Ruined by Reading

Anyone who read Kat Falls’ previous 2 novels, Dark Life and Rip Tide, will not be surprised to learn that I raced through her new book, Inhuman.

Inhuman describes a world in which a virus, Ferae, has changed human society. Those who don’t carry the virus live in the West behind a wall and live in constant fear of contracting Ferae, and for good reason. Ferae causes its victims to genetically mutate, and eventually become more animal than human. What strain you are infected with determines what animal you act and look like, but all strains eventually cause insanity and the desire to infect others by biting or eating them. Everything beyond the wall is known as the Feral Zone, a wild and dangerous place

Lane McEvoy is a teenager who has grown up in this new society. She is hanging out at a party with her high school friends when she is taken into custody, accused of Ferae exposure, and placed into an impossible situation by a government official. If she can get into the Feral Zone and complete a mission without being infected before 5 days are up, her father, who is her only living relative, will avoid execution. Lane, who has never been in the Feral Zone, seems woefully unprepared, but new friends and old fairy tales conspire to help her along the way.

Like Falls’ previous work, this adventure is jam-packed with dangers, close scrapes, near misses, and unstoppable action. Set to appeal to either boys or girls, this book would be appropriate for advanced 4^th and 5^th graders, would be perfect for middle school, and would be OK for high school reluctant readers as well. Those who enjoyed the Hunger Games or Maze Runner series would enjoy this.