Common Sense Media Review
By Michael Berry
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Harrowing, gripping end to post-apocalyptic trilogy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
No sooner have brothers Dean and Alex Grieder and other survivors of the Monument, Colo. disaster found relative safety in a Canadian refugee camp than they discover that one of their missing friends, Josie, is not dead after all. She's being kept in a prison camp designed to contain survivors with type 0 blood and who have been exposed to the mysterious chemical compound that can turn them into homicidal maniacs. Meanwhile, Dean's pregnant girlfriend, Astrid, fears she'll be taken away and experimented upon by the military, so they set off with Jake (the baby's biological father) and Niko (Josie's steadfast boyfriend) on an odyssey to rescue Josie.
Is It Any Good?
SAVAGE DRIFT brings the Monument 14 saga to a satisfying close, finding enough new juice in its post-apocalyptic scenario to carry it through a third installment. This time the narrative spotlight is on Dean and Josie, but there are plenty of callbacks to many other important characters from the series. The scenes in the prison camp are tense and harrowing, and Dean's adventures of the road with Astrid, Jake, and Niko cover new ground rather than just repeat familiar situations.
The two plotlines intersect a little too neatly during the suspenseful climax, but most readers probably won't notice and will be satisfied with the book's resolution. Gripping, sad, and occasionally funny, this saga is a cut well above the rest in this crowded field.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why post-apocalyptic literature is currently so popular. Why do readers like stories in which disaster has struck and toppled civilization?
Do governments ever give false information to their citizens? Is it ever right to do so?
What are good ways to protect the people you love? Is it possible to do harm to someone when you believe you are protecting them?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Topics : Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Feiwel and Friends
- Publication date : May 6, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 13 - 17
- Number of pages : 320
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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