The Big Empty #1

When a respiratory disease makes all wrong in the world, an adventure is about to begin. The actions starts when a teenage girl, Keely Gilmore, a girl whose mother hung her out to dry, begins to receive mysterious e-mails, but she is not the only one. Along with six other teens, they stride to reach a common goal; a better life. Strain 7 has taken over half of the human population. About every human being on Earth has lost a loved one. The president is a former sports reporter that has declared an unlimited government. But now, the teens are trying to escape. The Big Empty was a book for the complex reader. But when I look back, my favorite scenes are very confusing and you have to reread them sometimes to understand them. One is at the beginning when one of the teens is shot on his grandmother's farm. I also liked when all the characters met up. The end left me buzzing for hours after I was done with the story. My favorite character had to be Michael, a teen whose father was a business man and seemed to know the art of trade. He was a rebel who was a natural leader and stood up for the right thing. My least favorite character is Michael's ex-girlfriend Maggie, a ditsy girl who is totally oblivious to the world around her. She was annoying and reminded me of Dory from "Finding Nemo" and Maggie wasn't funny. All though this story takes place in an alternate present, many modern day teens can relate to the characters. This book is a killer read.

Could you imagine losing over one-forth of the U.S. population and evacuating many states because of one disease, the Strain 7? People everywhere not knowing what to do with themselves, because many jobs are now worthless. Quit imagining. A small group of people who can't stand the outer world form a town letting people join only to make them stronger. One of the many things I liked about this book were the different lives all seven people were leading to have all ended up at the same place. Another thing I liked was the drama that happened to each person because there was never a dull moment. One of my dislikes would have to be the ending because it wasn't how I had expected it to end. I think that if you have ever read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants then this would be a great life drama story for you to try.

I'm now usually a sci-fi reader, but a friend gave me the Big Empty and once i started reading I couldn't put it down. The characters really hit me, and though they live in harsh times, it's doesn't have the weirdness of scifi stuff that puts you off. I can't wait to see what happens to Michael and Amber and Keely.