The book The Eleventh Plague, by Jeff Hirsch, is easy
to get a grip on. Ideas are developed quickly so that you get hooked.
This book is about a 13 year-old kid named Stephen who lives
in a post-apocalyptic world. He must fight for survival after the Red Army (China’s
army) brought a new souped up strain of the flu to the United States. Stephen
is struggling to move on from his grandfather’s death and his dad falling into
a coma. He is trying to fit into a new community with people that don’t really
like him that much. He finally makes friends with one of the kids there, but
when they pull a prank, they cause war to erupt between their camp and a
military base nearby.
This story is told in first person present (the narrator is
Stephen). This well layered story is gripping with many of today’s conflicts,
for example gang violence, war, and teen social issues. This book is relevant
to kids nowadays because they will be able to relate to Stephen’s experience
with loneliness, isolation, frustration and social pressure.
What I do not really like in particular about the story is
that it leaves a few things underdeveloped. For example, some of the people in
the villages, the military base members, and his grandfather were only touched
upon and not fully described. But I enjoyed this book because it was easy to
understand and it had a good and thought-provoking ending. This book describes
a thrilling and uneasy experience of a post-war world, and I would recommend
this book to others who are interested in reading the post-apocalyptic genre.
Book Review by John P.
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