The New Order by Chris Weitz

Series: The Young World Trilogy (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: post-apocalyptic, survival, viruses, love, adventure

Setting: New York City: Manhattan and Long Island; The Atlantic ocean; Cambridge, England

POV/Tense: 1st person past tense rotating between Jefferson and Donna, interludes from: Peter, Kath, Brainbox

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 307 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $19.00

Publisher: Hachette: Little, Brown

Summary/ product description: “They thought they were the only ones left. They were wrong.

After the unexpected revelation at the end of the first book, Donna and Jefferson are separated. Jefferson returns to NYC and tries to bring a cure to the Sickness back to the Washington Square tribe, while Donna finds herself in England, facing an unimaginable new world. Can the two reunite and prevent an even greater disaster than the Sickness?

This second book in The Young World trilogy will keep you at the edge of your seat.”

My Review:  The New Order is a great sequel! At the end of the last book we find out that there are still adults out there, and Donna, Jefferson and others are brought onto an aircraft carrier owned by the U.S. Navy. The plague that they thought killed all adult only ravaged the Americas and there’s still Europe, Asia, Oceana and Africa.

Jefferson escapes with the other back to New York and Donna is taken to England, where she has to pretend she’s not a plague survivor, and give information on what happened. We get to find out what happening in England and the rest of the world, which adds to the world building. It’s the same world, just after a huge crisis. And what happened in the Americas cause a domino effect even if those people  didn’t die of the virus.

I love the different characters. They’re so unique and interesting. The different characters voices in different fonts (serif for guy, san-serif for girls) are cool. Donna’s POV is very journally and funny. She reminds me of Max from Maximum Ride. Jefferson is more serious. Kath’s POV was only used twice, but she’s even more funny and more badass than Donna. Peter’s voice also seems well-developed and unique. Brainbox’s small part near the end has no punctuation, so reading that was difficult. There was not much romance between Donna and Jefferson (only in the beginning) because Donna goes to London.

There are lot of movie and books referenced in the story. A subtle reference Donna make to the movie 300 when she talks about Spartans.  A quote from Planet of the Apes (“ape kill no ape”). Mentions of the Alien movie, the Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Blade Runner, Star Wars, and so on. I love it when pop-culture is included in a story because it makes it feel more contemporary and relatable. Like this story is set in the very near-future, rather than 50 or a hundred years.

I recommend this to fans of The 5^th Wave, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Maximum Ride, Quarantine by Lex Thomas, Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne, No Easy Way Out by Dayna Lorentz, Inhuman by Kat Fall, The Murder Complex by Lindsey Cummings, Taken by Erin Bowman, and other dystopian book.

Cover Art Review: The pale green hue of the photo creates an interesting tone. The people are backlit. The title looks awesome.