BoTW: The Eleventh Plague

I am a big fan of The Walking Dead series. I've read the first graphic novel compendium and watched both seasons of the TV series on AMC. Young adult literature didn't really have an equivalent until Jeff Hirsch wrote The Eleventh Plague, a book that mirrors everything about The Walking Dead except for the roving hordes of flesh-eating zombies.

The book opens up with Stephen helping his Dad bury Stephen's grandfather. Some years ago, the United States went to war with China. The U.S. launched nuclear weapons at China, China reciprocated by unleashing a deadly flu virus at the United States called P11H3, aka the Eleventh Plague. Stephen's grandfather just died, his mother died some years ago, and now it's just Stephen and his Dad. They are scavengers, people who roam the desolated U.S. landscape looking for bits and scraps that they can trade for food, clothes, and ammunition.

After they bury grandfather, the father and son set out again, making their way south towards Florida and a trading outpost. Along the way, they stumble upon a crashed U.S. Airforce bomber. They investigate inside the busted fuselage and discover some treasures, a warm blanket and a can of pears. The latter they choose to devour rather than save to trade later. In this post-apocalyptic world, a can of food is worth its weight in gold. Stephen and his Dad can't resist eating its contents anyways.

The two linger too long at the plane crash site and a pair of slavers stumble upon them. A thunderstorm erupting above them, Stephen and his Dad flee for their lives after unsuccessfully confronting the evil men. Running for their lives, they end up at the edge of a sharp ravine, a raging river below them. Scanning for a new escape avenue, the ground suddenly gives way underneath Stephen's Dad and the river takes him. Stephen sheds his gear and clothes and dives in after him. He grabs Dad in the middle of the churning water, but when he drags him ashore, he finds his father badly injured: a skull fracture and a broken arm and leg.

Truly alone now, how will Stephen survive? How will he care for his father without the modern luxuries of a hospital or medical supplies? Read The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch and find out! It may not have hungry, brain-munching zombies but it's still a great read!