Contagion

Gr 7-10–Terry’s American debut, the first in the “Dark Matter” trilogy, provides a sinister scientific plot mixed with the supernatural in the form of a contagious epidemic with world-ending consequences. Shay, an older high school student, and 12-year-old Callie are thrown together unexpectedly when Shay experiences a photographic recall of Callie’s abduction from the previous year. The trigger for Shay’s flashback comes from a missing person flyer she stumbles upon at the supermarket, leading her to call the contact number. This is how she meets Callie’s brother Kai. Not realizing how powerful a role her memory will play in the upcoming quest to bring an end to the deadly disease, Shay vows to do whatever she can to help Kai find his younger sister Callie. Little do they know that Callie, who was abducted and experimented on with the deadly disease, is the first to survive its fatal impact. The problem is that her survival caused her to take on a new form, and when she escapes her imprisonment, a wave of destruction is unleashed upon the world. For some mysterious reason, Shay’s and Callie’s families have immunity to the disease’s deadly grip. Set in Scotland and told from Shay’s and Callie’s alternating perspectives, this fast-paced tale accelerates to a cliff-hanger conclusion shortly after Shay comes to a devastating realization.