The Loners

rainbeaux - This book was just ok. Quarantine: The Loners has been on my to read list for quite some time now and I've finally gotten around to it. In Quarantine: The Loners, a virus is released inside the walls of McKinley High. All of the adults immediately die gruesome deaths but, somehow the teenagers survive. As they begin 'burying' the teachers, all of the seniors start to die too. The military comes in wearing hazmat suits and tells them that only teenagers going through puberty are immune to this disease and once they leave puberty the disease will begin to kill them. Every week there is a drop that gives food and clothing so naturally people join up and create gangs. It took me about a month to finish this 404 (I've counted the pages several times) page book. This is definitely a 12+ book for the gruesome deaths and dating drama. A lot of people have told me this book is like The Hunger Games (a book I really enjoyed), but I disagree. Other than the fact that a bunch of teenagers are trying to kill each other, they had no similarities. (hey, wait a second...) Something I found really annoying is that POV switched rather randomly. The first half of the book is narrated by David then, out of the blue, one chapter is narrated by his brother, Will. Then it's the love interest. Then, the antagonist. Also with most books that switch POV the name of the narrator is at the top of the page. This book just leaves you guessing. I should also add that this book is written in 3rd person, not 1st which just adds to the confusion. Put in an abrupt ending and you leave me not wanting to read the so needed sequel. Overall, I would skip this book and read something a little less gruesome.

March 5, 2012
First in the Quarantine trilogy, this debut novel from Thomas, a pseudonym for first-time writers Lex Hrabe and Thomas Voorhies, is a violent and somewhat campy high-concept mashup, tossing Walter Hill’s The Warriors into a high school setting and seeding it with elements of Lord of the Flies. After a biotech disaster unleashes a weaponized disease that creates teenage carriers and kills adults exposed to them, McKinley High is quarantined. A year later, themed gangs—including Varsity, Freaks, Pretty Ones, and Sluts—have formed to fight over a once-a-week food drop from the government. David, an unaffiliated “Scrap,” works with his epileptic younger brother, Will, to get by, and eventually ends up leading his own gang of outsiders after saving the life of an outcast Pretty One named Lucy. The battle between Varsity and the newly christened Loners occasionally gets muddled, and the authors are more interested in high-impact brutality than realism, but the fast and gory action (one trap-filled hallway sequence is particularly memorable) should satisfy the core audience. Ages 14–up. Agent: Mollie Glick, Foundry Literary + Media.

June 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-David's experiences at his typical American high school turn into terror after a huge explosion changes everything. He and the other students watch as their teachers die gruesome deaths, and, when they try to escape, they are fired upon by the military. Weeks later, the canopy that traps them opens to drop supplies, and they are forced to fight tooth and nail to survive. A giant television screen is brought in, projecting a talking head that explains that they are carrying a contagion that only affects prepubescent teens, and so they are under quarantine. Quickly, the students form into gangs to protect one another and to help snap up the food that is delivered via black helicopter every two weeks or so. Sam, whom David attacked at a party while drunk, is the head of the strongest gang, called Varsity, and David ends up leading The Loners. The relationship between David and his brother, Will, may be the best part of this story, but it takes a backseat to the battles and struggle of the rival gangs in this first book in the series. While some of the treatment of girl and boy characters seems a bit cliched, this is a solid choice for teens hooked on the dystopian genre.-Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO

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