Contagion by Teri Terry is a ticking time bomb of a novel, each chapter bringing the reader closer to the point of impact. This pre-apocalyptic dystopian novel set in Scotland follows two unique and compelling viewpoints; Shay, whose world is about to be changed forever, and Callie, who has seen everything but can communicate nothing. Both characters have secrets and limitations that they must keep from each other, creating that sense of urgent frustration that means you’re reading something great.
The chapters in the first part of the book begin with a countdown, which is easy to ignore at first but slowly because crucial to the plot, leaving you flicking through the pages to find out what happens when that timer reaches zero. Contagion is exhilarating; throughout the novel’s fast pace, Terry drops foreshadowing and hints like a trail of breadcrumbs. The world-building is spectacular; Terry has put a lot of research into making the fictional epidemic seem plausible, and it shows. For as much as my limited knowledge of quantum physics is worth, I couldn’t find any plot holes or anything that lowered the believability of the story.
The main characters are written so that they feel their ages; Callie is impatient and impulsive and a little bit selfish, but it feels justified and natural for a thirteen year old girl. Shay is more mature and thoughtful, but still headstrong as a teenager should be. Terry doesn’t shy away from the impact that an unpredictable epidemic would have on adolescents, and conveys their suffering and fear in beautifully tragic detail. The action scenes and brief periods of rest are laced with tear-jerking moments that surprise you by showing just how attached to these characters you really are.
Contagion is an outstanding beginning to a series that I’m already holding out to read the rest of. Terry’s writing hooks you from the very first page, never letting go of the suspense. It’s the kind of book that you either read all in one go, or every second you’re not reading it, you’re thinking about reading it. What a thrilling read!
Skulduggery Pleasant – Playing with Fire is the second novel in Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant series. Following on from the events of the first novel (if you have not read the first novel, or do not want spoilers, please STOP reading right now), the novel picks up a few months after Skulduggery and Valkyrie defeated …
Kate O’Donnell’s debut novel, Untidy Towns, sets up an escapist fantasy, and then fills it with the reality of running away from your troubles. Who hasn’t dreamed of abandoning school and clinging to the safety of home? When Adelaide walks out of her suffocating boarding school, she thinks she’s free to live her life however [...]
GHOST BIRD follows the tale of Aboriginal twins Laney and Stacey, who grew up in their lower-middle-class rural Australian town. Their idyllic life, however, is thrown for a curveball when Laney mysteriously goes missing after going out with her friends. Through a bizarre series of premonitions that fringe on the supernatural, Stacey becomes obsessed with …
The Graveyard Book, published in 2008, is a work of Neil Gaiman’s that instantly appeals to readers of the macabre and strange. The novel follows Nobody ‘Bod’ Owens through his experiences of living with a cohort of ghouls and ghosts within a cemetery. The Graveyard Book chronicles his life throughout the graveyard and the places …
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Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein is a fast-paced psychological thriller with a distinct Australian flavour. One for those with a morbid curiosity, this novel is rife with dark themes and mind games, leaving you itching to uncover all of its secrets. Tash Carmody is confronted with her past when the ghosts of her childhood reappear …
Book Review – Contagion by Teri Terry
The chapters in the first part of the book begin with a countdown, which is easy to ignore at first but slowly because crucial to the plot, leaving you flicking through the pages to find out what happens when that timer reaches zero. Contagion is exhilarating; throughout the novel’s fast pace, Terry drops foreshadowing and hints like a trail of breadcrumbs. The world-building is spectacular; Terry has put a lot of research into making the fictional epidemic seem plausible, and it shows. For as much as my limited knowledge of quantum physics is worth, I couldn’t find any plot holes or anything that lowered the believability of the story.
The main characters are written so that they feel their ages; Callie is impatient and impulsive and a little bit selfish, but it feels justified and natural for a thirteen year old girl. Shay is more mature and thoughtful, but still headstrong as a teenager should be. Terry doesn’t shy away from the impact that an unpredictable epidemic would have on adolescents, and conveys their suffering and fear in beautifully tragic detail. The action scenes and brief periods of rest are laced with tear-jerking moments that surprise you by showing just how attached to these characters you really are.
Contagion is an outstanding beginning to a series that I’m already holding out to read the rest of. Terry’s writing hooks you from the very first page, never letting go of the suspense. It’s the kind of book that you either read all in one go, or every second you’re not reading it, you’re thinking about reading it. What a thrilling read!
Contagion will be released on May 18 2017.
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