Chasers by James Phelan (Hachette - Lothian) is yet another post-apocalyptic zombie tale. Jesse is on the subway with other Model UN kids--Dave, Anna, and Mini--when an explosion rocks New York City. They survive and emerge to a strange world where the people who can still move have an unquenchable thirst, even drinking humans. The kids find their way to 30 Rock and set up a haven on the observation levels, trying to figure out how they’re going to get out of a city that keeps collapsing, off an island with no bridges. For Jesse, things start to blur--what happened when he raided apartment 59C? Why can’t he remember yesterday? Why can’t they decide whether to stay or to go?
As the start of a series, Chasers has a lot of potential and a neat twist at the end of this first book. In addition, it's interesting to see the U.S. through an international lens as the four--from the U.S., Australia, the U.K., and Taiwan--try to figure out how they'll survive. I have no idea if this has a U.S. release date, sadly.
I read this book as a first-round judge for the Cybils Awards, which means that I may have received a review copy from the publisher (or not; I own a lot of the books in this category). I read some books nominated for the YA fantasy and science fiction category in 2010 before the nomination period, and may have already reviewed them or declined to make a public review; these books might not have a Cybils post tag. As a first-round judge, I was tasked with helping create a shortlist of books. My personal reviews do not reflect any actions or discussions of the judging committe
No comments:
Post a Comment