The Well's End

December 2, 2013
A mysterious sickness sweeps through Westbrook Academy in literary agent Fishman’s debut novel, and 17-year-old Mia Kish might be the cause of it. After all, why else would her father tell her to flee to his secret lab mere moments before military forces locks down the school and her classmates start dying of apparent accelerated old age? Mia and five friends sneak away to demand answers, and it becomes increasingly clear that those answers lie with Mia’s father. Unlike some pandemic stories, Fishman’s novel focuses not on the inherent horror of disease but on the drama of the escape itself, forcing Mia to face the fear of water and darkness that she’s had since falling down a well as a child. The supernatural origin of the disease is revealed, a bit unceremoniously, in a two-chapter infodump toward the end, but Fishman keeps tension high and sets the stage for a dramatic finish. The tension doesn’t let up when the book ends, either—Fishman opts to end on a cliffhanger, paving the way for a presumed sequel. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kirby Kim, William Morris Endeavor.

December 1, 2013
This debut science-fiction series opener relies on the standard mad-scientist scenario, which provides plenty of action. Mia, who's about to turn 17, feels isolated from her fellow students at the superelite Westbrook Academy, a boarding school for the uber-wealthy. She mostly stays with her fellow townies. Brayden, a new student, has just entered on the scene when a strange virus invades the school that appears to make people die of old age within hours. Also invading the school is Blake, first posing as a journalist but returning with a private army that forcibly quarantines the school. Mia and her pals manage to escape in a lengthy and nicely suspenseful sequence, the best in the book. At last, they arrive at the enormous cave where Mia's father does secret work. There, they learn the truth behind the virus and Blake. All the while, of course, a romance between Mia and the mysterious Brayden hangs fire. Just who is Brayden, and what is he doing there? Fishman concocts a marvelous enigma to underlie Mia's father's work, tying in an incident in Mia's childhood that gives rise to the title. While the posh school and the mad-scientist plots don't plow any new ground, the story will keep readers flipping pages. Good entertainment. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

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February 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Baby Mia fell down the well, and for better or worse, that experience still defines her. Now almost 17 and a student at one of the most prestigious schools in the country, she finds that things haven't changed all that much-she is still alone and in the dark, but she remains a survivor. After a devastating virus attacks her school, rapidly ageing both young and old, she worries for her safety and that of her small group of friends. When soldiers in hazmat uniforms quarantine the school and for some strange reason single her out, she knows she must escape to the only place that is safe: the Cave, also known as Fenton Electronics, where her father is the director. Mia suspects that the Cave and her father may hold the cure for the terrible virus. What she discovers is something she never could have imagined. Fishman creates gripping suspense and characters that feel authentic. There are a couple of places where the story drags slightly, and Fishman has a tendency to overuse phrases. Still, this is a solid debut; it sets the tone for the series and leaves plenty of threads dangling for the books to come, which readers will eagerly anticipate.-Erik Knapp, Davis Library, Plano, TX

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2014
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* At four years old, Baby Mia Kish fell into a well and was pulled out to grand media fanfare. Since then, tight spaces and darkness give her the creeps. When the staff and students at Westbrookher berexclusive schooldevelop a strange and gruesome illness that ages and kills them within hours, darkness becomes the least of her problems. She fears that she and countless others will become infected and suffer the same fate. Mia, with four close friends and a new student at her side, must find out exactly what's happening and why before they can save the school and the town. Only her father, who is isolated in his mysterious mountain workplace, can answer her questions. The only problem is that the answers he gives her aren't necessarily the ones she expects; both she and her seventeenth birthday figure prominently in the conflict. Between feats of superhuman endurance and a race against the spread of the deadly virus, there is no time to stop and breathe. The possibilities of biowarfare with a new twist on the life-healing properties of water make the contemporary implications of the story ring unnervingly true. A fast-paced, thrilling adventure story that begs for a sequel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)