There is little as sinister as the very basis of our lives
becoming life-threatening to us. Always having watched apocalyptic movies and
reading books on the subject, it wasn't even the idea of something toxic that
freaked me out so much, it was the idea that something as basic as air and
water could make our very own habitat our enemy.
Rain, probably the epitome of nourishment, becoming poison
is just too much for my head. Yeah yeah, Hunger Games, Battle Royale... that
mankind can be a source of evil doesn't really come as a surprise anymore. But
forces of nature that get us off our high horse of evolutionary advancement – I
can't help but equally worship and be terrorised by them.
Years ago I wrote an apocalyptic short story about poison
rain. And bang,
here is a book that deals with that very subject.
The premise is that a meteor trojan-horses a bacterium from
outer space into our atmosphere, which, when in contact with water, multiplies
like crazy. And it really loves to feast on people.
The story starts with young Ruby being at a party, making
out with a guy in a jacuzzi, when rain clouds gather – and a hysterical parent
ushers them inside. Not knowing what is happening, her heart throb sneaks back
outside to gather his belongings, only to stumble back in, screaming,
scratching his face to shreds. And Miss Ruby suddenly, confused and clueless as
to what's going on, other than the scraps of news she hears about “staying out
of the rain”, finds herself in a world collapsing. She gets a lift home, only
to be quarantined by her parents, and watching the neighbour die a horrible
death on her doorstep.
And her mundane life of friends, mobile phones and shopping
becomes one of thirst, death and survival, where even tap water is the enemy,
or anything contaminated with the new poison rain.
Neighbours become enemies fighting like animals over the
last bottles of drinkable fluids.
All in all a pretty nail-biting read.
There is just one gripe I have with it.
I hated Ruby. From the start. She is a spoilt, whiny, sullen
teenage princess, whose persistent English version of the valley girl talk (“Oh
my gawd, my Dad is such a loser!”) totally, ohmygod, drove me up the fricken
wall. There is a key scene when her Dad is asking her to pay attention to some
life-saving information he wants to pass on, and she just sits there moping
about having left her mobile phone at her friend's house. You just want to slap
her around! All she seems to worry about is make-up, fashion, boys, even AFTER
THE FRICKEN APOCALYPSE. I mean, that's what SHE LOOTS!
I understand the author wanted to perhaps create 'that' character
kids can identify with, but if the general teenage populace is really that
airheaded and mopey, I don't want to live on this planet anymore! She is a high
school bully who complains that the guy trying to save her life is the pimply
nerdy guy.
I give her that, she does develop over the course of the
story into someone not as annoying, but the improvement is not great. It is
hard to love a story – and don't get me wrong, the book itself is amazing! -
where the main character is the shallow brat that one can barely stand to be
around for five minutes in real life, much less read about in a book for days.
So here's my
verdict. It's a fantastic, gripping tale.
Well-written in general, but I had to grit my teeth through Princess Mopey's
valley talk and make-up sampling, to give the book credit where credit is due.
Part of me wants to think I have just outgrown teenage books, but the truth is,
I love them! I have enjoyed the
Gone series,
The Maze Runner series,
The Enemy
series, all of which managed to give teens some credit for brains and being
able to act like someone not as tedious as Ruby. Teenage literature doesn't
necessarily need cliché teenage characters to hit the target market. And
creating an unlikeable protagonist is bound to backfire. Luckily this book just
had enough other good features to redeem itself.
Yours, infectedly,
Patty
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