Quarantine: The Loners (YA)

Book #35 Read in 2013
Quarantine:  The Loners by Lex Thomas (YA)

This is the first in a dysptopian series.  The school year has just begun when a mysterious virus, carried by teenagers and fatal to adults, causes the government to lock down high schools.  In McKinley High, there is an immediate "Lord of the Flies" atmosphere.  David and Will are brothers and David just wants to keep Will safe,  especially worried as Will has epilepsy.  Will doesn't want to be coddled by his big brother but the two realize that being together is safer than being alone in a school that has immediately segregated themselves into gangs and turfs and turf wars.  On top of surviving that, the government will not let them leave until it is their "graduation day", which is when they turn 18.  If they are not let out in time, they will succumb to the virus their classmates are carrying and die.

This book is gritty and violent.  It shows what happens when humanity and civilization are lost.  It is also hard to put down.  Readers will instantly become hooked into this book and want to see who survives and at what cost.  There are both strong male and females characters so I think the appeal of this book could be universal.  The writing is action-packed and the characters are complex.  I enjoyed it and will continue this series.  The second book comes out summer of 2013.