Maggie and Jordan are returning to their small town with their families, keen to pick up their lives after being evacuated many months before. This mass evacuation was due to a meltdown at a local nuclear power plant. But the military tell them all is well now, with no danger of toxic exposure.

Jordan is keen to get back to school and his beloved game of American Football. He’s spent so much of his time away in a camp for the sick or injured. As they were fleeing their homes and any fallout, Jordan’s family was in a terrible traffic accident, and he has many pieces of metal pinning him back together.

Jordan’s best friend Maggie and her veterinarian Mum are surprised and pleased to see how their town looks. Gardens have been tended to, buildings painted and freshened, and their Vet Hospital sign repaired. All looks fantastic for a new start.

There is no internet. There is no cell phone coverage, and any calls made further than the town boundary, go nowhere. Patient at first, but soon increasingly aware of their isolation, Jordan and Maggie begin to ask questions. They find soldiers on the roads in and out of town who claim the road is under repair, but that excuse wears thin too. Now they are back home, Joran and Maggie know they’re trapped.

Told in both Jordan and Maggie’s viewpoints, the intrigue of this YA thriller grabs you early. Jordan feels as if he has superpowers, but Maggie doesn’t believe him, thinking his new concussion from football has affected him. Lots of action, a budding romance (skimmed across), and fire and bullets sum this story up.

I enjoyed the retro movie, song and TV references from the 1970’s and 80’s, peppered through the novel. The ending was a little too sudden, but it was still an enjoyable read.

Authors – James Patterson / Robison Wells

Age – 13+

(Action, AI, Martial Law, Veterinarian, Small town, Romance, Secret, Superhuman,)