★ 08/16/2021
The mechanics of coping bloom into much more in this deeply humanizing near-future survival thriller from Carson (The Empire of Dreams ). White Columbus, Ohio, basketball player Paige Miller, 17, barely remembers getting sick. But when she wakes up emaciated from a six-day flu, she finds a grim scene: carrion birds, power outages, and her family dead in a world gone silent—except for one radio signal out of Sandusky. Forced onto the road with her adopted dog to find signs of life, she joins a Black premed hopeful and collegiate quarterback as well as a pale-skinned, hypervigilant asexual street artist against an increasingly alien threat: eyeless, glowing creatures with a quicksilver flying craft. As her ragged team follows the radio broadcast across Ohio, they discover a desperate attempt to survive the impending invasion—and a slim chance to fight back. Carson tempers a grim, death-laced future with pragmatism, an athlete’s awareness of bodily limits, and an uplifting belief in people’s capacity for good. Fans of Megan Crewe and Susan Beth Pfeffer will relish this timely update to classic postapocalyptic YA. Ages 13–up. Agent: Holly Root, Waxman Leavell. (Oct.)
Any Sign of Life is a heartbreaking story filled with courage, friendship, and personality. Paige Miller is the perfect team-up buddy in an apocalypse. I was with her when she lost everything, and stood right next to her when she took it all back.” — Wesley Chu, #1 New York Times– bestselling author of the War Arts Saga
"The mechanics of coping bloom into much more in this deeply humanizing near-future survival thriller . . . Basketball player Paige Miller, 17, barely remembers getting sick. But when she wakes up emaciated from a six-day flu, she finds a grim scene: carrion birds, power outages, and her family dead in a world gone silent . . . Carson tempers a grim, death-laced future with pragmatism, an athlete’s awareness of bodily limits, and an uplifting belief in people’s capacity for good. Fans of Megan Crewe and Susan Beth Pfeffer will relish this timely update to classic postapocalyptic YA.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“High school senior and WNBA hopeful Paige wakes up from a coma to find herself the only living person in her Columbus, Ohio, neighborhood. . . . [A] smart, suspenseful thriller. . . . Paige’s tenacity is appealing, and her relatable first-person narration shines when observing tiny details of her surroundings and matter-of-factly processing topics like privilege, menstruation, and reproductive rights. . . . Totally un-put-down-able.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Carson steeps her writing in the physicality of bodies and societies breaking down . . . [Any Sign of Life ] mines the very real fears seeded by COVID for tension . . . [and] it’s almost a relief, then, when the plot takes a marked turn into science fiction and focuses on the adrenaline rush of surviving a direct violent attack and not an insidious pathogen. While the immediate threat is eventually vanquished, there’s no guarantee of long-term safety, a disquieting situation readers may recognize.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"As soon as Paige Miller wakes with a pulsing headache and parched mouth, she knows something's wrong. . . . Eventually, Paige comes across other survivors, Trey and Tanq, and they follow a lead to Sandusky for answers. The truth, however, about why they survived, where the virus came from, and what the future holds may not be something they're ready for. Carson has created a terrifying postapocalyptic world marred by the scent of rotting flesh and a threatening new entity. . . . Stories such as this are sure to have readers thinking about their own purposes, impacts, and legacies.” — Booklist
“Ohio high school senior Paige wakes up from what she thought was just a bout of flu to discover that the sickness she has lived through seems to have killed off everyone else. . . . Carson delivers a solid end-of-the-world thriller full of vivid imagery and strong emotions. . . . Small details . . . and a clear sense of place bring the story to life. Identity issues are naturally incorporated into the narrative, showing that race and sexuality . . . still matter even as humanity is struggling to survive.” — Horn Book Magazine
“Carson has crafted an apocalypse so real it could happen tomorrow . . . With high stakes and a fast-paced survival plot line, sharp prose carries the novel . . . Vivid and well-crafted.” — School Library Journal
Any Sign of Life is a heartbreaking story filled with courage, friendship, and personality. Paige Miller is the perfect team-up buddy in an apocalypse. I was with her when she lost everything, and stood right next to her when she took it all back.
"As soon as Paige Miller wakes with a pulsing headache and parched mouth, she knows something's wrong. . . . Eventually, Paige comes across other survivors, Trey and Tanq, and they follow a lead to Sandusky for answers. The truth, however, about why they survived, where the virus came from, and what the future holds may not be something they're ready for. Carson has created a terrifying postapocalyptic world marred by the scent of rotting flesh and a threatening new entity. . . . Stories such as this are sure to have readers thinking about their own purposes, impacts, and legacies.
