Orleans

Gr 8 Up—After Hurricane Katrina, a series of hurricanes hits the Gulf Coast and decimated its population, leaving behind destruction and illness. Fifty years later, Delta Fever has set in, and the government abandoned the residents and constructed a wall to keep illness away from the Outer States. People in Orleans live in tribes according to their blood type, and with blood transfusions often necessary, blood is a commodity that many will take by force. Fifteen-year-old Fen lives in Orleans with her tribe, O-Positive, and her job is to watch over pregnant chieftain Lydia and protect her. When the tribe is attacked, and Fen is left alone with an infant to care for, she faces her past to try to find a better life for the baby. Daniel, a scientist from the Outer States, watched his younger brother die of Delta Fever. This drives him to find a cure, but when he crosses over illegally into Orleans to further his research, he finds that things there are not as he expected. As Fen's and Daniel's paths converge, her tough, experienced character is juxtaposed with Daniel's naïve one. Fen's memories reveal a background that is disturbing. Her voice is unique, and the layers of her character are revealed slowly but flawlessly. The few threads that are left dangling could lead easily to a sequel, particularly the hints of government secrecy and the future of the child, but this dark novel stands on its own nicely.—Kelly Jo Lasher, Middle Township High School, Cape May Court House, NJ