Neptune's Children

From the author's website:
A day at the fabled amusement park Isles of Wonder turns deadly when a worldwide biological attack kills every adult, leaving behind only the kids to fend for themselves. Isolated from the world, unsure of what lies ahead, the young survivors assemble under the statue of King Neptune, the mythical ruler of the Isles, to form a new society. Led by the children of the park workers,they choose to remain closed off from the outside world living relatively comfortably inside the self-contained park. But when violence from the infected outside world appears to infiltrate their safe zone, one small group discovers a secret society and a hidden system of underground tunnels, and the stage is set for a war that will determine the future of everyone on the Isles.

While reading this book I was reminded a bit of Lord of the Flies, only amusement park style. What also came to mind was the graphic novel series Y: The Last Man (in which all men but one die of a plague).

You follow this story through Josh - a boy whose little sister Maddie has overcome a bad illness and is going to live. They soon find their parents and older sister dying, along with all the other adults. Right off the bat, he talks to a girl named Zoe who has a little brother named Sam.

Things are chaotic, kids just hanging around, sobbing, toddlers and babies with no parents to take care of them. Then a boy finds the speaker system and, through Neptune's voice, gathers the children together.

They start to get organized and Josh becomes part of a core group of a kid government, only it soon turns into a power trip for the leader - Milo. Josh is torn between his relationship with Zoe and staying with the group, but ultimately ends up with Zoe.

A year passes, things seem organized and together, when suddenly the outside world seems to have a spark again. They were too worried to travel out before, not knowing what it would be like - crime wise and disease-wise. Only, Milo doesn't want to lose power, but relents to sending out scouts to figure out what is out there.

The question is how far is Milo willing to go to keep his power and how will Zoe and Josh be able to stop him?

I just ate this book up. There was political intrigue, relationship issues, and of course great sci-fi elements with the plague occurring and the reactions to it. A great read and really makes you realize how much living in an amusement park wouldn't be your greatest dream granted.

5/5 Roses