I’m pretty sure I purchased this book when it first came out. The only problem was, I purchased it as an Spanish language ebook and I don’t speak or read Spanish. I tried to fight with Barnes & Noble about an exchange but gave up quickly. When I saw the opportunity to purchase it on a discount just recently, I took it. The cover intrigued me just as it did when I first purchased it, and the summary was equally tantalizing.
The book begins after an event has happened. Students and a two teachers have been quarantined on the island that the school resides due to an outbreak of the “Tox” (the name they’ve given it). Whatever the girls have been exposed to, has been changing them each in different ways. We follow three girls Hetty, Byatt and Reese and we can only learn what they know and discover. If you go in looking for answers you will be disappointed, I’m afraid; there are only whispers of ideas of what might have happened and what is yet to come.
I enjoyed the book very much. I know that there were comparisons to Lord of the Flies when the blurbs were being sent out from marketing, and well, that is a wild stretch. Yes, there are teenagers stranded and yes, they do need to survive, but at no point did it remind me of Lord of the Flies, the most obviously reason without giving spoilers, is that the girls are for the most part cooperative with one another and are willing to risk their lives for truths. No one was trying to be queen of the toxic boarding school and they didn’t even need a conch shell to discuss things. It was wild. I kid, I kid. The most interesting part of the novel was learning how the girls were individually affected by the tox and how it manifested differently in men. I would’ve loved to explore all of that more, however, we are limited to a small group of teens who only know what they’re experiencing and what information they come across (which is quite limited). I could see sequel potential here, if only because I would love more answers.