Carson steeps her writing in the physicality of bodies and societies breaking down . . . [Any Sign of Life ] mines the very real fears seeded by COVID for tension . . . [and] it’s almost a relief, then, when the plot takes a marked turn into science fiction and focuses on the adrenaline rush of surviving a direct violent attack and not an insidious pathogen. While the immediate threat is eventually vanquished, there’s no guarantee of long-term safety, a disquieting situation readers may recognize.”
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Ohio high school senior Paige wakes up from what she thought was just a bout of flu to discover that the sickness she has lived through seems to have killed off everyone else. . . . Carson delivers a solid end-of-the-world thriller full of vivid imagery and strong emotions. . . . Small details . . . and a clear sense of place bring the story to life. Identity issues are naturally incorporated into the narrative, showing that race and sexuality . . . still matter even as humanity is struggling to survive.
"As soon as Paige Miller wakes with a pulsing headache and parched mouth, she knows something's wrong. . . . Eventually, Paige comes across other survivors, Trey and Tanq, and they follow a lead to Sandusky for answers. The truth, however, about why they survived, where the virus came from, and what the future holds may not be something they're ready for. Carson has created a terrifying postapocalyptic world marred by the scent of rotting flesh and a threatening new entity. . . . Stories such as this are sure to have readers thinking about their own purposes, impacts, and legacies.
09/01/2021
Gr 8 Up— An apocalyptic first contact novel in the vein of The 5th Wave and The Walking Dead . Paige Miller goes to bed with flulike symptoms and wakes up six days later, the only one in her house still alive. One moment Paige's highest priorities are basketball and state titles, the next they're finding anyone still alive and getting some answers. Paige collects an eclectic and diverse group of survivors as she dodges drones and tries to figure out what happened. The flu that destroyed Earth was a biological weapon, and the enemy is alien. Carson has crafted an apocalypse so real it could happen tomorrow; references to COVID-19 and politics ground the story in a contemporary atmosphere without strictly dating the novel. With high stakes and a fast-paced survival plot line, sharp prose carries the novel when the characters feel distant and the revelations come too fast. The author attempts, with varying success, to work in issues of race and class. Paige is white, and the side characters include Black, Latinx, and asexual identities on the page. VERDICT Vivid and well-crafted, this pandemic-adjacent survival story may hit a little close too home this year. Carson's relentlessly action-packed dystopian is a secondary purchase.—Emmy Neal, Lake Forest Lib., IL
Narrator Amy Landon puts forth a strong performance in this near-future postapocalyptic story. Paige Miller, a 17-year-old basketball player, wakes up from a six-day flu to find her family and the world as she knew it destroyed. With her dog her only companion, Paige goes on the road to find anyone still alive. Landon keeps the suspense high and the story moving at a rapid pace, even during longer chapters, which are formatted like diary entries. She radiates Paige’s tenacity and gives the other characters distinct voices by skillfully varying her pitch. Despite the author’s unsuccessful treatment of racism and classism, the relentless action, thrills, and strong lead clearly set up this gripping title for a sequel. V.T.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
Narrator Amy Landon puts forth a strong performance in this near-future postapocalyptic story. Paige Miller, a 17-year-old basketball player, wakes up from a six-day flu to find her family and the world as she knew it destroyed. With her dog her only companion, Paige goes on the road to find anyone still alive. Landon keeps the suspense high and the story moving at a rapid pace, even during longer chapters, which are formatted like diary entries. She radiates Paige’s tenacity and gives the other characters distinct voices by skillfully varying her pitch. Despite the author’s unsuccessful treatment of racism and classism, the relentless action, thrills, and strong lead clearly set up this gripping title for a sequel. V.T.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
2021-08-16
What happens next is not for the faint of heart: Dead, decomposing bodies—beginning with Paige’s own family—litter the pages of this smart, suspenseful thriller. All Paige knows is that she went to bed with the flu one night and woke up six days later, severely dehydrated, to a changed world. She learns from a prerecorded radio broadcast that the flu that hit Columbus harder than usual became a national emergency, but as she works to regain her strength and gather supplies, she remembers the coronavirus pandemic of her childhood and realizes how improbable it is that people in multiple cities naturally caught the flu and died so quickly. She’s cautiously thrilled to find two other living teens: former high school football star Trey, a would-be pre-med student, and Tanq, an asexual teen girl who is an artist. Together they set out toward Lake Erie hoping to reach fellow survivors Manny and Wyatt—whose live radio broadcasts promise answers—before their unknown enemy finds them. Paige’s tenacity is appealing, and her relatable first-person narration shines when observing tiny details of her surroundings and matter-of-factly processing topics like privilege, menstruation, and reproductive rights. Trey is Black, and Manny is Puerto Rican; all other major characters are White.
Suspenseful and totally un-put-down-able—with a clear opening for a sequel. (Science fiction. 13-18)
