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As the world crumbles around them, a group of high-school students fight for their lives in this action-packed novel. Teens Maya, Jace, Riley, Benji, Tariq, and their classmates find their lives upended after an earthquake levels their city. Valiant Maya immediately takes charge, organizing efforts to find food and shelter and bolstering her friends when their confidence lags. Her leadership is challenged by headstrong Jace, whose increasingly bold and immoral ideas soon lead to a splintering of their group. Throughout the following days, the two factions clash as they struggle to survive in the strange new landscape they have found themselves in. Will Maya hold on to her idealism and humanity, or will she cave under the pressures of leadership? Will Jace continue to plunge headlong into the rebellion he has created? How will they all survive?
This fast-paced and quick-witted story will appeal to fans of young adult survival books such as The Maze Runner or the Divergent series. Although the storyline is at times repetitive and requires some willing suspension of belief (for example, it seems as though all other humans have vanished from the city, leaving only the small group of teenagers to fend for themselves), the novel’s snappy dialogue and sympathetic characters make up for any hiccups in the plot. The ultimate clash between one group with “ideals but no plan” and the other with “resources but no compassion” creates a unique dichotomy that will have readers questioning their own preconceived notions of leadership and survival. Overall, this novel is a challenging, edge-of-your-seat adventure for all ages.
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