Quarantine: The Saints (Book 2) REVIEW

It seemed that the students, lead by Will and the rest of the Loner pack, were finally going to

escape the school they had been quarantined in for almost two years. A group of teenagers outside of the school were trying to break them out, unfortunately it didn’t work and the outsiders got stuck in the school with them. Nicknamed the “Saints” (since they went to the private school about two hours away), they dynamic of life at McKinley High has shifted again. The Saints had brought news of the outside, and it wasn’t good. The infection had not been quarantined by the closing of McKinley and the area round it, but had started to spread all over the state, and teenagers had been killed onsite for more than a year. McKinley High was one of the only places in the entire state that was “safe” for teenagers.

            With the entrance of the Saints power completely shifts inside the school. The “Loners” have disbanded, each person going a different gangs leaving Will alone and scared, just like he was when the quarantine first happened. That is until Gates, leader of the Saints, befriends Will in order to get a foothold in the happenings of McKinley. The two quickly bond, and take over the school with their wild parties and outrageous demands. Not to mention the taking down of former Varsity leader Sam, eventually causing his death.

            Slowly Will begins to realize that maybe Gates isn’t who he says he is. Wild mood swings, talking to himself, and there is murmur from some of the other Saints that maybe some of the deaths that happened on the outside. Deaths that weren’t caused by the government or scared adults, but by Gates, and now Gates is starting to crack in McKinley. All of McKinley is starting to crack.

            Gangs are breaking apart, attacking each other without provocation. Hoarding food and other goods has started again, people are dying, and rape and pregnancy are starting to become an issue. Drops are becoming infrequent again and the few adults who supervise the drops from afar are starting to give up trying to help.

            I thought that this was an amazing follow-up to Quarantine: The Losers by Lex Thomas. The book doesn’t overly dwell on activities from the first novel, which lets this novel have a life of its own. One of the best parts about this series in that the timeline is linear, but each chapter tells the story from a few different people’s perspective. It helps understand the story better, so its not one-sided, but gives a more accurate portrayal of what is actually going on. The story is fast passed, so I never once felt bored. There are enough different storylines to keep you entertained, but not so many that you ever get confused with who’s-who.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys young adult, dystopian novels. He writes in a style similar to Ray Bradbury and Stephen King if they wrote for young-adults. I would compare it to books like Gone, Lord of the Flies, Charlie Higson’s The Fear Series, and other infection type books.