A disease has spread throughout the world and it has turned everyone over the age of 16 into cannibalistic beings covered with blisters, boils, and broken skin that oozes infection. Their brains have become a scrambled mass and they have forgotten how to do much more than survive.
The disease has left the children untouched, however, and they are now huddling in small groups squatting in abandoned buildings and homes that have been picked clean of any food that might have once been there. The children are on constant guard to keep the diseased grown-ups out and the leaders, Aaran, Maxie, Callum, and Achilleus, frequently have to brave the city streets to find food just to survive. After suffering the loss of Small Sam right out of their own back yard and the death of two leaders during a foraging trip, the kids come to the rescue of another child under attack outside their walls.
When the new boy tells them there is an organized group of kids living at Buckingham Palace growing fresh food in the protected gardens there, Arran’s group must decide if they want to risk even more losses by making the treacherous journey across London’s dangerous streets to join the Palace kids. What they don’t know is the truth of what actually awaits them at the end of their trip… 448 pages Ages 13 and up
Recommended by Susan Grigsby, Teacher-Librarian.
