Amber Kizer

Very well done and realistic. I really liked the main character, Nadia, a teen who acts like a teen (and makes mistakes like a teen), but takes control of the situation, devises a quirky fix and moves on. She cares for her younger brother, Rabbit. The book reminded me of the fantastic [b:Z for Zachariah|69477|Z for Zachariah|Robert C. O'Brien|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347675635s/69477.jpg|2070709], which managed to evoke desolation, terror and a plucky teen heroine with careful, measured language. There's also a lightness to this book that is welcome -- everything is not so serious and lugubrious. There's a little too much flashback for my taste, to explain the plague -- I think it could have been done more economically, and you don't really need the full explanation -- but an excellent, chilling read. It's not quite as poetic as [b:The Age of Miracles|12401556|The Age of Miracles|Karen Thompson Walker|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1342487370s/12401556.jpg|17382941], an excellent book (the earth's rotation slows, causing civilization to crumble) -- but this should go on any dystopians to read list.… (mere)

Alright so this book was just a little hard to get into. It could be the fact that it was a few years after the first book came out that the sequel was released, and I finally got around to reading it that a lot of what happened in the first book I had completely forgotten. But luckily for the book while reading it, it did become more interesting, at least enough for me to finish the book. Yes I will be continuing on with the series because I have to know what happens next and at the end of the book, it got really interesting and intriguing. The best part of this book, was that the main characters little trio of girl, young man, and wolf, was expanded in some details, but more to come on that as I read the next book in the series.… (mere)

Plot: eh. 3.5/5
Sort of like your average ghost story (the Mediator by Meg Cabot, Haunting Emma by Lee Nichols, etc.) but sorta not.

The Characters: 4/5
Meridian: is a believable character. She had believeable reactions to things.
Tens: Uh… why was he so mean to her in the beginning?
Auntie: sweet old lady. Sweet, sweet old lady.
Sammy: I think we should’ve gotten to know Sammy better, or he should’ve had a more active role in the plot of the book. Take Ethan from the Iron King. That was a little brother done well.
Perimo: One of the best characters, if you ask me. But then again, I do love my antagonists. Especially when they’re creepy like this. :D

The Romance: 2.5/5
Ah, instalove. You all know I usually take it, and I did enjoy Tens, but I didn’t believe this romance. Plus, I felt like I’ve read it somewhere before. It might be that I read half of this book about three years ago, but I also think that’s just an overdone concept. Have the boy start out really mean and the have the two characters fall I love. Correct me I I’m wrong, but didn’t that happen in Haunting Emma a little bit? Also, the Summoning trilogy.

1 point extra credit for being set in Colorado.

Overall grade: 10/15. A solid C. Not a bad book, but nothing exceptional, either. Exceedingly average.
… (mere)