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OLDER FICTION
Carson, Rae

Any Sign of Life

384 pp. | Greenwillow | October, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-0-06-269193-4 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-06-269195-8 $9.99
(2) YA Ohio high school senior Paige wakes up from what she thought was just a bout of flu to discover that the sickness she has lived through seems to have killed off everyone else. While a series of explosions tears through her neighborhood, she scavenges supplies, grabs her neighbor's dog, and flees. She eventually meets survivors Trey and Tanq, and they team up to protect themselves from the nonhuman creatures that are turning up among the wreckage. The three make their way from Columbus to Sandusky, where transmissions from a pirate radio station offer hope. The broadcasters explain that the sickness is a bioweapon used by invading aliens, and they all decide to fight back. Carson (Walk on Earth a Stranger, rev. 9/15, and sequels) delivers a solid end-of-the-world thriller full of vivid imagery and strong emotions. Paige and Trey, both talented athletes, mourn the loss of their families and the futures they had planned, while each taking their own day-to-day approach to the extreme situation. Small details--Paige's basic needs include tampons as well as food and water; the group drives a 1987 El Camino--and a clear sense of place bring the story to life. Identity issues are naturally incorporated into the narrative, showing that race and sexuality (Trey, who's Black, faces microaggressions; asexual Tanq worries she'll be expected to help re-populate the world) still matter even as humanity is struggling to survive.
Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

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