After an Earth Shaker, or earthquake destroys Los Angeles and possibly more, 17-year-old Pen embarks on an epic quest to find her missing parents and younger brother, Venice. Pen navigates a dark world with a copy of The Odyssey as her guide, finding that evil creatures and humans now lurk around every corner. With beautifully lyrical prose and a touch of magical realism interspersed throughout the story, Pen makes friends and discovers her own identity, which she had questioned in the time before the Earth Shaker. Teens will identify with Pen’s realistic emotions and reactions throughout the story; she is scared and determined, but grounded in the reality of a devastatingly beautiful world after disaster.

Dystopia, Fantastical Realism          Vicki Schwoebel, Friends’ Central School