The Ooze

by Tash McAdam

Overview

Bran's taking the recycling down to the basement when the lights go out and the elevator stalls.

Bran's phone's dead, he can hear screaming, but he can't get out. Eventually, he manages to pry the doors open to find that something's very wrong. His own mother can't remember his name, there is this black slime dripping out of her ear and then she kills their cat. Bran runs. Outside, Vancouver is teeming with people acting strangely, and they all have the same black slime in their ears. What is going on and how can Bran stop it?

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459828483
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	02/15/2022
Series:	Orca Anchor
Edition description:	High readability edition
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	1,098,099
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.31(d)
Lexile:	HL490L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Tash McAdam is a Welsh Canadian author of several books for young people, including The Psionics series and the bestselling Blood Sport and Sink or Swim in the Orca Soundings line. Tash identifies as trans and queer and uses the neutral pronoun they. They teach high school English and computer science and have a couple of black belts in karate. They live in Vancouver.

Editorial Reviews

This edge-of-your-seat adventure will be welcome in schools and public libraries looking to reach out to this population. Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

A page-turning, terrifying, and ultimately satisfying contagion adventure in the world of high/low lit.

Booklist

2021-11-30
A suspenseful remix of SF and horror.

McAdam’s reluctant reader horror novel revs into action early in Chapter 1, after trans protagonist Bran takes out the recycling. At 15, Bran finds himself trapped alone in an elevator during a power outage and soon after in the center of a dramatically altered world. Suddenly, familiar people are acting strangely and violently, and the only visible clue to the problem is a fast-spreading, weird, black ooze leaking from their mouths and noses. Scared but determined to find out what’s going on, Bran teams up with Mohammed, Zey, and Aisha—a trio of siblings he meets outside—and together they follow the creatures to where they have gathered. The foursome take risks as they put together the pieces of the events that led to this catastrophic change in humanity. When Bran spots Hayden, his best friend–turned-boyfriend, in danger, he becomes more motivated than ever to try to save everyone. Working together, Bran and his new friends struggle to overcome looming dangers as they try to put the world back to rights. This is a book about collaboration and trust set in a messy world where no one is safe. The chaos and violence are offset by Bran’s strong development as he focuses on problem-solving rather than despair. The quick, plot-driven action keeps things moving. Bran and Hayden read as White; names indicate diversity in the supporting cast.

A tightly plotted, highly appealing story with bite. (Horror. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews