The Eleventh Plague

I'm marking this as finished, even though my audiobook file was missing the last 15 minutes of the book. I am on the waiting list at the Chicago Public Library for the audio CD version, perhaps the last 15 minutes will be interesting enough for me to raise this up a star? I doubt it, but I'm going to hold out the possibility. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. I found it to be quite a realistic look at what may happen years after the breakdown of society. It's told from a teenager's point of view and the voice stays true to that teenager.

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys post apocalyptic fiction. ( )

Stephen is a scavenger, traveling the post-Collapse landscape with his dad and ex-Marine grandfather. His father and grandfather have never seen eye-to-eye about how to survive, with his father preferring to help others whenever possible and his grandfather erring toward isolation. But now his grandfather is dead, and Stephen and his dad are making their own way. An effort to help a family captured by slavers ultimately results in a tragic accident, leaving Stephen to decide if he's more like his father or grandfather. Stephen's decisions bring him to a small town, a seemingly-bucolic village of pre-Collapse life. Stephen's experience in the outside world makes him distrustful of such a peaceful existence, and he's barely spent any time in Settler's Landing before he's planning for his departure. When a juvenile prank incites a war, Stephen's decisions are no longer just his own: anything he does will affect an entire community, and determine whether they'll continue to live in their slice of the past, or move forward in creating a new world.

Okay, so the Collapse: something about China executing, or detaining (don't remember) two Americans, which started a conflict that grew into a war; the US launched some nukes at China and China unleashed biological weapons, specifically a particularly nasty strain of flu, P11H3. P11, or the Eleventh Plague, killed millions of people, and with all those people dead all kinds of services (hospitals, schools, power stations, etc) shut down and more people died. The end result: the collapse of civilization and a TON of anti-Chinese racism.

Obvious similarities to The Road, at least in Part 1. Other readalikes: Restoring Harmony, for joining up with a new community? The Chaos Walking series, for joining new communities and having all that pesky war-mongering going on?

7th-10th grade appeal; maybe a little older for students who want their post-apocalyptic wars somewhat clean and sanitized. And WTH was up with that romance, like "oh hey you're a GIRL so I LOVE YOU NOW EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE A JERK TO EVERYONE LET'S MAKE OUT"?

( )

After a war with China, the United States has been almost totally destroyed. Two-thirds of the population were killed by a plague released by the enemy. Fifteen year old, Quinn, was born after "the collapse" to two survivors of the war. His family has become salvagers to survive. They salvage items and trade them at a survivor colony. The one rule is to always keep moving to avoid slaver traders, who would capture them for profit. When an accident forces Quinn and his father to rely on a group of survivors who have built their own village, Quinn begins to undestand that there are more important things in life than just surviving. He begins to make friends, but he also accidentally brings danger to the group.

I liked the book, but I did have a little trouble getting into it at first. I think that there were some parts that were a little slow. It could be that I have read too many of these apocalyptic survival stories lately and this one just didn't measure up to some of the other ones I've read recently. Still, it was an interesting story, and a good book. It was recommended to me by a student who loved it, so maybe it was just me ( )

The world of the Eleventh Plague is a long way from my comfortable office and this blog. Life has become something completely different. China and the United States went to war over some hikers in the wrong place at the wrong time. We bombed China and they retaliated with a virus that wiped out the population of the US and maybe Canada and Mexico. As the cover shows, the United States is now a rusting hulk of what we were.

But, families still exist. There is still a need for warmth, food, shelter and...

This is the world that Steve lives in - has always lived in. He was born after P11 (the Eleventh Plague) hit. His life is that of a salvager roaming the Eastern part of US with his grandfather and father. As the book begins, they are burying Grandpa. Although Grandpa is dead, his voice and his presence looms large over Steve and his dad. Grandpa believed that the only way to survive was to stay away from everyone, believe no one and keep moving. Steve has only known this philosophy. There is no warm fuzzy connection with others - the only way someone would help you is for a price.

Then Steve and his dad have a run in with a pair of slavers and everything that Steve has ever known is turned on it's head. When his dad is injured in a fall and is befriended by Marcus and Jackson and taken to Settler's Landing - the voice of grandpa is challenged by real friendship. Steve sees the inside of a house for the first time, learns what a school is and what others are willing to give up for a friend.

Although this book is another in the long line of "the world is a horrible place and only teenagers get it" genre. I really liked this one. It felt a bit different. The problems were all personal - there was not a secret agenda or a mysterious technical problem to solve. Instead - it was all about a young boy and the baggage created by a past image of the world and the issues of facing new experiences. There is a little love interest - a bully - some explosions and death. I liked it!