Empty

Empty by Suzanne Weyn

Everyone knows that we will eventually run out of oil. Weyn takes readers ten years into the future to the small New York town of Sage Valley to show just how that might feel. Gwen, Tom, Carlos, Nikki, Brock, Hector and Luke have the same problems as many teens. Outsiders Gwen and Luke have never known their father and now their mother has gone missing. Rich cheerleader Nikki is trying to choose between two guys, In their world, though, gas is $40.00 and rising. America has invaded Venezula, the last country thought to have any oil reserves. Food and medicine are scarce, the economy is in a shambles, electricity can't be counted on, and now hurricanes Oscar and Pearl have combined to form a superhurricane that is headed up the East Coast. Weyn's future has a grimly plausible feeling to it that will draw in readers. She does not resort to ex machina to save the day, and the characters and situations aren't fully fleshed out. Still this should be of interest to those who appreciated Saci Lloyd's Carbon Diaries 2015, and any teens who wonder just what the world they will inherit might look like.

School Library Journal - Eric Norton.

Readers who enjoyed Life As We Knew It of The Girl Who Owned a City might also want to pick this one up.

Read On