The Scourge

May 23, 2016
Best friends Ani and Weevil are part of a loyal, hardworking community of River People living under the thumb of Governor Felling of Keldan, who denies them voting rights and infringes on their borders. Though they have little, Ani, an only child, and fatherless Weevil are devoted to each other. When Ani and Della, the well-heeled daughter of a prominent Keldan family, are taken to Attic Island after testing positive for the Scourge, a deadly and incurable plague, Weevil joins them. There, Ani finds herself in trouble as she tests the boundaries of the wardens’ powers. As Ani mysteriously gets stronger while Della weakens, she and Weevil discover a band of dissidents who claim to be cured of the Scourge. The dissidents’ belief that River People are “dirty” and “cowards” is overturned as they work with Ani and Weevil to uncover a conspiracy. Nielsen’s (A Night Divided) polished fantasy smoothly combines medieval elements with hints of mystery and romance. Though the plot is conventional, it delivers a significant message about how misinformation breeds intolerance. Ages 10–14. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

May 15, 2016
A baffling illness threatens a fantasy land.Ani's up in a tree picking a vinefruit when wardens capture her. She's done nothing wrong, but the wardens say that the red stain on her arm from the vinefruit juice is a symptom of the Scourge, a deadly, contagious, always-fatal disease. It's clearly a pretext: before they found her, Ani heard them mention their assignment to "come get" several people of Ani's ethnic group. The River People--forbidden from voting or owning property, not bathing "often enough"--are a stereotypical blend of Romany and indigenous peoples. The ruling townsfolk, on the other hand, have no specified ethnicity and seem white. The governor diagnoses Ani and her best friend, Weevil, with the Scourge and sends them to the Colony, a quarantined island from which nobody returns. (Colony wardens, oddly, seem immune to the Scourge.) Ani and Weevil play Colony rabble-rousers, resisting unfair treatment and working to untangle the governor's statement that "River People are the Scourge." Nielsen provides two major plot twists, and both are robust and horrifying in content; however, the method and pace of divulging them are meandering and vague, lacking punch. Characters are stock, and the prose sometimes overexplains, even stretching beyond Ani's first-person voice to reveal other characters' emotions.Predictable execution hampers what could have been an intriguing exploration of the mechanics of corruption. (Fantasy. 10-13)

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May 1, 2016

Gr 5-8-Under orders from Governor Felling, wardens enter the River People's country to extract five grubs, a derogatory name given to its citizens. But the grub, Ani Mells, turns out to be a handful. When Ani is tested for the Scourge, a disease plaguing the people of Keldan, she gets quarantined on Attic Island with the other Colonists who test positive for the disease. The problem is, patients enter the island but never leave. Ani suspects there is more going on than meets the eye, and in order to survive, she must uncover the truth. The story quickly advances from there, with Ani embroiled in a fight for her life. The characters are well defined and memorable. Feisty Ani, a likable character who is thoughtful and strong, drives the story forward and keeps readers wanting to know more.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

bibliophile - The definition of scourge: [skurj] “a cause of affliction or calamity.” All Ani Mells wanted was a perfectly, ripe vinefruit to eat- which requires climbing skill…. And so she had set off to climb the vines, but instead she had overheard a conversation between two wardens… Let me start off with some background history… There are the River People also known as “grubs”and the opulent citizens or townsfolk also known as “pinchworms.” They have a mutual dispute… because Governor Felling kept on pushing the River People farther away where food is not as abundant compared to Marisbane- also the main reason why is because “history shows that the River People was the pivotal point of contracting the Scourge” (which could leadt o the deterioration of many villages). However, the Governor released new information that the Scourge is back… and in order to protect those who did not have the Scourge, the victims would be tested for this disease, and if they tested positive, then they would be sent to the Colony until they lived their short life. The Colony is a former prison cell where they quarantine all citizens who contracted the Scourge. So going back to the summary… Ani is starving and she found her ambrosia, the vinefruit… and after she climbed up the vine, she did obtain her goal (to eat food), however she gets caught by the Warden by a bird- yes, a mother bird that’s surprisingly abysmal. On the way, the Wardens are stopped by Weevil, Ani’s best friend (who is a decent pickpocketer) and encourages the Wardens to bring him along suggesting that he’s contracted the Scourge. Ani is outrageously mad that Weevil is stuck in this mess, but Weevil is happy to barge in because at least he can try to save his best friend. However when they get stuck in a prison cell, Weevil uses his adroit skills to unlock them… Which leads them to their ultimate prison escape… by then Weevil and Ani had split while Ani stopped to think about whether to help a girl that looked a couple of years older than her… However her wishful thinking got her nowhere because the Wardens had captured both, Ani and Della. Inside the cell they are being placed in, there’s a huge quarrel between them… until the testing day… On that day, both girls were tested positive for the Scourge where they had to drink a liquid… which means they were both shipped to the Colony. On their way there… they get stopped by Weevil again which meant he was able to go to the Colony with them… So as they reached the Colony, everybody was given medicine which could help alleviate the pain… However Della’s medicine was lost after Ani pushed her and Della stole Ani’s medicine…. It looks like they’re troublesome girls- but they do have hearts like gold and they are very compassionate, potent, and brave- especially Ani. The only way to get inside the infirmary (which is the place where people go inside, but never comes back) is if one is broken, and Ani believes she’ll never be broken… However on her first day Ani gets in trouble for pushing off Della… Where the Wardens got to “break their friendship” which led them to escape their slashings… (I’m just glad that they are the truest of friends… because one should know that if two people are truly best friends… a dispute will only make them stronger together, not annihilate their friendship). So a couple of days later, they made “cave friends” where they found Della’s lover...and before that… Ani sneaks inside the Warden’s room to explore why they never contracted the Scourge even though they were surrounded by them… but they found no medicine… which was very bizarre… which led to another important discovery… (gasp)... I profusely apologize for stopping this summary because SPOILER ALERT…....