Review Detail

Times are tough. Money is almost worth nothing. Food is getting scare. But even worse is what's going on at sixteen-year-old Barry Mortimer's new home. His father has moved them from their comfortable modern home in the city to an old mansion on the outskirts of town. Not only that but he's being very secretive and won't have anyone come and visit.

Rumors skyrocket as does the cost of food and other things. Barry watches as his world collapses around him. Can his family stay together or will they also crumble like others around them.

This has a very scary but real premise. What would you do if you knew times will get hard and that it will be hard to get the basic supplies just to survive? Would you stockpile supplies and then only take care of your family while others starve?

I couldn't help but think of this extremist son-in-law of a friend. He believes like Barry's father that the way to prepare is to stockpile two years supply of food and other supplies for the upcoming apocalypse. What scares me about this is he's also over the top paranoid about government conspiracy. Just like Barry's father too.

The problem I had with this story involved Barry. He was very detached from the tale and I felt like he was only reporting on what was going on. I wanted him to be more proactive like his older sister Nessie. There is a time he does reach out to a girl Wendy and her mother but I wanted more.

Also the father wasn't too likeable. He was almost 'too mean' with the way he related with his own family and others. I'd like to have seen some vulerablities. Something that really showed a crack in his hardness.

This book was first released in 1975. I felt even though it didn't have pop references or other things that marked it as being in 1975, I still felt the language felt stilted at places.

A good premise and definitely a book that makes you think.