Do you ever wonder what the world will be like in fifty or even eighty years? In Epitaph Road, a teen dystopian-fiction novel by David Patneaude, the world was in utter chaos in 2067, but by the time this novel’s main character comes around, everywhere on earth is as close as possible to utopian perfection. Set in 2097 California, Patneaude creates a believable future that will leave readers asking a multitude of questions about where we are as a planet and where we are headed. The novel’s chilling theme of human corruption and mood of the power of the few will leave readers wanting more. With its dynamic characters, addictive plot and compelling ending, Epitaph Road is hardly a novel to miss.
Imagine, billions of souls gone in one day. In…show more content… With the scarcity of boys, Sunday and Tia are immediately drawn to Kellen, and he doesn’t mind because Tia’s smile was enough to keep him at ease. Both of the girls are extremely strong, intelligent, powerful and admirable characters and help to progress the story’s plot and keep the reader hooked. After meeting the girls and showing them around the neighborhood, they return to their home to find none other than Rebecca Mack, head of PAC, visiting Kellen’s mother, Ms. Dent, for a meeting. Realizing that something fishy was going on, Kellen eavesdrops on the conversation between Ms. Dent and Rebecca. What he learns shakes his world and catapults the plot into action. Rebecca Mack came to notify Ms. Dent that an outbreak of Elisha’s Bear was headed for Afterlight, the settlement where Kellen’s father lived. Kellen was alarmed and furious when his mother seemed unfazed and unaffected by this news. Elisha’s Bear was a virus, a natural occurrence, how could PAC track where it would hit next? The Bear had only hit three times since 2067, but they had always been away from North America and near very…show more content… Instead, he took Kellen and the girls to a top-secret, heavily fortified laboratory where he worked part-time. There, he said, scientists had developed a vaccine that immunized men against Elisha’s Bear. Seeking shelter from the impending virus, Charlie, Kellen, Tia and Sunday are allowed into the lab until the planned date of its arrival passes. Naturally, things do not go to plan. Suddenly Sunday goes missing, Charlie is assigned to outdoor security, and Kellen discovers with Tia’s help that the lab hadn’t just discovered the cure for the Bear, they had created a second one for women. Before they can do anything with this information, the lab’s air filters a blow, sending a shockwave through the lab and making staying in the lab useless against the Bear. Now, even more determined to find Sunday and to get away from Afterlight, Tia and Kellen continue their search for her. What they find is enough to make a person sick. A locked room full of women, drenched in sweat and who knows what, burning up and bawling in pain, Sunday in the middle of it all. The last word
