Genre: Novel in Verse, Realistic Fiction
Source: Purchased
Maddie is a typical teen living in Colorado. Maddie splits
her time between her mom and step-dad’s house and her dad and step-mom’s house.
She and two of her friends hatch a plan to spend a night at Maddie’s grandparents
apartment alone. Maddie tells her mom she is staying with her dad and tells her
dad she is staying with her mom to babysit. She goes to her grandma’s apartment
and waits for her two friends to arrive. Unfortunately, their parents call her
mom and are told she is at her dad’s so they can’t go anywhere. Then the
unimaginable happens. Maddie hears sounds of panic outside of her grandma’s
apartment. People are being rounded up. She hears the neighbor tell the person
in charge that the owners are out of state.
Maddy wakes the next morning to learn that everyone in her town has been
evacuated due to an “imminent threat”. This begins Maddie’s journey to survive.
She doesn’t know what the threat is. As she goes about town she finds a barrel
with cell phones in it. She dials her mom’s number and hears a phone ring in
one of the barrels, she tries her dad’s phone and her friends’ phones only to
realize every one of them were left behind. This is a story of survival. It
starts with Maddie talking to one of her step-brothers about the book “Island
of the Blue Dolphins”. There are definite similarities between the book and
Maddie’s new reality. I loved that this was told in verse which made it a very
quick read. The emotional aspect as you go day by day and year by year on this
ride with Maddie makes you wonder what you would do if you were left
behind. Can’t wait to put this on my
school shelves.
