Ya'll I stepped a bit out of my typical reads with this one, and it was soo good. My main hope for a book is that it takes me someplace else...and this one delivered.
Synopsis:
Bill and Penelope are the lucky ones. Not only do they survive the Shark Flu emerging from the melting Icelandic permafrost to sweep like a scythe across the world, but they begin to rebuild a life in the wreckage of the old. A garden to feed themselves planted where the lawn used to be, a mattress pulled down to the living room fireplace for warmth. Even Bill’s psychology practice endures the collapse of the social order, the handful of remaining clients bartering cans of food for their sessions. But when their daughter’s voice over the radio in the kitchen announces that she’s joined a cult three thousand miles away in Bishop, California, they leave it all behind to embark on a perilous trek across the hollowed-out remains of America to save her.
Their journey is an unforgettable odyssey through communities scattered across the continent, but for all the ways that the world has changed, the hopes and fears of this little family remain the same as they always have been. In The Revivalists, Christopher M. Hood creates a haunting, moving, darkly funny, and ultimately hopeful portrait of a world and a marriage tested by extraordinary circumstances.
Thoughts:
So much drama! This wasn't like most post-apocolyptic books I read. When I hear post-apocalyptic I think of movies like Mad-Max, or I am Legend, or books like After the Plauge, by Imogen Keeper. This one was different. This one felt more real in a lot of ways..information was cut off. Bill and Penelope didn't know how the rest of the world survived...there were no news casters to tell them. It was a complete societal collapse...and not really enough people left to create scenarios like Mad-Max.
Bill and Penelope stayed in their home, they grew food in their backyard. They spoke with their surviving neighbors, and Bill even started back up his therapy practice...for barter. People had trauma from what they went through...and Bill needed a sense of purpose.
When Bill and Penelope set off on their journey to find their daughter Hannah, they run into quite a few different communities as they go. People just trying to survive a new world. There are some crazies, but most people are kind. Most people are willing to share knowledge, food, supplies and are just happy to see someone alive. Their journey across the country is a dangerous one never-the-less, with no safety nets in case of an accident, or injury. They met some really fascinating people on the way.
If you're looking for a book that is a quick read, that will stick with you for a while, be sure to check out it out. Bonus points for the Colin Kaepernick pseduo-cameo.
Special thanks to Harper Publishing for the advanced copy.
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