2.5 stars
I am usually a huge fan of novels-in-verse so I was really excited to read this one. Maddie lives a relatively normal life. But when a state-wide evacuation takes place during a secret sleepover, Maddie finds herself alone. Can she figure out how to survive? Is anyone coming back for her?
The premise was certainly interesting. There were some unique aspects in this one compared to other survivor stories. Maddie is trapped in a place that she is very familiar with in comparison to being lost in the wild. She also has access to parts of civilization such as stores, people’s houses, and the library, which allowed her to forage a lot of materials.
My main problem with the book was that I didn’t relate to the verse. The style just did not pull me in. I usually love novels-in-verse because one poem kind of leads into the next, making you want to read more and more. But in this one, the poems didn’t feel cohesive. A lot of the suspense and tension were lost on me because of it. For me, the story just kind of dragged.
There were a few scenes that felt like they were added to heighten the stakes but didn’t go anywhere. They didn’t really pull me in because of the lack of tension. Quite a bit happens but not all of it was very fleshed out. This added length without really adding much substance-wise. It’s a pretty chunky book and covers quite a bit of time, sometimes fast forwarding awkwardly. I’ll admit, I was also frustrated we don’t really learn about why so much of the US was evacuated in the first place.
I did like Maddie’s resourcefulness and found her solutions to various problems interesting. How to travel, how to see at night, where to get supplies, and how to bring them back. Also, shout out to her use of the library. I love that she was able to escape her reality momentarily, explore different genres, and teach herself skills she needed for survival, all by using the print collection at her local library.
For sensitive readers, there are some scenes that contain references to dead pets and one scene of animal abuse. There is also some minor swearing.
There is a short section at the end about how the book was created. It also includes a few writing exercises, which I found interesting.
Overall, the book was okay. Good for those looking for a fresh spin on a survivor story. Not my favorite novel-in-verse but Freeman did capture scenes of confusion, fear, and panic well in her poetry.