Thirteen-year-old Abby Leigh yearns for her family to be reunited - in Cambridge, not Castine Island where she feels like an outsider. Her younger brother, Jordan, is having no problem fitting in and making friends.
Everyone on Castine Island is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the purple moon, caused by a comet entering the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists expected this thrilling phenomenon and food companies are churning out purple-colored products in celebration of the comet’s arrival.
The morning following the comet’s debut Abby and Jordan make a chilling discovery: every adult on the island is dead. The children of the island band together to withstand their new circumstances, and the older kids quickly learn a gripping truth about their own ticking clocks. It's only a matter of time before they succumb to the comet bacteria, but can they raise the next generation to survive?
MY THOUGHTS
I have had this book on my TBR for quite a while and I was fully ready to take it off my TBR. Reading the synopsis, it just did not seem like my kind of book anymore. But, I decided to give the book a chance. I told myself that I would read the first few chapters and then decide whether I wanted to keep reading. And I became invested in the story. While I did not end up loving this book, I did like it.
The passing comet was supposed to be a night of excitement, but the comet exposes the Earth to a space bacteria. Abby wakes up to find her father dead, and her neighbors pound on the door saying that they have found their parents dead. It seems that every adult on the island is dead, the only survivors are those who have yet to hit puberty. Abby and the rest of the kids start their own society, but Abby fears what will happen to her, and the other children, when they reach puberty.
I don't go for post-apocalyptic books anymore. I used to really love these types of books, books featuring kids in a world without adults, but now they don't pique my interest. So I was surprised by how this book roped me into the story. I found myself wanting to know how these kids would survive. Parts of this story are very similar to other post-apocalyptic books, but it did still feel different. The age group was especially different because they were all pre-teens or younger, but they had to act older (I had to remind myself of their age sometimes). They did seem to act too old for their age at points, such as when it came to romance. They did feel more like teenagers than pre-teens. I also wondered about the puberty age shown in this book because it seemed like puberty was equal to being a teenager (13-14) when girls oftentimes start at 12.
The book was fairly short and a pretty quick read. Each chapter focuses on a certain point of time (like a day after, a week after, a month, etc.). I liked this format as it gave a slice of life of how they were trying to survive and it showed the community slowly progressing. The plot really changes in the second half of the book. Throughout the book, there is the ticking time bomb of puberty (and with that the space dust disease) and it certainly progresses the further along in the book we get. It kept me reading and it made me want to hope for the best for these children.
This book does have its fair share of dark moments, there is plenty of death, but there is plenty of hope in the book. I loved seeing how the community of children banded together and created a semblance of society and routine (even though not every child on the island joined the community). I loved how they kept their hope for the world and how Abby still tried to see the best in people even after seeing people at their worst.
Overall, I did end up liking this book. It was a fairly quick read and I found myself wanting to know what will happen to these children. This is the first book in a series but I will admit that I do not think I will continue. While I liked this book, I do not wish to buy more books. I do have some questions, but I like how this one ended.
The passing comet was supposed to be a night of excitement, but the comet exposes the Earth to a space bacteria. Abby wakes up to find her father dead, and her neighbors pound on the door saying that they have found their parents dead. It seems that every adult on the island is dead, the only survivors are those who have yet to hit puberty. Abby and the rest of the kids start their own society, but Abby fears what will happen to her, and the other children, when they reach puberty.
I don't go for post-apocalyptic books anymore. I used to really love these types of books, books featuring kids in a world without adults, but now they don't pique my interest. So I was surprised by how this book roped me into the story. I found myself wanting to know how these kids would survive. Parts of this story are very similar to other post-apocalyptic books, but it did still feel different. The age group was especially different because they were all pre-teens or younger, but they had to act older (I had to remind myself of their age sometimes). They did seem to act too old for their age at points, such as when it came to romance. They did feel more like teenagers than pre-teens. I also wondered about the puberty age shown in this book because it seemed like puberty was equal to being a teenager (13-14) when girls oftentimes start at 12.
The book was fairly short and a pretty quick read. Each chapter focuses on a certain point of time (like a day after, a week after, a month, etc.). I liked this format as it gave a slice of life of how they were trying to survive and it showed the community slowly progressing. The plot really changes in the second half of the book. Throughout the book, there is the ticking time bomb of puberty (and with that the space dust disease) and it certainly progresses the further along in the book we get. It kept me reading and it made me want to hope for the best for these children.
This book does have its fair share of dark moments, there is plenty of death, but there is plenty of hope in the book. I loved seeing how the community of children banded together and created a semblance of society and routine (even though not every child on the island joined the community). I loved how they kept their hope for the world and how Abby still tried to see the best in people even after seeing people at their worst.
IN CONCLUSION
I hereby give this book
3 Stars
Meaning: I liked it
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