The Eleventh Plague [Kindle Edition]

Jeff Hirsch (Author)

Book Description

In an America devastated by war and plague, the only way to survive is to keep moving.

In the aftermath of a war, America’s landscape has been ravaged and two-thirds of the population left dead from a vicious strain of influenza. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his family were among the few that survived and became salvagers, roaming the country in search of material to trade. But when Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father falls into a coma after an accident, Stephen finds his way to Settler’s Landing, a community that seems too good to be true. Then Stephen meets strong, defiant, mischievous Jenny, who refuses to accept things as they are. And when they play a prank that goes horribly wrong, chaos erupts, and they find themselves in the midst of a battle that will change Settler’s Landing--and their lives--forever.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for The Eleventh Plague

"The Eleventh Plague hits disturbingly close to home... An excellent, taut debut novel." — Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games

About the Author

Jeff Hirsch graduated from the University of California, San Diego, with an MFA in Dramatic Writing, and is the USA TODAY bestselling author of THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE and MAGISTERIUM. He lives in Beacon, New York, with his wife. Visit him online at www.jeff-hirsch.com.

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Product Details

• File Size: 299 KB
• Print Length: 293 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0545290147
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (September 1, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005GM63DK
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,916 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 60 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Finished this in one sitting August 28, 2011

By Jennifer L. Rinehart TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

It was the front cover blurb from Suzanne Collins that caught my eye. I've read the Hunger Games three times and if Suzanne says this book is 'excellent' then it at least deserved a second look.

I grabbed it along with a copy of Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep (which is super duper, btw) and found a place to sit down (which is a rare thing at Barnes and Noble nowadays) and started to read the first chapter.

From the first page I was drawn in. I don't like to make comparisons to other books, it's hard to do it well and people always squawk about it if the book compared is one they either love or hate, but Stephen, the main character reminds me a lot of Katniss from the Hunger Games. There's also a bit of Rose (from Vampire Academy), Marcus (from Little Brother and Nailer (from Shipbreaker). Like the characters from these other books, Stephen is a young person forced to deal with terrifyingly mature situations that could lead to dire situations for himself and others. How he rises to the challenge is what kept me reading through lunch then dinner without stopping.

Stephen's world is far different than the one we know now. His family are scavengers, think of the dead and rotting world in movies like Mad Max or Logan's Run and you wouldn't be far off. There was a war with China, then a plague and what's left of America lives in small settlements scattered throughout the country.

His small family are scavengers. His father, his brutish grandfather and Stephen roam what's left of the cities for tradeable items, something like a can of pears could allow them to have food and shelter for a week. But scavengers are not the only ones wandering the cities.

There are ex-military bandits, chinese troops and slavers and a whole part of the country is off limits, though his father sometimes talks about finding a place to settle down, raise crops, etc. But that would mean striking out into undiscovered country and leaving the trail with it's semblance of safety.

It is within this hopeless situation that everything turns from bad to worse, pretty much from the first page with a funeral. I wont tell you who dies, but the funeral seems to be the beginning of a chain of decisions, some good and some so completely bad, you'll wish you could step into the book to advise Stephen.

There's a lot of room for heroics, but Stephen is a reluctant hero, which is pretty much my favorite kind, kicking butt and taking names is for movies, Stephen seemed real to me, he didn't want to get involved in bad situations but sometimes you can't help it. Best of all, Stephen is an aware character, what I mean is, he knows he's making decisions that could be dreadful and he does it anyways. I guess I like that too, his decisiveness is refreshing.

My only complaint with the book is that it was kinda fast, before I knew it and was ready the book was done. I'm a fan of quick reads, but I can't help thinking there could have been a little more, more description, more worldbuilding, more story.

Oh well, guess I could read it again.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars So-so September 21, 2011

By Tina

Format:Hardcover

I was a little disappointed in this one. It starts out with Stephen roaming the country with his Dad and Grandpa, salvaging what they could, to survive, after a war, the plague and finally the Collapse. Suddenly they get to Settler's Landing, this almost-to-good-to-be true town where all the events that ensue turn the story into something a little too simplistic for me.

After living the life he did, with his mean old coot of a grandpa, I would have thought that Stephen would be more mature than he was. The prank that was played by Jenny and Stephen was silly and carried way to much of a bearing on the story, after all they went through. The author simply lost me here.

I just found that the families in the story reverted back to their old ways a little too easily. They let the "money" people run the show, and they still followed, just as before, still pushing for war. Basically, nothing changed "after the war" and no lessons were learned.

23 of 29 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Great Dystopian Setting with Reserved Connections October 17, 2011

By A. Hoffenberg

Format:Hardcover

My interest in the book: The dystopian setting, of course! I'm a sucker for a good dystopian book. I was really drawn to it because of Settler's Landing. I really love character-driven post-apocalyptic fiction, and was really interested to see how this group of people work together to build anew.

My Favorite Characters: My initial interest was in the characters, and unfortunately, my biggest issue is that I didn't really connect to the characters. *insert sad face* Sure, I felt for Stephen's situation, especially as the story progressed and certain events occurred. However, I didn't go through the book really caring, one way or another, about what happened, to anyone. That being said, my favorite characters were outcast Jenny and ADHD Derek. Those two characters felt the most real to me. I always seem to adore the secondary characters. I will say this, however. Stephen grew on me as the book progressed. His thirst for knowledge and use of art in a therapeutic way sang to me.

Worldbuilding: I loved the setting of this book! In my mind, I was picturing the movie The Book of Eli. I don't know how accurate that is to what the author was going for, but it worked for me. After China nuked USA with P11H3 - the eleventh plague - The Collapse occurred. I imagined Stephen and his father traveling long distances as they gathered up trinkets to sell, road hunters that search the lands for slaves, people searching for a semblance of hope in the company of others. The world was definitely a lot more interesting to me than the story or characters.

Lasting Impressions: I appreciated the author's inclusion of racism/discrimination towards Jenny, and it reminded me of how we treated Muslims after 9/11. I love when authors challenge our biases and stereotypes. The setting of this book was my favorite piece, and while I didn't really connect to any of the characters, I certainly wanted to see them prevail. All in all, it didn't deliver the total package, but The Eleventh Plague was entertaining and interesting nonetheless.

More About the Author

Hi there. Thanks for stopping by. Here's a little about me:

I'm originally from Richmond, VA but now live in Astoria, NY with my wife who blogs and writes books about sewing and our two cats who don't contribute anywhere near as much to society.

I went to undergrad in North Carolina (studied acting) and then headed out to San Diego and got an MFA in dramatic writing.

I know how to escape from a strait jacket while suspended from the ceiling by my ankles.

If I ever have a dog I think I'd like to name him Jerry Lee Lewis.

I'm torn as to whether the coolest living human is A) Tom Waits or B) Prince.

The Eleventh Plague is my first book. Well, the first book that was ever published. There was this one about a teenage rockstar and her drag queen fairy godmother, but honestly, the less said about that one the better.