Anka itibaren Tayvan, 台東縣綠島鄉公舘村
I really liked the event the book's premise is based on- the super volcano under Yellowstone erupts one day sending ash and other goodies across the United States. The author seems to have done a lot of research on what might happen if a super volcano erupted which makes the story even cooler. The main character Alex is a decent guy- he was able to argue his way out of a family trip to Warren, IL for the weekend and is enjoying playing computer games when boom his house is on fire and the world seems to be falling apart around him. After he escapes from his house Alex begins his journey (with some stops along the way) to find his parents in Warren. He meets a variety of people along the way some with open hearts and pantries - and others who are blood thirsty and cruel. After an encounter with one of the blood thirsty and cruel characters- Alex finds himself being brought back from near death by Darla and her mother. After they meet Darla and Alex's lives are changed forever and they must endure many tragic and difficult adventures together. The only issue I have with the book - like I do with so many teen books - is the love story - how in just a short period of time Darla and Alex are in love and want to spend the rest of their lives together- while I don't like this line of thinking - I thought back to teenage me and realized yeah I was definitely like that at one point- so I'm trying to get over my huge dislike of unrealistic love stories in YA books- overall def a book I will booktalk to teens.
Mercedes Lackey is one of a long list of authors that all my friends read as a teenager, and I didn't. I read this one recently, because I felt I should check out what makes her so cool. Not bad, I have to say, and nice to see some gay characters in a fantasy book, dealt with in a cool way. I read it though, and thought 'hmmm ... that's not a bad book, but there's something strange about it'. Then a friend told me that Lackey is a rather popular author with the girls. Ah yes, all those talking horses and stuff. Girly fantasy fiction! I'm not scared of getting cooties though.
I read this book over a trip home on the plane. It is well paced and easy to read. I am going to keep this short but I enjoyed because how quickly you begin to feel for the characters. It is easy to see why so many people reach for desperation but also how quickly that can be fought with just knowing people who care. It also helps that the book is funny, witty, and clever.