in a parking lot of a Los Angels, California. Left waiting in the car as her mother ventures out for a ‘job interview’ Megs witnesses mass chaos of people fleeing their cars only to disappear by a beam of light as they try to escape outside. Her mother won’t be returning. As Megs makes her home among the dead and abandoned cars she hides from the ruthless male leaders that have taken over the adjoining hotel. Resourceful and cunning, Megs learns that there are others that need her help. The world may be ending but her humanity hasn’t given up.
I read POD in a single day. Spread out over a couple of hours I couldn’t put the book down. The alternating chapters between the characters really kept me interested. Coming from Washington State myself it was a joy to learn about smaller towns that I didn’t know existed. Simple and thrilling Wallenfels knows how to get readers to keep reading. I’d rate this book for older teen readers, because there is some sadness and unfair events that take place. Wallenfels doesn’t skimp on showing the cruelty that humanity endures and creates.
The only problems I had was honestly with the language, as I read a UK edition it came off not genuine that characters from my State said ‘pavement’ ‘boot’ and ‘car park’. It’s a little thing but it causes the prose to come off fake. This is a book written with settings in the USA, we don’t say those words and that’s why I couldn’t give the book five stars. There are also a few aspects that are a bit cliché, reminiscent of World of the Worlds and even The Walking Dead when concerning men who think they deserve all the power. Regardless, the strength of Megs is astounding and even though Josh is a bit of a wiry teen he shows growth that made me glad I picked up the book in the first place. I wish Wallenfels would write another book about what happens after the end of this one. No one ever writes about the aftermath.
King is a brilliant writer and not just in horror fiction. Writing is more than just creating stories. It’s about communicating and King is well, a king of doing just that. Anyone that loves to read or write should give this piece of Stephen King a chance.
I’ve had people on me to read this book for years. Have I? Not yet. My flatmate has even let me borrow his copy and still it sits on my nightstand. I’ve tried to read a chapter but I’ve always found myself wanting to read other things instead of this. I know I’ll get to it eventually.
Mary lives in a village where The Sisterhood rule and The Guardians keep everyone safe. Love is not encouraged, but commitment is what will keep their population alive. Mary dreams of visiting the mythical place called ‘the Ocean’ from her mother’s stories, but she’s never left the safety of village. It’s been decades since The Return, yet the Unconsecrated never stop in trying to breach the metal fence that protects the town from the unknown within the Forest.
As a childhood crush turns to love, the rules of marriage complicate Mary’s entire future. When an Outsider enters the town from the path that must never be entered, Mary sets her focus on reaching the ocean. Defying everything she knows, Mary refuses to give up on love and wondering what’s beyond the Forest. A breach in safety forces her to flee her home and explore what’s forbidden, but the Unconsecrated are relentless on the other side of the fence.
A YA book with zombies?? Let me just say that I’m absolutely terrified of zombies. When the Seattle Public Library wrote about this title in one of their newsletters, I knew regardless of my fear that I had to give this book a shot. I LOVED it. I finished it in four days. What I liked most is how the zombies are integrated as normal life in the book. Mary has never known a world without them, which brings a dangerous sense of desensitising about this evil that can’t be defeated. I loved that the book is set way after the zombie apocalypse, here’s an attempt of continuing after such a disaster, an attempt where no one remembers what the world was like before it ended.
My first five stars for 2012, and I am so happy to find such an amazing first in a series. For the first time as I was reading, I wanted to shout out loud, it was like reading a horror movie. I didn’t want to read the book because it scared but I had to know what happened. Just as heartbreaking as The Hunger Games, this is my newest obsession. Like Collins series, the reader is aware that many of the characters are not going to survive, but that doesn’t stop you from wishing there was some other way. Carrie Ryan is absolutely brilliant. Mary still feels like a modern girl despite growing up in surroundings that have regressed to the dark ages.
I had to break down and buy the second book. My library borough doesn’t have any of the series (grrrrr). This alone should tell you how much I love these books. (For those that don’t know, I work part-time, making buying books difficult) I can’t wait for the second to arrive and thankfully the third was published in 2011. Ladies and gentlemen, these are your spooky books for October!
Through a Seattle Looking Glass 