The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

Publisher: Scholastic

Genera: Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: Survival, viruses, futuristic

Length: 278 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

Summary/ product description: “With its crumbling Starbucks and rusting theme parks, The Eleventh Plague hits disturbingly close to home, vividly depicting a world that has nose-dived into a futuristic nightmare. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn struggles to define his rules of survival in Jeff Hirsch’s excellent, taut debut novel.” — Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games
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 for food and other items essential for survival. 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, where there are real houses, barbecues, a school, and even baseball games. 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 forever.”

My Rating: ê ê ê 1/2

My Review: The beginning of this book was very good. It pulled me in right away, despite the san-serif type face that usually annoys me in books. This book was an easy read. The characters were well done and interesting. There was humor. The descriptions of places and surroundings were interesting. The only problem was that I was a bit disappointed about the whole small town thing. I think it would have been more interesting if the was more mystery and a sinister feeling to the town. The town was just too normal. It was almost like how a town would have been a hundred years ago, with a one room school house and farming. I always want more, but really, this book was good. It’s just that the insides did not match the cover after part 1. The character that had the best personality was Jenny. She was crazy outgoing and a bit of a pyro. A very strong female character. Oh, and she’s Chinese. Apparently the U.S. went to war with China, and China created the 11^th plague, or super flu.

So, if there is a sequel, I will read it. I recommend this book to people who like dystopian books.

Cover Art Review: I love the photography/photo manipulation one this cover. It’s so “life after people.” Barren, scary, yet cool. And it’s metallic on top of all the awesomeness! I wonder if they had to set all the rusted car and the stones up to take the photo, or if the photo manipulated (photo shopped) them together. It’s very convincing. (but the Ferris wheel appears to be going under ground. Bad placement possibly?)

~Haley G