Pod

A "fast-paced and engrossing" (Publishers Weekly) sci-fi novel that asks the question: What would you do to survive?When the black spheres filled the sky, anyone caught beneath them would vanish in a flash of blue-white light. Huddled indoors, the survivors were unaware if what was happening in their neighborhoods was happening worldwide.Josh is trapped at home with his father, whose sanity is starting to erode from the endless confinement. Megs struggles to survive in a hotel parking garage where she sees human nature at its worst. For both of them, food, water, and time are running out.And hovering patiently above them is an extraterrestrial enemy that has inexplicably declared war against humanity…From BooklistIn Prosser, Washington, 15-year-old Josh and his father awake to a screeching, ear-splitting noise, which, turns out, announces an alien occupation. Then the pods show up, giant spheres of pearl gray suspended in the sky, waiting. Anyone daring to venture outside his or her home is zapped. In L.A. that same morning, 12-year-old Megs says good-bye to her mother in a hotel parking garage. When the aliens arrive, Megs finds herself surviving off crumbs found in other cars. Wallenfels never shows readers the aliens. Though they seem bent on starving people out of their homes, the real horror is what humans do to each other. This is especially the case on Megs' side of the story. Thugs regulate the food, water, and medicine supply inside the hotel; separate families; and kill anyone challenging their authority. However, the dire circumstances don't negate the humor, the hormones, or the humanity found in the young narrators. This is solid, straightforward sci-fi—unfortunately, a rarity in these times when vampires and zombies reign unchecked. Grades 8-11. --Courtney Jones Review"Masterful...grabs the reader by the throat from the first page and never lets go." --Kirkus Reviews"Exceptional and unexpected, Pod is a gem not to be missed." --The Entertainer (Kennewick, WA)"Solid, straighforward sci-fi." --Booklist(Eloquence quotes )