Take a photo of a barcode or cover
kim_j_dare 's review for:
The Living
by Matt de la Peña
Children's Literature review: High school--Rising high school senior Shy Espinoza gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he lands a summer job on a cruise ship. Three voyages, eight days apiece, and he'll be able to help his mom with finances. On the ship, Shy and fellow worker Carmen quickly form a bond when they discover that they have both recently lost loved ones to the mysterious Romero's Disease-- Carmen, her father, and Shy, his grandmother. During his first voyage, Shy is approached by David Williamson, a passenger who cryptically asks the towel boy how he can go on living with all the blood on his hands. When Shy's attention is diverted, the man climbs over the rails. Shy's attempts to pull him back are unsuccessful. Although Shy is hailed as a hero for trying to stop the suicide, some of the man's associates are on the second voyage, intent on discovering how much he revealed to the teen about LasoTech. During this cruise to Hawaii, the passengers get the news that a catastrophic earthquake has leveled much of the west coast of the United States, and before they can fully process this information, the ship is hit by a tsunami. While many of the passengers are killed instantly, some are able to get to lifeboats and rafts, although these smaller vessels are no match for nature's fury. A harrowing escape finds Shy on a raft with Addie, daughter of the LasoTech owner. Stranded on the ocean for days, they are close to death when rescued and taken to an island where other survivors-- including Carmen-- have found refuge. But things are not as they seem: on the island, Shy discovers that LasoTech was responsible for loosing Romero's Disease on the public, and the biotech company will stop at nothing to prevent that knowledge from becoming public. This action-packed series starter has much to recommend it: high-octane adventure and great character-building. Students will be biting their nails to see if Shy and his friends make it off the island and back to a ravaged California in the sequel.