I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Receiving this free book in no way influenced my review.

This book was amazing. It starts off taking you on a race against time. At first, we meet a young couple moving to Alaska as teachers and they encounter the harsh truth of reality. The Alaskan natives are racing to just survive everyday lives. You are drawn in to the plight of the people and suddenly the terrible race of the unknown plague that appears and now it is a race for humanity.
This book is one I could not look away from. The reality ingrained into the fantasy makes this book eerily intense. I became emotionally invested in the lives of each person. It is a book that makes you question yourself. Not just what would you do in that situation, but question how you live your life today!!
I recommend that anyone who thinks they have read a great story, stop and read this. Then they will know what a great survival story is.
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The Raven’s Gift by Don Reardon is an unusual dystopian story that because of the times we are currently living in, was both believable and very scary. A highly contagious disease, a mutation of the bird flu brings about the quarantine of the state of Alaska. John and Anna are married teachers who are living in a remote village. They are trapped and as the sickness takes it toil, Anna falls ill as well.

Death takes many forms in this book, stalking the characters with sickness, suicide, murder, cannibalism, and even a strange hunter, who appears to be intent upon the assassination of all survivors. As John and a fellow survivor, Yup’ik woman, Rayna set out across the dark, cold land seeking a place of safety, they encounter danger at every turn, but they also find love.

While I was truly engrossed by this story, I also was confused much of the time. The author divided the story into three time lines, just before the sickness, during the sickness and the quest for survival and it wasn’t always clear to me which time line I was reading. I had a lot of questions about this story and the answers weren’t supplied. I also didn’t appreciate the ending which I felt left the readers hanging. Originally published in 2013, The Raven’s Gift felt like it was a foreshadow of what was to come in 2020. ( )

I'd read another by Rearden. He kept me wondering and I learned some things about the Yup'ik that I didn't know. After seeing how the poor were treated in New Orleans during the tragedy of hurricane Katrina, how much less likely would it be for help to be sent to a plagued remote village in Alaska? ( )

A haunting novel. Provocative.

Don't miss reading the "Author's Note" at the end of the novel. It heightens the importance of encouraging others not to miss this novel. ( )

I picked up this book because it's the Anchorage Reads 2015 selection. It's not something I normally would gravitate to so my expectations weren't high, but the excellent writing and story soon pulled me in and makes me think this will be the best book I read all year. Really a stunner!
I can't wait to participate in some of the events scheduled at the Anchorage library this March! ( )