Lex Thomas

When a virus deadly to adults infects their high school, brothers David and Will and the other students soon break into gangs that fight each other for survival and the hope of escaping their quarantine.

Quaranteen

Jaden Nelson

This book was recommended to me from my sister so I went into it with very high expectations. At first the book was very confusing to me and for a while I didn't really like it, but I just kept reading to see if anything good would happen. The next thing I know it is 12:30 and I realize I have been reading for over 5 hours and I can't stop. Loved the book, although it didn't like change my life or anything so I will not give it 5 stars. I am already almost done with book 2 which is very good. Overall I would recommend even just giving this book a try ,even if apocalyptic things aren't your thing because this is not just that. I would definitely read this again and recommend to any of my friends who I think would be ok with the gore and "grown up" jokes.

Melissa Palmer

Book #35 Read in 2013
Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas (YA)

This is the first in a dysptopian series. The school year has just begun when a mysterious virus, carried by teenagers and fatal to adults, causes the government to lock down high schools. In McKinley High, there is an immediate "Lord of the Flies" atmosphere. David and Will are brothers and David just wants to keep Will safe, especially worried as Will has epilepsy. Will doesn't want to be coddled by his big brother but the two realize that being together is safer than being alone in a school that has immediately segregated themselves into gangs and turfs and turf wars. On top of surviving that, the government will not let them leave until it is their "graduation day", which is when they turn 18. If they are not let out in time, they will succumb to the virus their classmates are carrying and die.

This book is gritty and violent. It shows what happens when humanity and civilization are lost. It is also hard to put down. Readers will instantly become hooked into this book and want to see who survives and at what cost. There are both strong male and females characters so I think the appeal of this book could be universal. The writing is action-packed and the characters are complex. I enjoyed it and will continue this series. The second book comes out summer of 2013.

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

Emelie

Elle

I did not like this book and this took me forever to read. I quickly realized that I was not going to enjoy this read but I kept going because I told my friend that I would give it a chance.

One of the main things that I hated about this book was that it was FILLED with stereotypes. In the start of this book, I had to read about either how ugly or how amazingly beautiful David's classmates were. After the story gets going a bit, there were gangs being formed and they were based off of appearances and your hobbies/interests. The gangs couldn't be any more stereotypical and basic than they ended up being: Nerds, Sluts, Varsity, Pretty Ones, Skaters, Loners, Scraps.. I couldn't get past this.

There was no reason for how aggressive everyone's actions were. They hoard food during the supply drops when they really don't need to. They could have just shared and all had enough to live off of but suddenly everyone decides to get violent and territorial. This also feeds into how much this book lived off of stereotypes as the gangs refused to mingle with each other.

I pretty much hated every single one of the characters in this book. I started off being frustrated with David and I thought that Will would be the better of the two.. But as readers, you quickly find out that Will becomes the hated one and David the liked one. Will feels like he lives in David's shadow so he is always rebelling and trying to prove himself better. Basically this only leads to more problems which usually end badly for David. Will cares more about winning over the heart of a girl that doesn't even like him than supporting his own brother. All of the characters except a small handful are completely selfish, and unnecessarily violent.

We also have no information on the details of this virus. We know that it doesn't hurt teens in high school but then it will brutally kill those that are younger or older.. But besides this we really know next to nothing. We never find out why this virus only lives in teens or why it makes their hair fall out only to grow back in white. I didn't enjoy the storyline or the world that was created in this book and I definitely didn't enjoy any of the characters.

Jessica Nottingham

I'm guessing that Quarantine: The Loners is one of those books that most readers are going to love or lament, depending on who they are. This is a book that requires you to completely suspend disbelief and, quite honestly, fill in a lot of the blanks with your own imagination. I didn't mind so much, and I ended up enjoying this book immensely. It grabbed me, and I was happy to let it.

I wouldn't say this book is "original" like the cover mentions, although Lex Thomas does blend things that have been done before into something terrifying and beautiful. David and his brother exist in a world where survival is paramount. I've seen this concept in other books before, but it fit well with the high school setting. After all, what place is more cutthroat on a daily basis than high school? Take those same cliques, those same rivalries, and add in an event of apocalyptic proportions. That's what Quarantine: The Loners creates for the reader.

Most of the characters are cut and dry clique members, but the "loners" themselves are really who shine. I couldn't look away as these underdogs fought, against all odds, to survive. In fact, I think that's what really made the book for me. I liked David and Will, but I loved the supporting characters. There was so much to uncover beneath their surfaces and, like I mentioned above, I was more than willing to fill in any blanks. This book moves quickly and I was so immersed that I didn't realize I was nearing the end until there were no more pages left to read.

All in all I was pleasantly surprised with how much this debut brings to the table. I admit I would have liked to see more character development, and more explanation about the virus. The ending definitely left me wanting. Still, there's more in the series so I'm hoping things will resolve themselves. This book is a wild ride, and I know that I couldn't put it down. Next book, here I come.

Quaranteen

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