Friday, March 31, 2017
[BOOK REVIEW] Orleans by Sherri L. Smith
Darletha reviews ORLEANS by Sherri L. Smith (Putnam’s Sons, 2013)
The fate of New Orleans
and the Gulf Coast goes from bad to worse after Hurricane Katrina. More
devastating hurricanes strike and thousands die. Fifty years later, what is
left of New Orleans is now called Orleans. The Delta region is walled off from
the rest of the United States due to an incurable blood disease called Delta
Fever. Despite rumors from the Outer States that everyone inside the quarantine
is dead, there are survivors.
Inside the wall people
have divided themselves into tribes based on blood type. Fen de la Guerre is a
young girl from the O-positive tribe, genetic carriers not affected by Delta
Fever. Members of the “OP” tribe are hunted by other blood tribes who need their
universal blood type to stay alive. After one such attack, Fen becomes the
guardian of a newborn she calls Baby Girl. Fen strives to protect Baby Girl
from being tainted by Delta Fever, kidnapped, or captured by blood hunters.
When Fen encounters Daniel, a scientist who secretly enters Orleans with plans
to find a cure for Delta Fever, she reluctantly joins forces with him to get
Baby Girl out of the Delta region. Although Daniel enters with noble
intentions, he finds himself in a world more grim and dangerous than he
imagined.
I picked up this book
because the front cover caught my attention. The post-disaster setting and the
author’s descriptive writing style places readers right in the dark, murky city
of New Orleans where familiar historical areas are overrun with standing water
and decrepit buildings. Fen is a fearless young girl, scarred and toughened by
this unmerciful world that doesn’t make exceptions based on age or gender. Told
from Fen’s point of view, readers will never forget how it this novel addresses
class differences, government corruption and survival.
Darletha M., Staff
Labels: Fiction, Reviews by Darletha, Science Fiction, Staff Reviews, Young Adult