YA Pick: The Outside

The Outside
by Laura Bickle
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2013
313 pages
ISBN: 9780544000131

Read an excerpt

From the author's website:


Advance Praise for THE OUTSIDE:
* “Top-notch. . . . A horror story with heart and soul.”
—Kirkus, starred review

“At once horrifying, hopeful, and hauntingly beautiful, this gorgeous read with its rich textures and spine-tingling suspense kept me glued to the pages in utter fascination. Laura Bickle is a master storyteller.”
 -Darynda Jones, NY Times Bestselling author of The Darklight Series

What other YA authors say (from the book's back cover):

"This is a book to make you fear the shadows--a horrifying and gruesome tale of faith, and things that blink red eyes in the night...I could not look away!" --Lauren DeStefano, author the Chemical Garden trilogy

"What an eerily believable, unique story! I can't stop thinking about it--or shivering." --MelissaMarr, New York Times best-selling author of the Wicked Lovely books

No one has ever told a zombie story with so much heart. Bickle balances Katie's firm religious beliefs with the all enveloping  terror unfolding around her. God seems to have no place in this terrible new world.

Katie is on the run with Alex, a boy she saved by taking him inside her Amish community. Now they are both exiled along with Ginger, a lady from the outside who happened to be visiting the community. The three of them are headed toward Canada and away from the danger of zombie attack. They meet a friendly wolf/dog mix who accompanies them on their journey feeding them the prey he is able to catch.  Alex names the dog Fenrir. Fenrir helps keep them safe and alerts them of danger.

The Hexenmeister gave Katie protection in the form of a Himmelsbrief and Alex has tattoos that protect him from zombies, but they still have to fight them to remain alive.  They become a fearsome zombie fighting team when necessary but it's better for them to travel in the daytime and find safety before nightfall. Along the way, they camp in churches and religious buildings in the hope that zombies cannot enter hallowed ground.

As they near Canada, they meet a group of strangers who seem to glow. A scientist near Lake Erie has developed a "vaccine" that causes humans to glow. This glow confuses the zombies and they fear it. Alex takes the vaccine and becomes ill.

If this vaccine is used on everyone, will they defeat the Darkness? Will  the world be saved? Will Katie ever go home to her community? Will her parents ever forgive her? Will people believe that  the vaccine is the answer?

Katie and Alex are the perfect YA couple on the run. There is romance but no time to develop passion, what with running from zombies and saving the world and all. Katie's belief system is put to the test when she is forced to kill or be killed. They have to "steal" from stores and homes along their route and Katie has trouble balancing her religious beliefs against the belief in survival but survival wins out. Her moral compass remains devoutly religious but the more trouble and strife she endures, the more worldly she becomes. Her struggle to believe in a God that would allow true evil in the world is palpable.

Cover art captures the somber tone of much of the book. A shell shocked Katie travels down a littered path followed by a dark, shadowy figure as black birds circle the gray skies overhead. A ramshackle building by the road stands forlorn and abandoned.  A faint golden glow surrounds Katie as she holds her Himmelsbrief to her heart. The artistic cover will beckon readers and  the well crafted plot will hold them captive.

Words cannot explain how much I loved this book. It is truly magnificent and novel. The idea of a young Amish girl as protagonist in a zombie book is genius!

Highly recommended grade 9-up. Book one, The Hallowed Ones, had no nudity or sex. The Outside has a co-ed shower scene, a sleepover, and  nudity although each scene is not explicit I have The Hallowed Ones in our grade 6-8 library, but I'm sending The Outside to the high school.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Paranormal Pick: The Hallowed Ones

The Hallowed Ones
by Laura Bickle
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2012
320 pages

Mesmerizing, harrowing, scary, creepy, and compelling, The Hallowed Ones will have teen readers on the edge of their seats and up all night as they race through the pages of this smart new ya novel.

A closeknit Amish settlement is threatened by an epidemic from the Outside. When people vanish with no explanation and news from the Outside is that "something" happened, Katie and her childhood friend Elijah go to the next town to check on the whereabouts of Elijah's older brothers. What they find is eerie. The town seems deserted. There are no people about. Elijah's brothers are not at the furniture store where they work, but there are bloodstains left behind. The Elders tell the Amish community to pray and that God will take care of everything.

Katie discovers a young boy just beyond their fence. The Elders say that no one can leave and no one can enter; they are afraid that whatever is killing people may come on their land and infect them. Katie disobeys and carries the boy to the barn where she raises puppies. She nurses Alex back to health and he tells her about the Outside and what he has seen.


Alex is from Canada and was in the U.S. looking at universities and seeing a girl he met on the Internet. She was studying biology in the lab when the breakout occurred. Alex sees the "vampires" firsthand. These vampires are a cross between vampires, wolves, and super-fast, super-intelligent zombies. Think "I Am Legend" and "Resident Evil." They can plan and plot and they have speech. They also have an insatiable appetite for blood. Alex thinks the Amish are safe in their community because they live on hallowed,or blessed, ground. The "vampires" cannot attack holy places.

There is gossip that people are safe in synagogs, temples, shrines, mosques and other holy places. Even a coven of witches seems safe due to their pagan "religion."

When a whole family of Amish are murdered within the settlement, Katie and Alex have to clean it up. But who let the vampires in? And where are they?

The ending sets up for a sequel. If there's not a sequel, I will be surprised and saddened. Katie is a refreshing heroine with spunk and guts; she's not the little "mousehe men of her community cherish.

Highly, highly recommeded grades 7-up. One mention that Katie "lies with" Alex but not mention of what actually happens. Fade to black, ahem. Vampire creature violence and gore.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Summer Reading Pick: A World Away

A World Away
by Nancy Grossman
Hyperion
2012
304 pages (page count from publisher's arc)

Available July 17, 2012 (from publisher's arc)

Achingly poignant, beautifully evocative, and downright lovingly portrayed, A World Away takes the reader away from the year 2012--a world rife with the internet, online dating sites, reality television shows that portray anything but reality, cell phones that think for you and talk back to you, cars that can parallel park themselves, and shopping that only a click away to a simpler...quieter...slower... world where hard work is valued. Family and religion are central; community means helping everyone in the neighborhood.

Eliza Miller is Amish, and she's just turned sixteen. She has never shopped at the mall, viewed television, been to a movie or used a cell phone. She dreams of the larger, more exciting world than horse and buggy and the quiet boys she's grown up with. It is time for her Rumspringa, an event that the Amish community allows for its youth. They are allowed to "run wild. To step out of the plain world." Eliza sees her opportunity when an "English" woman offers her a job as a nanny in the outside world. Eliza jumps at the chance but she will have to convince her parents.

Eliza steps away from everything she has ever known to experience the new, bright, shiny world of the "English" which is what the Amish call anyone who isn't Amish. She marvels at television, loves the movie theater where movies tell a story and the sound seems all around her, and she realizes that blue jeans aren't half as comfortable as they look. She trades in her simple dress, apron, and kapp for clothes she's seen other kids her age wear. She becomes part of the household and babysits each day. She meets hottie Josh and even goes out with him a few times.

Life is good, but different. Eliza likes her new life but misses her family and friends. When she's betrayed by one of those closest to her, she turns back to her familiar roots. Will Eliza be able to leave this new world she loves? Will she ever be able to go back to her Amish family? Can she leave behind the thought of Josh?

This is a beautiful glimpse into an often unseen world that few readers know about. The Amish lifestyle is portrayed with love by the author who is able to impart the beauty and richness of their simple life.

Highly, highly recommeded grades 7-up. No language, no sex.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.