The plot had potential, but the book itself was a disjointed mess. In a better author's hand it could have been great. ( )

The storyline was very interesting - 4 stars. But the writing itself and the character development was lacking - 2 stars. I didn't care when people died because I had no emotional attachment at all. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: This was a unique post-apocalyptic thriller that had good action, and interesting characters.

Opening Sentence: Charlie frowned as muted sunlight leaked through the ragged umbrella of evergreen boughs overhead.

The Review:

Thirty years ago there was a virus that killed 97% of the male population. It was a very fast acting virus that was airborne and if you got infected you had less than 24 hours to live. After that women had to rebuild society and they created a euphoric society with no crime or war. For the last thirty years the world has been at peace, there are still random breakouts of the virus so the male population is still a very small percentage. Males are treated as a lesser being, they can only work in specific job fields and they are basically just sperm donors. Everyone is happier now that there are fewer males or at least the women are.

Kellen Dent is 14 years old and one of the few boys to inhabit the earth. His father was one of the survivors of the male killing virus from thirty years ago. He hasn’t really had much of a relationship with his father since he left to live in a rural community that is made up of mostly males. Kellen is hoping to visit his father this summer, but his mother seems hesitant in letting him go. His mother wants him to stay at home and study for his impending trials. The trials will determine what type of job he can have and his mother wants him to be an influential adult, but as a male that is a hard thing to achieve. Secretly Kellen dreams of living like his father. He wants to be free and live a comfortable worry free life. His mothers boss decides to pay a visit and Kellen overhears a conversation that he shouldn’t have. The virus is heading to the small town his father lives in, and Kellen has to warn him. Kellen has grown up in Utopia but Kellen starts to wonder if the virus was an accident or not. What price was paid to make their world so perfect? Was it worth it?

The story is told from Kellen’s point of view. He had a good strong voice throughout the book. He is a caring person and your average teenage boy. He isn’t the most comfortable around girls but there aren’t any boys around to be friends with. Girls are always looking at him and flirting with him since he is such an anomaly. He had a good personality and can be pretty funny at times. My one problem with him was that at times he seemed so much older than 14 and then other times he acted his age. I wish that he would have been older, I think it would have fit the role he played a little bit better. Overall, I liked him as a character.

Tia is the love interest in the book. Her and her cousin, Sunday, move into the boarding house that Kellen lives in. The group becomes quick friends. Tia is very smart and independent. She has always questioned what really happened when the virus hit, and she wants some answers. She decides to help Kellen warn his father. She is cute and Kellen is instantly attracted to her. I liked Tia. She was interesting and fun to get to know.

This was a fast paced thriller that was interesting and unique. There was good action and a fun adventure. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the idea was different. Unfortunately, I had a hard time believing in the story; it was just a little too far-fetched for me. I just couldn’t get a grip on a world where people would be better off with only one gender. The plot was really predictable as well, so that made the story not quite as intriguing. Overall, I would say that this was a good read but not a really great read. If the synopsis sounds interesting to you and you like post- apocalyptic books you should give this one a try.

Notable Scene:

As he switched it on, he foolishly half hoped for music, but this morning, as always, news filled the airwaves and the plague was all the news. No crime sprees, no crooked politicians, no environmental disasters, no weather, no sports. He imagined empty stadiums. No players. No fans.

Because no plague-related deaths had been reported in almost two days, scientists believed the disease had run its course. For now. Newborn boys were no longer dying. Ships were returning to port. Within hours of one another, the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, all officially noted the cessation of deaths.

FTC Advisory: EgmontUSA provided me with a copy of Epitaph Road. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

Is it less of a dystopia if this future world is ruled by women?
( )

TL;DR: didn't rock my socks but I can see the appeal, and I wish there had been more exploration of the social and political systems. Elements related to the title seem shoehorned in to give the plot a certain gravity, but are otherwise mostly irrelevant to the story.

Kellen is the one boy for every 13 girls, how the population ratio has been for the 30 years since the Elisha's Bear virus first struck, wiping out 97% of the male population. Now there's another Bear on the way, and it's _targeting Kellen's dad's isolated fishing community. Kellen has to warn his dad, but getting there won't be easy--and what he finds when he gets there could mean he'll never get home again.

Social dystopia in the matriarchal political structure (with 97% of males gone, women hold all the power) and societal rules (boys' career options are far less plentiful than girls'), potentially a commentary on current gender divides. Not much is really explored in the social system in terms of world-building, but the basic ideas are there.

A decent enough pairing with other gender-divided dystopias (Herland, Charlotte Perkins Gilman; Nomansland, Lesley Hauge), The Other Side of the Island (Allegra Goodman) for illness, or Restoring Harmony (Joelle Anthony) for Seattle setting. 7th-10th grade appeal; girls will appreciate the woman-focused society (as wish fulfillment for our current society, perhaps?) and boys will enjoy the action-heavy second half. Brief chapters keep the plot moving briskly and discussions of schoolwork keep the plot at least semi-relatable for reluctant readers. ( )