In a world with no power, chaos soon descends. A powerful look at the 
disintegration of society in the wake of a massive and mysterious outage that has knocked out all modern amenities.
Fifteen-year-old Emma has moved house with her ex-Marine mother and younger brother. It’s a brand-new condo building, which explains the semi-regular power outages, as workers complete the units around them. So Emma isn’t particularly concerned when the latest blackout hits just as they are preparing to leave town on a long weekend camping trip. But then the car won’t start, and their cellphones appear dead — and all the cars outside their building seem to be stalled in a long traffic jam …
In the midst of what appears to be a massive power outage, with their camping gear packed and ready, Emma and her family canoe over to the islands, just offshore, to wait it out. But while they land on an isolated island, with a relatively hidden site, they are far from safe, as people become increasingly desperate to find food and shelter. And as the days pass, and the power remains out, the threat of violence becomes all too real. – Goodreads.com
This book begins with a lot of potential. The family dynamics between Emma, her mother, and her brother are realistic and amusing, and the imagery is vivid. Once the power goes out, the situation deteriorates rapidly, and as an ER nurse and former Marine, Emma’s mother is well-trained to handle their situation. She’s a force to be reckoned with.
Shortly after, the story loses its luster. Everything that happens – the people they meet and their occupations, the supplies they come across – is just a little too convenient and unrealistic. The plot becomes somewhat repetitive and I skimmed through several pages toward the end. Which I’m not sure it was. The closer I got to the end, it became clear nothing would be resolved. Maybe there’s a sequel?
Although an intriguing concept, this book fell flat for me, but other post-apocalyptic fans may feel differently.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I appreciate the mindful review, Teri. Your thoughts are so valuable. Hugs!
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From the get-go it was already sounding a little too “been done” and contrived. So if it becomes even more so…
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On the flip side of that, if I was in the midst of a post-apocalyptic situation, I could only hope to be as fortunate as these characters!
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I enjoy post-apocalyptic books and have read a number of them, but I find they’re like disaster movies (another fave of mine)—often the events leading up to the disaster are the most exciting part of the movie/book. After that, the story either soars for falls flat.
I was just looking at a soon to be released post-apocalyptic book on another blog. It sounds promising, but doesn’t release until January 30th. I always wait, so I can use the “look inside” feature on Amazon to decide weather or not it ends up on my Kindle.
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Good idea about waiting, Mae. You’re right-sometimes the buildup is better than the actual event. It can be difficult to maintain that momentum.
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Well put!
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It’s always nice to find a thoughtful critique. Thanks for the candor, Teri.
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Thanks for swinging by, Staci!
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I love visiting!
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The idea sounds really good, Teri. It is a pity it didn’t maintain its pace.
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I thought so too – I’m a fan of post-apocalyptic books, Robbie, so I had high hopes for this one.
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A thoughtful review, Teri. I enjoy post-apocalyptic books, but a writer has to work hard to break out of the tropes common to the genre in order to create something unique. Thanks for the review.
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Thanks, Diana! And it seems like that gets more difficult to do these days. It takes some serious brain-storming.
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