Sick by Tom Leveen

Sick by Tom Leveen
Series: N/A
Source: Publisher for review
Publisher: Abrams
Publication Date: October 1, 2013

Breakfast Club meets The Walking Dead as a group of unlikely allies tries to survive a deadly outbreak.

Brian and his friends are not part of the cool crowd. They’re the misfits and the troublemakers—the ones who jump their high school’s fence to skip class regularly. So when a deadly virus breaks out, they’re the only ones with a chance of surviving.

The virus turns Brian’s classmates and teachers into bloodthirsty attackers who don’t die easily. The whole school goes on lockdown, but Brian and his best friend, Chad, are safe (and stuck) in the theater department—far from Brian’s sister, Kenzie, and his ex-girlfriend with a panic attack problem, Laura. Brian and Chad, along with some of the theater kids Brian had never given the time of day before, decide to find the girls and bring them to the safety of the theater. But it won’t be easy, and it will test everything they thought they knew about themselves and their classmates.

Sick was kind of a weird read for me. I went into it expecting this awesome, kick-ass crew of people fighting terrifying zombies that are in lockdown with them. But I didn't really get that, to tell you the truth. While there was zombies, and there was a group of people fighting them, most of the story centers around Brian and his problems with that. I felt like Chad (my personal favorite) would have been a better main character, because he was enlisting, and it seemed like he was doing a lot of the planning/fighting.

But since Brian was the main character, I'll talk about him. I didn't actually particularly care for him. He was so... indecisive. I felt like he didn't really know what he wanted, besides getting his sister safe. Which is a noble cause, yes. But once his sister was safe, it was his ex-girlfriend. It's like he didn't really care who got hurt trying to save "his" stuff. (Which it seems mean to call them stuff, but I'm just trying to make a generalization.)

I tried to like Brian, but... I enjoyed his friend Chad so much more! He was sweet, and even if he was prone to being a total jerk sometimes, it's still obvious that he cares. And I love what they start calling him towards the end... "Ten Ball". Like a billiards (#10 is blue stripe) ball, because of his mohawk. (LOVE THAT)

Now, towards the end, all sorts of things started to get weird. I generally like zombie books (gross, rotting flesh eating monsters chasing people is so me), but... I felt like the zombies were kind of shallow-ish. Their part of the story wasn't as... filled out as I would have liked it to be. Not enough action or grotesque-ness, I guess. And to be honest, I never really understood where this "plague" came from. There was some kind of explanation, but I didn't really get it.

This could have been a lot more dramatic, in my mind. And the ending.. don't even get me started. I thought that the ending would be the clincher-- the thing that solved all of my problems with this book... but it wasn't. All in all, Sick just wasn't the read that I hoped it would be. Chad was the absolute best part... and I can't talk about him right now.

PODs by Michelle Pickett

PODs by Michelle Pickett
Series: PODs, #1
Source: Publisher for review
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publication Date: June 4, 2013

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul.

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

I walked in the front door just minutes before dinner to find my parents huddled in front of the television set.

PODs was an intense read from the very first chapter. And I'm really not sure what I have to say about it other than that. Reviewer's block, thine name is Megan.

So I guess I'll just go off my notes...usually it just flows? o.O

I loved the plague element of the story. It was well-thought out and believable. I can totally imagine the world getting wiped out by a virus like this. I can also imagine the USA government having a similar solution-- kind of like the Holocaust holdings. PODs under the earth, air-tight with a raffle determining all who get to live.

The only thing that I don't understand about this theory is the continued survival of the military and a dictatorship...I don't remember any mention of them in the PODs. Another thing? What if everyone from the outside had died, and no one was left to let them out of the PODs? What would have happened then? So clearly, this isn't a plot without holes, but it totally kept me entertained/happy.

I loved the interaction between all of the characters. Sometimes banter happened, and other times it was depressing, but they were all there for each other and that just means everything, right? I really liked that.

I also liked Eva. She was sweet and open, but she also had a hint of rebellion and sass in her character. I loved her with David, and I hope that they get to stay together in the next book, because they work well together. My only issue with David was that he can be a tad too sexist at times-- but don't worry, Eva calls him on it every time.

Last but not least, I liked it when they finally got out of the PODs-- it catapulted immediately to serious dystopian, which I seriously liked.

All in all, PODs is a good dystopian read, but my review is a tad stilted for some reason?