Jonathan R. Miller

Seven year old Jasmine is a mixed race girl returning with her parents from South Africa. After an unexpected stop in Sierra Leone some of the passengers show signs of an illness when they reach the USA. They run from the airport into a nearby mall and Jasmine and her mother are swept along with them. There is a retreat for mall workers happening and they barricade themselves into the first floor. The others remain on the second floor.

Jasmine’s mother is injured leaving her to navigate between the levels. She is not accepted by those on the second level because she is not dark enough, but on the first level she also does not fit in with the mostly white mall workers.

There are a number of current issues covered in this book. But the main focus is on race, bigotry and tolerance. As young Jasmine watches the adults on both Levels, it is plain that she is confused by the attitudes of these grownups.

I felt that the characters required a little bit more depth to overcome the fairy obvious allegory. There were a few things that didn’t quite ring true, one of them being the ending. Surely, in this day and age with this scenario would not be possible.

However, this was a fast read and I was hooked from the beginning. I was compelled to read it to the end to discover the fate of Jasmine.… (más)

Park and Lee are going through the motions of marriage on their vacation when the Collapse hits. No one truly knows if it's a virus or some newly awakened part of the genome. Who will survive? How can we survive? What does it mean to survive?

A complex, detailed narrative leads characters and readers through different levels and types of trials and turmoils.

Characters learn and develop as the story progresses, are caring, multi-faceted, and interesting.

Overall, a compelling read.… (más)