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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33607002810086 | Young Adult | HIRSCH | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
In an America devastated by war and plague, the only way to survive is to keep moving.
In the aftermath of a war, America's landscape has been ravaged and two-thirds of the population left dead from a vicious strain of influenza. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his family were among the few that survived and became salvagers, roaming the country in search of material to trade. But when Stephen's grandfather dies and his father falls into a coma after an accident, Stephen finds his way to Settler's Landing, a community that seems too good to be true. Then Stephen meets strong, defiant, mischievous Jenny, who refuses to accept things as they are. And when they play a prank that goes horribly wrong, chaos erupts, and they find themselves in the midst of a battle that will change Settler's Landing--and their lives--forever.
Author Notes
Jeff Hirsch graduated from the University of California, San Diego, with an MFA in Dramatic Writing, and is the USA TODAY bestselling author of THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE and MAGISTERIUM. He lives in Beacon, New York, with his wife. Visit him online at www.jeff-hirsch.com.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7-10-As a result of a war with China and the P-11 Plague, there are very few people left in America. Stephen, 15, wanders with his grandfather and father, looking for salvage in order to survive. When his grandfather dies and his father is badly injured, Stephen must begin to think for himself for the first time in his life. Stumbling upon Settler's Landing, a community of families with houses, a school, and baseball, Stephen is both awed and suspicious. Can he trust these people? Reminiscent at times of Cormac McCarthy's The Road (Knopf, 2006), Jeff Hirsch's debut novel (Scholastic, 2011) is initially dark in its portrayal of a survivalist society where it's every man for himself. In Settler's Landing, Stephen finds friends for the first time and is drawn to Jenny, a free spirit loner. When he and Jenny carry out a prank that goes horribly wrong, the action becomes non-stop as Stephen is thrust into making decisions on his own. Narrator Dan Bittner offers a fine first-person narration, perfectly capturing Stephen's ingrained inability to show or feel emotion and his metamorphosis into a caring person. Great for students who enjoyed Ilsa Bick's Ashes (EgmontUSA, 2011; Brilliance Audio, 2011), but would prefer a stand-alone novel with a hopeful, satisfying ending.-Julie Paladino, East Chapel Hill High School, NC (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his father travel the desolate, depopulated, and despoiled landscape of what was once the United States. Ravaged by war and an enhanced form of influenza-labeled the Eleventh Plague-two-thirds of the populace are dead. Stephen and his father exist as scavengers, traversing the ruined, hostile countryside searching for anything to help keep them alive. When Stephen's father is injured and falls into a coma, the duo is rescued by the inhabitants of Settler's Landing, a town that seems to have escaped the ravages of war and plague. But Stephen soon learns that even the most idyllic of places can harbor darkness, hatred, and danger. Dan Bittner skillfully narrates this postapocalyptic YA novel. His reading conveys the adolescent angst and confusion of the novel's protagonist a believable way, enabling listeners to understand Stephen's often-misguided actions. The voices Bittner creates are unadorned and uncomplicated, while his delivery of dialogue is natural and straightforward. An entertaining listen for young adults-and the not so young. A Scholastic hardcover. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Excerpts
Excerpts
From The Eleventh Plague Dad turned all around, sheets of water coursing off his head and shoulders. I wanted to scream that it was pointless, that we needed to keep running, but then there was another crack and a flash of lightning, and for a second it seemed like there might be a ridge of some kind out ahead of us. Dad grabbed my elbow and pulled us toward it. "Come on! Maybe there's shelter!" By then, the ground had turned to a slurry of mud and rocks and wrecked grass. Every few steps my feet would sink deep into it and I'd have to pull myself out one foot at a time, terrified that I'd lose sight of Dad and be lost out in that gray nothing, alone forever. As we ran, the ridge ahead of us became more and more solid, a great looming black wall. I prayed for a cave, but even a good notch in the rock wall would have been enough to get us out of the rain and hide until morning. We were only fifty feet or so from it when Dad came to an abrupt halt. "Why are we stopping?!" Dad didn't say anything, he simply pointed. Between us and the ridge there was an immense gash in the earth, a gorge some thirty feet across and another thirty deep, with steep, muddy walls on our side and the ridge on the opposite. A boiling mess of muddy water, tree stumps, and trash raged at the bottom. Dad searched left and right for a crossing, but there wasn't any. His shoulders slumped. Even through the curtain of rain I could see the sunken hollow of his eyes, deep red-lined pits that sat in skin as gray as the air around us. "I'm sorry, Stephen. I swear to God, I'm so sorry." Excerpted from The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.