Since I know the Toronto Islands quite well and lived near Lakeshore for a long time, the setting really worked for me. I’ve also read the Rule of Three series so this spin off made perfect sense as well. The only thing I didn’t like much was that the main character in this story is also missing one parent. It would be refreshing to have a story where a child or teen gets to have both parents. Liked the survival strategies and the believability. Hope there’s another one. ( )

This is a quick read for those who love stories about survival.

I read this for the @forestofreading program so I could share with the students ( )

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Fifteen-year-old Emma just moved to a new city with her mother and her little brother. Their apartment building is still under construction, so regular power outages are not uncommon. When the power goes out just as they are leaving for a weekend camping trip, they don’t think much of it. That is until their car won’t start and their cell phones die. Not to mention all of the cars that are no longer working, parked on the road outside their building.
Since they are already packed for their trip, Emma’s ex-marine mother decides they will take their gear and canoe to a small, uninhabited island. As the outage continues, people become desperate and suddenly things are far from safe as the threat of violence increases.
What would happen if suddenly the things that you use and count on everyday suddenly quit working? Would you know how to get food and water? How to build a fire?
Personally, I am not the biggest fan of post-apocalyptic fiction. They’re so realistic. This novel, however, I found to be a great read that helped highlight our dependence on modern technology and convenience. When the power mysteriously quits working, the citizens in Emma’s new city home don’t handle it well because very few of them have the knowledge that allows them to survive without it. The longer the power remains out, the more desperate everyone becomes, bringing out the strengths and the weaknesses of each individual, as well as, bringing out the worst in them.
The setting allowed me, as the reader, to envision this happening nearly anywhere. Usually being able to imagine this sort of scenario in my own backyard would be one of the reasons I would not have enjoyed this novel but for some reason that was not the case here.
Reading this novel made me extremely thankful to family and friends who taught me how to grow food, build fires and shelters, and purify water throughout the years.
This book is listed, on Goodreads, as the fourth book in The Power of Three series by Eric Walters. However, since the main character shifts for this installment, I was able to read it without any difficulty or confusion. The author himself has informed me that the fourth book can be read without reading the first three.
I was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel and would give it four out of five stars.
I would recommend this novel to fans of post-apocalyptic fiction such as The Road.
I won my copy of this novel on LibraryThing.com for the sole purpose of providing an honest review. I am currently seeking permission from the publishers to use an image of the cover artwork above. ( )

Emma, her little brother Ethan and her ex-Marine mom, Ellen, must work together to survive in this post apocalyptic YA thriller. When the power goes out in their town the family decides to go on a camping trip to a nearby Island to ride it out. Although it is a widespread outage, they don't think it will last that long. Unfortunately as days turn into weeks it becomes obvious that this will not be a quick fix. Emma and her mom and brother band together with others to survive. This is a typical survival story, interesting and fast paced, but not a standout. The inclusion of strong female role models was a bright spot in the book and so was the growth of Emma throughout the book. Ultimately though the characters were a bit flat and the interaction wasn't entirely believable. I enjoyed the story but there is some room for improvement as the series goes on.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review through the early reviewers program. ( )

Unfortunately, this story has been done several times already. Power fails for some unknown reason, nothing works anymore beyond basic steam powered engines and older technology. The story is decent, and the characters are mostly relatable, but S. M. Stirling did it already with the Emberverse series.

That being said, I DID enjoy the story -- it just wasn't very original, and didn't add enough to the idea to make me forget that lack of originality. However, I could be surprised, and a future sequel could make me reconsider, if it starts to explore the REASON for the failure of basic science. ( )