Silver

February 10, 2014
In this atmospheric thriller, Wooding (Pandemonium) ushers in the end of the world, with the point of origination being a secluded English boarding school. The appearance of strange silver beetles on the grounds of Mortingham Academy are the spark for a terrifying biomechanical infestation that leaps from animals to humans, much like a zombie plague. As the few survivors who take refuge in the science building soon learn, the Infected are growing smarter and more aggressive, and are changing shape to take on new, deadlier functions. With the body count rising and time running out, a small group of students that include a conflicted leader, the school bully, and a technologically-proficient outcast must find a way to escape an increasingly hopeless situation. Wooding cleverly sets the mood with ghost stories and a creepy backdrop before turning the Infected hordes loose on his rapidly dwindling cast—blink and you may miss some deaths. While he plays with zombie tropes, his science-fiction twist allows for an exciting, unpredictable, and unsettling story. Ages 12–up. Agent: Carolyn Whitaker, London Independent Books.

December 15, 2013
When strange insects assault a remote boarding school in England, the kids try to save the day in this tense page-turner. As the new boy at school, Paul keeps a family tragedy a secret, but his experience in coping with it thrusts him into a leadership position when an unfamiliar, silver-colored beetle turns up on campus. Any creature bitten by the beetles, including humans, quickly grows a silver-colored outer shell and clearly loses thinking capacity, shuffling around and trying to scratch or bite others. As they proliferate, however, they develop a kind of collective intelligence and begin to work together to conquer the entire school. Barricaded in the science block, Paul and a few others fight a seeming losing battle against the creatures. While that fight provides enough suspense for the novel, Wooding deepens the narrative by developing highly distinctive characters. Caitlyn hates her supposed friend Erika, and that emotion will play a part in the later plot. Adam, the school bully, may finally find what he's really been looking for during his fight. Most importantly, however, Paul will learn that his leadership abilities trump even those of the adults on the scene. Skillfully managed subplots keep the pages flying. It looks like the end of the world is nigh.... It's just all kinds of white-knuckle fun. (Horror. 12 & up)

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May 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-Orphaned when his parents die in a plane crash, Paul Camber opts to go to Mortingham Academy, rather than live with his childless aunt and uncle. Arriving midyear, he keeps to himself, until the boarding school finds itself in a science-fiction nightmare that begins with an unusual find during a biology-lab outing. Andrew and Graham become ill after being bitten by two unusually large silvery beetles covered with circuitlike lines. The school nurse asks Paul to go for help when a storm causes a power outage, and he soon realizes that the beetles aren't the only creatures on campus morphing into aggressive, silver nano-machines. Under the direction of a favorite teacher, Paul and a loner named Mark herd healthy students into the science block, boarding up windows and doors to keep out the Infected. In a fast-paced series of battles, Mr. Sutton is killed and the students, who once disliked each other (fleshed out in separate point-of-view chapters at the start), must find common ground in order to survive. Individual strengths, such as leadership skills and science knowledge, are utilized to produce weapons, such as molotov cocktails, to stall off the rabid attackers. Tension is maintained to an uncertain end and the probability of a dystopian world in which Paul and his friends feel confident to navigate. The imaginative details of a virus that turns organic matter into circuitry will appeal to middle-grade science-fiction and horror fans as well as reluctant readers.-Vicki Reutter, State University of New York at Cortland

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2014
Grades 7-12 *Starred Review* A couple of boys on a biology field trip uncover a silver creature with chitin markings eerily like a computer chip. But it is only the first of many horrible creatures whose scratches turn humans into silver insects called the Infected. It's a biological-weapon experiment gone awry, a horrifying precursor to an evil world bent on destroying itself. The challenge for a lucky (?) few Mortingham Boarding Academy students is how to survive and, perhaps more importantly, what happens if they do? Wooding has morphed a traditional English boarding-school storybullies, evil headmaster, well-intentioned teacher, and romantic dramainto a horror survival story that would make William Golding and Gary Paulsen envious. The ugly, morphing Infected are graphic, both awe-inspiring and terrifying, as they devour their comrades to become larger, more intelligent, and more vicious. The tension is palpable as a small group of teens gradually out-thinks its few remaining adult leaders, thus leading the scant remaining survivors on a quest to escape. Can goodness actually prevail? Carve out enough time to read Silver in a single sitting. You'll need it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)