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Out of the Blue

Italian book blogger. Loves Jane Austen, ice cream, and the colour blue.
After The Ending - Lindsey Pogue, Lindsey Fairleigh E-galley received through Netgalley for review.

Between November and December 2012, the United States are hit by the Virus, which spreads killing thousands of people: 90% of the population. Dani and Zoe are two twenty-six years-old childhood friends. After surviving the Virus, they both go on a journey to Colorado to meet each other. Dani's boyfriend has been killed by the Virus, but she's rescued by Zoe's brother Jason and his fellow soldiers. Zoe, on the other hand, is accompanied by her friend Sarah and former boyfriend Dave.

The two freinds keep in touch through e-mail messages. They soon discover that some survivors of the Virus turned into violent creatures they call Crazies, while those who remain sane have developed special powers they call Abilities. Zoe can sense people's feelings and memories; Dani can talk to animal minds. As they struggle to reach Colorado, they will face many dangers.

This book sounded good in the beginning, even though I was slightly wary of approaching it because it's 478 pages long - too, lomg, in my opinion, to be just the first instalment of a series. The Virus is described as similar to the H1N1 flu, which means that those who contracted that illness have more chances to survive. The two friends keep in touch using email - which is quite unbelievable: there are frequent power shortage, yet there's wireless Internet everywhere. Dani's boyfriend has been dead for three days, then her teenage crush shows up and she promptly forget about her grief. Both Dani and Zoe meet at least one instance of crazy bitch character whom guys use only for sex. Yeah. And let's not mention Dani being able to secure a supply of contraceptive pills for "several years". How many pills is that? How did she come across it?

Also, apparently being pretty is super important in an apocalyptic scenario. Dani has wild red hair, while Zoe has waist-long black hair. Waist-long, seriously? I imagine it would be very, very hard to keep it clean without regular access to warm water and showers. Plus, all the guys seem to want these girls. The characters are supposedly in their mid-twenties to early thirties, yet they are all controlled by their hormones. Just like teenagers.

I think this book could have been better if it had been shorter, with a clearer plot, and without superpowers. Those special abilities really require a strong suspension of disbelief.