Booklist Reviews
A diverse group of teens incarcerated at the Hope Juvenile Treatment Center in rural Arkansas is abandoned when the U.S. goes into lockdown after an outbreak of the plague. This intensely realistic, high-stakes story of survival is told from the alternating viewpoints of Logan, a nonverbal girl whose beloved sister becomes infected; Emerson, a self-described "good Catholic girl" rejected by their family and church after coming out as nonbinary; and Grace, the group's reluctant leader. Each teen steps up to help their small community endure: one starts a garden, another treats the sick, another digs the graves. After internet and telephone connections break down, they approach a nearby town for information and supplies with tragic results. While this reads like a dystopian novel, it actually depicts our own present if it were in the grips of an even more devastating viral pandemic. Though held back by limited character development, the cliff-hanger chapter endings and themes of social justice still offer wide appeal: Whose life is valuable and whose life can be discarded? Who has the right to judge? Grades 8-11. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
The young adults who inhabit private company–run Hope Juvenile Treatment Center in rural Arkansas lead highly structured, strictly supervised lives, so it comes as a shock when they wake one morning to discover the doors unlocked and the brutal staff gone. A group heads on foot for the nearest town but finds the road blocked by armed soldiers, who order their retreat: the state is on lockdown thanks to an extremely contagious, frequently fatal respiratory illness. After an incident when a boy rushes the barricade, his companions return to Hope and update the others. Eight opt to escape and brave the wilderness; the remaining 22 stay put, divvying up chores and rationing supplies. They assume someone will come for them, but as time passes, provisions dwindle and the disease spreads, triggering desperation and discord. Three white teens narrate, including one nonbinary character and one neurodivergent twin who communicates via a personal sign language; the supporting cast is ethnically diverse. Palpable fear and paranoia contribute to breathless pacing, while Nijkamp (
School Library Journal Reviews