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Author:  Suzanne Weyn

My recommended age:   13+

Their recommended age: 12+

Publisher:   Scholastic Press

Number of pages:  183

Publisher’s description:

"It's the near future - the very near future - and the fossil fuels are running out. No gas. No oil. Which means no driving. No heat. Supermarkets are empty. Malls have shut down. Life has just become more local than we ever knew it could be.
Nobody expected the end to come this fast. And in the small town of Spring Valley, decisions that once seemed easy are quickly becoming matters of life and death. There is hope - there has to be hope - just there are also sacrifices that need to be made, and a whole society that needs to be rethought.
Teens like Nicki, Tom, and Gwen may find what they need to survive. But their lives are never going to be the same again."

My thoughts:

 It was good.  Though some of the characters were slightly bland, and there was a strong thread of teen romance, I liked it.  I like futuristic books, and this fit the bill.   Conversation among the characters didn't seem strained or unrealistic. A few happenings did seem like a stretch, in real life, I would find it highly unlikely for that to happen, but it was good.  I wouldn't hand this one over to my younger, 11 YO brothers without some hesitance, due to the teen romance which I find to strong for my preferences.  But that is the only main objection.

Cons:

 Teen Romance.

Some just-in-the-nick-of-time happenings.

Pros:

 Good future planning.

Good character conversation.

Awesome cover.  Ok, not that that is REALLY a pro....but I really do like the cover.

Language:

 None that I can remember.

Romance and sexual:

 A whole lot of teen romance.

Violence:

 There is a mob that injures a whole lot of people, and comes close to having a knife pulled, but police intervene before that happens.

There is some boys that steal gas, and it ends with a fight, broken windshields, and police intervention.

Drugs and drink:

 Gwen's brother is mentioned to get drunk sometimes.

Gwen's mom was a drug addict.

Nicki's dad gets drunk once.

Ratings:

So, you can see, it has a lot of bad points.  There is some stuff I wish weren't in there, but I still enjoyed it.  So, my rating?

Not bad enough to earn a 3, but not good enough for a 4.  For the first time, I'm going to give a halved rating.

3 1/2 STARS

Where you can buy it at:

Scholastic has it for $12.59 and Amazon for $10.39. All prices do NOT include shipping.

*I received this book from Scholastic Publishers.  I was neither paid nor made to do this, but did because I wanted to*