Snow, Carol. The Last Place on Earth.

Snow, Carol.  The Last Place on Earth.    Macmillan/Henry Holt  2016  298p    $16.99  ISBN 978-1-62779-039-0  ms  Realistic fiction  VG

Overzealous families move to wilderness areas in order to avoid a disastrous plague, and their offspring are affected by their obsessive behaviors in myriad ways. Author Carol Snow has drawn characterizations that are fairly powerful in her protagonists, Henry Hawking and Daisy Cruz. While Henry is the brilliant one, Daisy is no slouch.  She is more of a survivor than any of the others who have left their homes when faced with a pandemic.  While searching for the missing Henry and his family, Daisy falls into a hole in the ground, where she spends seven days alone.  With no idea about her future, she survives the loneliness of seclusion.  After her isolation, three families open her door and reveal that they GOOD, or, “Got Out of Dodge”. In preparing for TSHTF (“The S*** Hits the Fan”), they have built a shelter, supplied it with food and other survival necessities, and moved in.  Daisy is included only because her best buddy, Henry, has insisted on it. Otherwise, she would have been left behind to try to survive the Madagascar Plague with her mother and brother. The cast of characters that Daisy meets up with during her stay in the wilderness is worth the read. The “K” family also known as “the Dunkles”, “the Hawkings” and “the Waxweilers”, are equally entertaining.  This is a creative story with a lot of ideas to consider. Should we hide from disaster or work to help others? Snow’s resolution is rather quick, with a fire leading to a nearly catastrophic outcome, but young readers will definitely enjoy the storytelling ability of Daisy, and they will come out of this novel with a message that is worthwhile.

Summary: Overzealous families move to wilderness areas in order to avoid a disastrous plague, and their offspring are affected by their obsessive behaviors in myriad ways.      

Pandemics-Fiction, Friendship-Fiction, Adventure-Fiction

-–Martha Squaresky

Rooney, Anne. A World After Super-Plague.

Rooney, Anne.  A World After Super-Plague.  Capstone/Heinemann    2014  56p   ISBN 978-1-4329-7621-7    jr/sr     E-BN  Nonfiction 

More realistic than zombie outbreaks, but just as chilling, this book offers an intriguing look at the possible consequences of a global pandemic event, with ideas and evidence based on similar scenarios from fact and fiction.  By following a fictional illness from Patient Zero in Vietnam to its conclusion 155 days later, A World After Super-Plague details the events that would follow the outbreak and spread of a global pandemic without flinching from harsh realities. The likelihood of death, vaccination shortages, and lawlessness are presented without unnecessary fear-mongering or sensationalism, but the potential for devastation is still clear.  Along with the fictional Hanoi flu made up for this book, information about other pandemics is used to illustrate points in the development, spread, cure, and aftermath of a global pandemic.  Some of the other illnesses mentioned include the bubonic plague, the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918, SARS, H5N1 avian flu, and Ebola fever.  The book also includes a glossary, a Find Out More section, and suggestions for writing stories set during pandemics.  The Find Out More section is absolutely fantastic, directing readers toward fictional and nonfiction books and movies as well as websites and even an iPad/iPhone app that allows you to define and develop a pandemic disease and attempt to wipe out humanity with it.  The suggestions for writing a story set during a pandemic are excellent for aspiring writers, providing questions to consider in designing the plague as well as pointing out the (un)likelihood of an infected city being destroyed to stop the spread of plague and the need for more than just a setting, but also plotting and characterization.     

Books in the four-volume A World After... series contain a graphic novel-style prologue, assessments of how likely it is that events will occur, and engaging extracts from dystopian novels.   

Summary: An intriguing and chilling book that traces the possible consequences of a global pandemic event, with ideas and evidence based on similar scenarios from fact and fiction.  Also includes a glossary, a Find Out More section, and suggestions for writing stories set during pandemics.

Pandemics                                             --Bethany Geleskie

Keyser, Amber J. Anatomy of a Pandemic.

Keyser, Amber J.  Anatomy of a Pandemic.   

Capstone Publishers     2011  48p   22.99 978-1-4296-5493-7 

ms    Graphic-non-fiction           VG-BNS     

Major pandemics of the world, including polio, typhus, smallpox, cholera, influenza,

TB and the bubonic plague, are discussed.  Information about causes, interesting

facts & progression of each pandemic combine with support charts and photographs

which add interest level and clarity.     

This book presents key information about  pandemics. 

It includes a description of each major pandemic since 2700 BC when

the first evidence of malaria was discovered.  The diseases that have caused

pandemics are defined and symptoms are shared.  These diseases include polio,

typhus, smallpox, cholera, influenza, TB and bubonic plague.  Ancient beliefs

about the origins of the diseases and possible treatments are examined followed

by famous discoveries that were pivotal in changing history with respect to the

world of microbes and treatments.  The comparison between bacteria, viruses and

protozoans includes a list of some of the diseases which are caused by each. 

The chart which shows the progression of malaria after a mosquito bites a person

with malaria is particularly helpful for young readers.  In fact, author Amber

Keyser includes many helpful photographs, a particularly eye-catching layout,

and charts and pictures of the human body which depict the body’s defense system

as well as the areas which could be infected.  A variety of practitioners

examine each disease, suggest ways preventative measures could be utilized and

warn us of the dangers of taking antibiotics unnecessarily.  

All in all, this book is interesting, well-organized and full of important information.  The

author’s clarity combines with a natural progression in her delivery of

information to make this book a valuable tool in a health or science classroom

as well as in a reading class in which the teacher would like to compare or

contrast these diseases or show the relationship of cause and effect.  The book

ends with a helpful glossary, a list of resources to consult and an index. 

      “Disasters” includes an examination of hurricanes, earthquakes, pandemics,

plane crashes, shipwrecks, and tornados.  The information is user-friendly and

set up in a well-organized fashion with lots of visual aides to help younger

readers.    Squaresky, Martha