River Run

Gr 7–10—This dystopian series focuses on young people trying to survive in different areas of a ruined United States after the Fall. In River Run, Freya and her sister have spent years locked in the basement of the Man Upstairs. When Kat disappears, Freya escapes into the winter-bound city to search for her. After nearly freezing to death, she is rescued by young drifter Finn, who is on his way to "Norlins" where he hopes to find his family. They head south in his canoe, trying to avoid slaver bands, who are always looking for fresh victims. In Plague Riders, Shep, 14, delivers Doctor St. John's homemade medicine to the river communities in what used to be Wisconsin. When he learns that his parents may be alive in a settlement that is scheduled to be burned out as a plague spot, he and his fellow Rider Cara head for Dusty Hollow despite St. John's refusal to give permission, and they are pursued by the doctor's sadistic enforcer, Vargas. Beyond the apocalyptic setting, there are no evident connections between these two titles. Hints about the Fall and its causes are scattered throughout the texts, but there is much that remains unrevealed. The post-Fall world is a rough place, and the books contain considerable physical violence, both on- and offstage. There is some obliquely implied sexual violence as well, such as St. John's "interest" in Cara and other young girls and the two sisters' undefined relationship with the Man Upstairs. Not all of the plot threads are resolved, implying possible sequels to come. The short text (approximately fourth-grade reading level) and intriguing design of these books will appeal to challenged and reluctant readers in middle and high school.—Elaine Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL