Bosworth, Jennifer. Struck.

Bosworth, Jennifer.     Struck.     Macmillan/Farrar Strauss      373p  $17.99  978-0-374-37283-5           jr/sr       VG-BN    Science fiction  

Mia Price is a lightning addict -- that is to say, Mia is one of those human beings who can take a lightning strike into her body and still survive.  She discovers that there are more people like her in the city of Los Angeles, where she lives.  As the story opens, she and her family are trying to survive in a disaster area that was struck by lightning and experienced an earthquake.

 
After the disaster, school opens and the city agrees to feed any kid who goes back to school and give them coupons to buy food.  Mia and her brother go to school every day, but at home her mother is trying to deal with the shock of the earthquake that almost killed her.  In the midst of all this, there are two groups taking advantage of the disaster and the people who are in shock by inviting them to attend religious revivals.

Mia finds herself caught between the two groups, and she does not understand why they are so interested in her.  When the truth comes out, she has to act fast to help save her mother, her brother, and her sanity.

This is a very good story about survival under devastating conditions.  The heroine keeps it together and is able to figure everything out, and she is willing to sacrifice her life for her family. -- Magna Diaz
                 

Natural disasters – Fiction