Date of Publication: March 01, 2021 (EU), November 15, 2022 (USA)
Type: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Young Adult, Thriller
Links: Goodreads / Bookshop / Libro.fm / Storygraph
Content Warnings: Self Harm, Graphic Injury, Kidnapping, Confinement, Mental Health, Pandemic, Gaslighting, Toxic Relationship, Suicide (Attempt)
Honestly, this one was a miss for me. The concept had all the potential to be clever, tense, and mind bending, but unfortunately the story did not execute on most of it. The main issue for me was the awkward narration which made things feel more scattered than they were and often failed to provide insight or allow tension to build. The “survival guide” format is clever, but it needed to be tighter overall to stand out amongst others stories that utilize a similar structure.
Haley and Ben had done it all before: waking up at unusual hours, driving to remote locations, practicing unusual (and unnecessary) survival skills. All of it just to ease their dad’s paranoia that another, society-ending pandemic is just around the corner. So on the day their dad kidnapped them, nothing seemed amiss until it was too late. Convinced that the pandemic he had feared was finally upon them, Haley and Ben’s dad had whisked them away to an isolated compound he had built to protect them from the outside world. But is the pandemic real or has their dad’s paranoia reached a new high? Cut off from the world, how can they find out? What about their Mom who was left behind?
This story is told from 15-year old Haley’s perspective as she writes a pandemic survival guide. Haley has some interesting insights and the book starts off quite strong. However, Haley quickly felt like more of a caricature than a real person. Her apathetic statements frequently felt forced and were frequently used to avoid detail that could have helped develop the story. She is also naive to things a 15-year old generally wouldn’t be and frequently uses odd phrases that make her lose her authenticity. The issues with dialogue and characterization carry over to the other characters, but to a lesser degree. As a result, I had a hard time getting deeply invested in the plot.
The premise of the story is good and I still found what was happening interesting. It does a nice job keeping you guessing whether or not the pandemic threat is real. This is really what kept me going. There are definitely some moments that are quite heavy handed in what they are representing and are clearly thoughts/ideas that Morrison wants to convey. However, these didn’t distract too much from the story.
Special thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC!
Rowan Hill 