I knew that I would like this book when the beginning discussed Island of the Blue Dolphins. Since that was one of my childhood favorites, I was excited to start reading. This book did not disappoint.
Most of you know that I rarely read books in verse, but this one was quite good. I felt that I was able to get to know the characters and the MC's hopes and fears. It also made the time pass a bit faster, as this book is over a time frame of four years.
I would like to note that I would only recommend this for older middle-grade readers due to the language and the nature of the story.
All in all, I would highly recommend this to readers looking for a survival story full of action or for fans of Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Rating: 4/5
Romance: n/a
Language: d***, b****, a**
Spiritual: character questioning
Violence: natural disasters, a kitten was killed

*I received a copy of this book from Books Forward. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required. ( )

I never thought I'd read a dystopian novel written in poetry, but here we are. I really enjoyed the writing. Some of the situations on how the main character survives may not have been accurate/realistic, but I enjoyed the writing of it and the story too much to care. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the ending- it felt much too abrupt. I wanted more explanation on the story. ( )

Independent Reading Level - 4th and 5th Grade
Awards - Colorado Book Award, the High Plains Book Award, the Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont children's book awards,

Ages: 10-12 Years Old

Trigger warnings: Fire, floods, death of a child in a car crash, divorce, death of a friend, near-death experience in a river
Score: Seven points out of ten.

The last poetry book I read, Unbound by Ann E. Burg, was enjoyable, so after I read a rather underwhelming historical novel, I was hoping that I would like this, and I'm glad I read it; it was another great novel in verse that's just so beautifully written despite its minimalism and doesn't feel repetitive or boring. It begins with the main character, Maddie, trying to live a typical life, and one day, she goes against her parents, who told her not to leave. She plans a sleepover with her friends, but the next day is terrifying. When she wakes, she discovers that everyone is gone because of an "immediate threat" and I didn't know what that was yet. Maddie is alone, hence the title and the part where she recounts her old life before everyone left and the people she knew who died (sad). She tries to look for anyone but finds no one. She realises she must survive by finding food, water and other necessities. A few pages in, looters arrive at the town, and Maddie isn't alone anymore since they were there just to grab whatever resources and valuables they could before leaving; afterwards, she continues to live in the abandoned town, surviving fires and floods and other disasters and she does that for four years, and eventually I reached the end. A rescue helicopter finds her, and she reunites with her mother after four long years. The book tries to answer the question about the "immediate threat" by saying that it was all a fraud and some land-grabbing scheme. Fortunately, there is a new government now, and it just ends there, but I'd have liked to see the people returning there and rebuilding their lives and seeing what was left after so much time has passed. ( )