Publishers Weekly
In this tense apocalyptic thriller, first in a planned series, Crewe (Give Up the Ghost) explores the slow collapse of society in a microcosm, as a deadly disease ravages a small Canadian island community. Chronicling her town’s descent in diary-style letters to her best friend, Leo, who is away at school, introverted 16-year-old Kaelyn watches as a virus sweeps through the town, its victims losing all social inhibitions before dying. With the island quarantined from the mainland and no cure in sight, hope dwindles. Some of the uninfected try to maintain order and help each other survive, while others resort to drastic measures. As Kaelyn loses people she’s known all her life, she slowly forms new bonds of friendship and even love. But when she gets sick and inexplicably recovers, it forces her to reassess her life and dreams. As hope wars with loss, this gripping, psychological thriller never loses focus. Though Crewe’s story can be gruesome and horrifying, she escapes the trap of making events too depressing and hopeless, maintaining a strong sense of realism throughout. Ages 12–up. Agent: Adams Literary. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
"Kaelyn is a strong, smart, believable female protagonist in a tense YA novel that focuses on character and situation... I really can't recommend this highly enough. It's a beautiful book." -New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire
"As hope wars with loss, this gripping psychological thriller never loses focus. Though Crewe's story can be gruesome and horrifying, she escapes the trap of making events too depressing and hopeless, maintaining a strong sense of realism throughout." -Publishers Weekly
"Crewe utilizes a less-is-more approach, subtly closing the walls in on the characters as they run out of resources... Readers will root for the believable characters struggling through heartbreaking situations." -Kirkus Reviews
"This is the kind of book that makes you look up in alarm when someone near you sniffles. It viscerally conveys the horror of sudden, brutal illness and the struggle between being humane and saving your own skin." -Booklist
School Library Journal - Audio
Gr7 Up—Kaelyn, 16, returns to her Canadian island home after living for a time in Toronto. She finds that things have changed and she misses her former best friend, Leo, who now is in school on the mainland. She regrets their fight and starts a diary to share her thoughts until she can set things straight with him. But that time may never come because a strange virus begins to attack island residents, and Kaelyn becomes very involved in its progress because of her father's works as a microbiologist. Her diary entries reflect how fear and paranoia slowly take over, both on the part of the government and the residents. Acts of hoarding and stealing escalate into attacks and even the killing of some of those who are sick in the hope of containing the disease. While Kaelyn looses much that she holds dear, she also forms new bonds of friendship and finds an inner strength she didn't know she possessed. Sisi Aisha Johnson narrates Megan Crewe's novel (Hyperion, 2012), giving Kaelyn a slight accent that sets her location apart and brings out the personalities of the other characters.—Edie Ching, University of Maryland, College Park
Kirkus Reviews
An introverted girl's struggle with isolation mirrors her island's quarantine during a mysterious, deadly epidemic. Kaelyn prefers observing wildlife to having a social life, as human interactions baffle the closed-off teen. She's in the odd position of pseudo–new kid, since she has moved back to her hometown, a small island community, after a few years living in a different city. Worse, she and her childhood best friend haven't spoken in years, and she's lost the chance to reconcile as he has left for school. Her personal resolution to connect with others comes right as getting near people becomes dangerous--a new virus is rapidly spreading by human contact, killing nearly all infected. Soon the government forcibly quarantines the island. Residents respond in a variety of ways, some trying to help him and others doing anything for personal survival. Crewe (Give Up the Ghost, 2009) utilizes a less-is-more approach, subtly closing the walls in on the characters as they run out of resources. The narrative consists of Kaelyn's letters she'll never send, addressed to her estranged best friend. While the entries sometimes read less like letters than prose, the focused perspective enhances the claustrophobic atmosphere. An abrupt ending neglects some story aspects but nicely completes Kaelyn's social arc. Readers will root for the believable characters struggling through heartbreaking situations. (Science fiction. 12 & up)
