Word Out 2014

Pandemic by Yvonne Ventresca

Reviewed by Elisa (Richview YAG)

Almost as long as people have lived, sickness and influenza has lived with them. The bubonic plague is one of the famous illnesses, as well as the spanish flu. Flus are still with us in modern times; people must remember the H1N1  scare only a few years ago. And now Yvonne Ventresca has created her own: blue flu. At first it started as a small outbreak far away from Liliana’s New Jersey home. Still, she gathers information from her father (a journalist for the magazine Infectious Diseases) as well as food and supplies from the grocery store. At first, when Liliana’s mother travels to Hong Kong on business, it’s nothing to worry about. When her dad gets called away for a convention out of town, it’s still nothing she can’t handle. Although Liliana has been much more anxious and introverted since last year’s encounter with Mr B., and the loss of a best friend and a boyfriend, she’s doing fine on her own. But that’s when people start dying, and normal life flies out the window. Fans of Ashes, Ashes and other similar books will appreciate Pandemic. It is refreshing to hear about someone whose life wasn’t picture perfect OR full of martyrdom before the Earth-threatening natural disaster. Liliana’s story is more plausible, and therefore more relatable. One of the only faults is the love triangle that forms, but Pandemic is a YA novel, so unlikely romance is inevitable. Still, Ventresca has written a satisfying novel that makes one really  want to wash their hands.