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Rot and Ruin

Jonathan Maberry

In a world plagued by zombies, Benny Imura is a resident of one of the few fenced communities that offers protection from the hellish world beyond. The community insists that upon turning 15, all its citizens must find work. After months of searching for an easy sounding job, Benny begrudgingly accepts an apprenticeship with his annoyingly righteous older brother, Tom. A respected and honourable zombie hunter, Tom seems to have gained everyone’s admiration except Benny’s. In hopes of teaching him the ways of hunting, he eagerly hires Benny and starts his training. Benny does not expect much from this job or his brother for that matter, but what he discovers beyond the fence reveals things that challenge what he thought true, and teaches him valuable lessons on humanity and himself.   

 Rot and Ruin not only contained fast paced action, but was also a coming-of -age story that through the story of a boy in a post apocalyptic world, made you think about the real monsters in life — us. 
 Personally I loved this book and the way it combined brutal zombie killing action with real life lessons that can be applied out of the zombie apocalypse context. It was full of heart and taught the importance of family, friends, and love. Combined with Jonathan Maberry’s writing style and the surprises that always lurked around the corner, this novel never had a dull moment. An undoubtedly riveting read, I recommend it to any zombie fan or anybody wanting a truly heartfelt book. –Fiorella M.  

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This Savage Song

V. E. Schwab

In a crumbling city where the violence has begun to breed monsters, Kate Harker and August Flynn are heirs to the divided city of Verity. Kate strives to be just as ruthless as her father, even if that means getting expelled from six boarding schools. August just wants to be human, and to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent. Torn between his ambition and the ideology of monsters given to him by Leo, who acts as an older brother to him, August is given a mission. As Kate moves into the city and joins an esteemed high school after an attempt to burn down her previous boarding school, August goes undercover to keep an eye on her. But Kate discovers him, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair is forced to flee for their lives.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Unlike many post-apocalyptic young adult books, this one has a refreshing storyline that does not revolve around a romance. The characters are not one-dimensional, they make mistakes that have legitimate consequences, and they have flaws and disabilities. The combination of a monster-run city and in-depth characters makes This Savage Song an extremely good read. Anyone who is interested in thrilling action sequences, monsters that are both human and creatures, minimal romance, and a bit of music should definitely pick up this book.

This Savage Song is the first book in The Monsters of Verity Duology. – Janki V.

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The Way We Fall

Megan Crewe

16 year old Kaelyn lives on a small island along with her mom, dad and brother. Being the quieter type, she vows to speak out and interact with more people this year. Kaelyn writes a journal directed to her former long best friend Leo, who has left the island to attend school. She hopes to speak with him when he next visits.

However, a fatal epidemic no one has seen before begins to sweep the island. What starts off as a severe itch with coughing and sneezing, develops into the victim spilling their secrets and being terrified at something only they can see. With her father as a microbiologist on this small-scale island, Kaelyn hopes he will discover a cure for everyone who has been entangled in this severely contagious disease. But what started off looking bad now looks even worse.
The connection is soon broken off to the mainland, and power starts running out. The amount of people being admitted to the hospital overwhelms the nurses and doctors. Doctors start dying, as well as nurses, teachers, parents, and kids. The island is placed under quarantine and resources start running out. Homes become abandoned and the uninfected break in to scavenge what supplies are left in order to survive. The people Kaelyn has known her whole life and the ones she loves are slowly being taken away from her. Kaelyn becomes a fighter using her new found inner strength along with new bonds she has made.

This book is exciting, terrifying, and thrilling, as you know that everyone is terrified, but they keep pushing forward. The book had a bit of a slow beginning, but once involved in the plot and characters it is hard to put down! Many people can closely relate to the characters and/or the plot which makes this book appealing and unique. – Juliana M.

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