This week’s featured title is one of the
most compelling and thought-provoking reads
of 2013. Too bad it also gave me nightmares
for weeks.
In Fallout, it’s 1962, and Scott’s family
is the laughingstock of the neighborhood after
his father decides to build an underground
shelter to protect them from the atomic bomb.
This book is based on history—the Cuban
Missile Crisis, to be exact—but in the story,
unlike in real life, the worst actually does
come to pass. One night, Scott is awakened
and hurried down to the shelter. But he and
his family aren’t the only ones inside.
Unprepared neighbors force their way in, too.
And when the bomb hits, Scott and his family
are safe…but for how long? With so many
people in the shelter, supplies are running
low, tempers are flaring, and hidden prejudices
surface.
If you like dystopias, you’ll love this
book. But if terrifying imagined scenarios,
featuring the worst in human nature, disturb
you, you should probably stay away. I thought
Fallout was exceptional in many ways—as
a coming-of-age story, and as an exploration
of how people respond to a crisis. But because
it feels so real, it’s also not for the
faint of heart.
