This young adult science fiction novel gives us a glimpse at the lengths humanity will go to survive potential extinction.
I can’t be the only one reading more about pandemics, plagues, and the apocalypse this year than ever before.. Weren’t we already and are only now just noticing?
I wonder why?(substantial amount of sarcasm here)
My husband and I are currently watching the final season of ‘The Last Ship‘. It’s an interesting look at the way a virus can spread and the devastating effects that can result from the inability to contain, and cure, such a thing in time. I recommend checking it out (if you’re not tired of hearing about pandemics yet).
I mention this because the show first aired in 2014, and this book? 2018. We’ve been exposed to, and warned of, the ramifications of situations like ours for ages now. Has it made us any more prepared for the reality? No. Apparently not.
‘Quarantine’ should be synonymous with boredom by now..
by Jordan Rivet
Publication date: September 2018
Pages: 316
Genre: Young adult, Science fiction, Apocalyptic fiction
Series: Book 1 of 3: Bunker
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First line:
Waking up from cryosleep was Joanna’s least favorite activity—and this was only the second time she’d done it.
In a cryopod beneath the planet’s surface, a young woman sleeps for two centuries, only to wake up and find her teammates(and everyone else) have all perished. Due to an unforeseen cave in making her the sole survivor in her bunker.. Joanne must now decide what her future is going to look like at the end of the world.
The cryo bunker was supposed to keep Joanna and her team safe. They were supposed to awaken to resettle the earth two hundred years after the apocalypse. They’d been humanity’s last hope. So what the hell had happened?
Joanne never thought she would be chosen.. but luck of the draw has given her a chance to be one of the few who will join the government’s slapdash, last ditch program for the preservation of mankind.
The odds of being randomly selected were so slim that she had never expected to come in contact with the hastily formed government organization.
Those chosen are given training, as much as the limited time they have allows, and put into cryosleep for the two hundred years scientists have estimated that it will take for the residual effects from the comet to dissipate, and any dormant plant life to recover.
The earth’s atmosphere was expected to stabilize enough for human habitation eventually. All they had to do was freeze a bunch of people with plenty of childbearing years ahead of them and set a timer until it was safe for them to wake up and rebuild.
No one can know what these chosen few will truly face. Two hundred years they’ll sleep.
Two hundred years for the surface to become inhabitable.
Two hundred years for things to go very, very wrong.
After all the programming, all the training, at the end of the day—no, at the end of the world—it was up to her to survive.
Four Stars!
It feels petty, taking away a star but, as much as I enjoyed this book(and it was a great read!).. None of it really captured me. I liked the story, the writing, and the characters.. but that’s just it. I wasn’t wowed. I don’t feel like anyone thing stood out or made an impression.
It was a simple but likable read.
About the book:
Joanne awakes two hundred years after the devastation of the world as she knew it, her family, and friends are all gone. She should be waking with her teammates, her small new family, the people she will be sharing this strange and terrifying new world with.. But it’s immediately obvious something has gone terribly wrong and, with her training almost useless, Joanna must find a way to navigate nearly impossible obstacles with no information and no guides.
Overall:
It’s set up really well for the next book in the series, no cliffhanger, any confusion or questions are pretty cleanly wrapped up. The characters are interesting and the switching of timelines in the story remains clear and cohesive throughout.
Joanna is such a tough and resilient kid. She’s hit with blow after psychological blow and she comes out on top every time. A survivor. An idealist.
I like Levi more as a love-interest for her, they’re just better together. Joanna doesn’t need protection or coddling like, I think, Garrett would try to do. Levi will meet her head on, challenge her, and fight by her side. I’m interested in seeing how that relationship develops and what the next chapter in Joanna’s story will look like.
It does read as a YA so.. if that’s something you’re not interested in, this may not be the book for you. If you are in the mood for a quick, uncomplicated, but still enjoyable book to sit back with.. I recommend checking it out.
What would you do at the end of the world?
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I rarely read YA. Once in a great while if the blurb really grabs me or I know the author. I do, however, love that cover and it would definitely make me take a second look and check out the book in more detail.
YA is pretty hit or miss.. I find it hard to follow the younger(mentality) characters sometimes but YA does have some really great fantasy books.
And it is a lovely, cover, isn’t it? That’s what drew me in, too.