"The Saints" (Quarantine #2) by Lex Thomas

*You probably shouldn't read this unless you have either read The Loners or you are okay with spoilers.

While outside of my normal tastes, I rather enjoyed The Loners, so I was anxious to read The Saints. While I did enjoy it, I didn't care for it as much at the first book. However, it has left me crazy anxious to read the third and final in the series The Burnouts.

Things have changed for the students at McKinley High and not necessarily for the better. David has graduated and now Will and Lucy are on their own. The hierarchy of the school begins to change as a group of parents has taken it upon themselves to provide necessities for the abandoned teens (this is the very basic premise. Tons more happens, but I try so hard to avoid spoiling anything).

As a whole, this book didn't seem as dark as the first one which for me was nice, but in some ways I think that made the plot a little weak. I also really missed David's point of view from the story as Will isn't nearly as strong of a character. Overall though, the plot was very captivating and the right amount of suspense. Overall I see this series having more appeal for guys than for girls, but know that both genders can appreciate the writing too. The Lex Thomas team have really created an interesting scenario and I hope to see more books by this duo in the future.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"The Loners" (Quarentine #1) by Lex Thomas

First off, this book really surprised me. I knew the general premise; something happens causing the population of a high school to be completely quarantined from the rest of the world and their fight to survive. What I didn't expect was just how dark this book was going to be. Unfortunately, it was a little darker than I generally like, but I think that this made the book stronger overall. David's first day of school starts off just as one would expect when out of no where, part of the school explodes. Without warning, the teachers are dead, the students are unable to leave and nothing will ever be the same. As the school falls into absolute chaos, David has to do anything he can to keep him and his brother, Will, alive.

There was just something about this book that caught my attention. I didn't expect so much chaos and destruction, but am glad to see that such a book exists. I am an extremely squeamish person. To give you an idea of how much so, parts of The Hunger Games film was a little bit too graphic for me. I managed to get through the entirety of Breaking Bad, but a good number of scenes were "watched" with my eyes closed even that was a little traumatizing. There were several times while reading The Loners where I had to close the book and breathe for a minute because the scene was that intense. Now don't get me wrong. I am not complaining about this and I have every intention of reading the sequel. It is just not often that I come across a book that creates such a strong visual and while that element was a little overwhelming for me, I am so glad for this.

A few days ago, a teen at my library asked me for a book that was scary, but that didn't have anything like zombies or vampires in it. I recommended the first of the Quarantine books. The next day he came back and told me "that was awesome. Are there more?" So I can say with some certainty that if you like scary books that don't involve the paranormal, then you will probably like this book. While I will approach any other books by the Lex Thomas team with caution due to my own weirdness, I am very hopeful for more books by them.

Happy Reading!
-Melly