Thursday, July 3, 2014

Quarantine, The Loners by Lex Thomas (review)

The Loners (Quarantine, #1) 
Quarantine: 
The Loners (1)
By Lex Thomas
Genre: Horror, Dystopia, Young Adult
Published: July 2012

 Pages: 416
Publisher: EgmontUSA


Summary:  "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."
 
Review:  Looking for a light, fluffy read? NOT HERE! This is dark, gritty, violent and terrifying on several levels. One of the most disturbing books I have ever read.

Meet David, your typical high school student who was once the most popular guy is school until his mother's death who lost his way in life. A new year in school with his younger brother, Will, is going to be a year he will never forget. Mid-day finds him witnessing the death of the faculty before his very eyes and a lock-down of the school. No students can leave and no one would enter. The staff are all dead and students are told there is a deadly virus they now all have that will kill any adult in their vicinity.

Anarchy reigns within a few weeks. Students divide into personality gangs (Varsity, The Pretty Ones, Nerds, Sluts, etc) the local authorities occasionally do drops over the school field for food, clothes, and other supplies. For High Schoolers, it is a fight for survival. Some students, including David, are not a part of any gang so survival is even harder for them. Can David unite them?

Lots of violence, teenagers killing each other, near rape scenes, etc layer nearly ever chapter of this book. Lex Thomas delivers such horrific imagery. It's Hunger Games meets Battle Royale. Not your standard, "Can't sleep at night" horror, but possibly nightmares. Several scenes had me flinching in my seat. The author does a great job giving you a front row seat.

What I didn't like was HOW everything happened seems way to fast and unrealistic. Things unraveled too quickly at first. But as routine sets in I soon out that aside as I was sucked in the more horrific High School experience EVER!

David's character is so well done. I could not help but like him and cheer him on. He doesn't want to lead but so many look up to him. As time wears on students become desperate and he knows to survive things have to change. Unlike David, this brother annoys me throughout most of the book. Friends become enemies and enemies become friends. High School will never be the same!

So overall, a well-worth while read. Not for the light-hearted readers. Mind you I have read darker, but for Young Adult fiction, this tops the list! This is for older teen to adult readers. Explicit warning on many levels! Assuredly not for the soon-to-be High Schooler. They might refuse to go! So if you are looking for dark, twisted and violent here is a perfect read! 
 

6 comments:

  1. Dark, Twisted, and Violent? Sounds like something right up my alley! I've been eyeing this book for a long time now but just wasn't sure if I should buy it. But now I definitely will! Thanks for the awesome review :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really liked this one, the whole series really. I actually just finished the last book in the series. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds intense but weirdly compelling!

    --Trix

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.