It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning.
A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent gangs have formed based on high school social cliques. Without a gang, you’re as good as dead. And David has no gang. It’s just him and his little brother, Will, against the whole school.
In this frighteningly dark and captivating novel, Lex Thomas locks readers inside a school where kids don’t fight to be popular, they fight to stay alive. (Description from amazon.com).
If you are a fan of books about teens surviving on their own (The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, Monument 14, Trapped) this one might be for you. It was different from anything I have read lately and probably the most gritty and violent YA I have read all year. I was interested in reading it from viewing the cover alone. My dad happened to be over and saw the book on my desk and made a face. He rarely comments on my books and he did with this one. Disturbing.
After this virus infects the school and makes the kids deadly to the adults, the kids break themselves into gangs (Freaks, Varsity, Sluts, Pretty Ones, Loners) where they fight for food and control over everything else. It was so realistic. I was trying to picture this happening in my high school and I think we would have had similar gangs. I could totally see how this could happen and it is scary. I also think I might have been a Loner :)
Lex Thomas is actually two writers, Lex Hrabe and Thomas Voorhies. The writing was good, but the book did drag in the middle and thankfully picked up towards the end. Of course, the book ended with a major cliffhanger. I probably will check out book #2.
One word of caution. Although it is a YA, it is most certainly an older YA, probably Grades 9-10 or above. Lots of violence, including rape and torture. An interesting read with an interesting premise.
After this virus infects the school and makes the kids deadly to the adults, the kids break themselves into gangs (Freaks, Varsity, Sluts, Pretty Ones, Loners) where they fight for food and control over everything else. It was so realistic. I was trying to picture this happening in my high school and I think we would have had similar gangs. I could totally see how this could happen and it is scary. I also think I might have been a Loner :)
Lex Thomas is actually two writers, Lex Hrabe and Thomas Voorhies. The writing was good, but the book did drag in the middle and thankfully picked up towards the end. Of course, the book ended with a major cliffhanger. I probably will check out book #2.
One word of caution. Although it is a YA, it is most certainly an older YA, probably Grades 9-10 or above. Lots of violence, including rape and torture. An interesting read with an interesting premise.
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