Strain of Resistance

Michelle Bryan creates an original post-apocalyptic read where aliens have invaded. They take over the humans body and suck the blood of those remaining.

Bixby is part of the Resistance and searches for survivors as well as take down the creatures. When one of their group goes missing, she's sent in to find them. But what she discovers is unlike anything she could've imagined. A new form of the creatures that can talk and are meaner and tougher than the ones she's used to fighting. They're also more organized than they originally thought.

Bixby is a fierce and strong character. At some points, she comes of as harsh, but I can see where she's coming from. It's hard not to become detached when there's so much death surrounding you. Every day the humans are decreasing and the creatures numbers are growing.

Then, there's Luke. He's the only thing normal in Bixby's life, yet she has trouble accepting his affection after losing her previous boyfriend Sam. I loved his character and he always kept Bixby on her toes. Their back and forth comments were very entertaining.

I loved Bixby's lesson because it rings true. She lives by, "Be brutal, be tough. War means fighting and fighting means killing. Lear this or you will not live to see another year." As scary as it is, that's the world they live in when you're fighting leeches who want to suck your blood and ravengers who want to cook you as a meal.n, there's Luke. He's the only thing normal in Bixby's life, yet she has trouble accepting his affection after losing her previous boyfriend Sam. I loved his character and he always kept Bixby on her toes. There back and forth comments were very entertaining.


Final Verdict: STRAIN OF RESISTANCE is an interesting take on an alien invasion and the decline of the human race. The creatures sort reminded me of a zombie-vampire in a way. Fans of horror and post-apocalyptic stories will enjoy this one.

Strain of Resistance by Michelle Bryan is a new adult, dystopia that lovers of this genre will surely enjoy. It starts as Bixby, the protagonist, is twelve years old and a mysterious fog descends over the world to infect almost the entire population. Few escape the horrible fate the mist brings. From then on, the survivors have to hide from the Zombie-like creatures most unlucky humans have become. Fast-forward to the present . . . Bixby is older, the world is savaged and pillaged by the few humans who have banded together, but it’s getting increasingly harder to find supplies to stay alive. As if life wasn’t hard enough already, the threat they thought they knew is changing and the already bleak future seems worse than ever. The nightmare was already horrible, now it is simply grotesque.

The book is action packed. The characters are realistic, and, immediately, the reader either loves them or hates them. Bixby, herself, is strong and opinionated. Her disturbing life has shaped her into a volatile character who carries some serious baggage. She fights to keep her emotions from everyone and hides—even from herself—some of her deepest, most disturbing thoughts. She lives an emotional roller-coaster in which she sometimes despairs and other times she is filled with hope—even when hope isn’t even an option anymore. Her complexity helps Bix feel like a flesh and bone character, not a cardboard cut-out, a treat for those who enjoy intricate characters who surprise you.

The plot is tense with surprises around every corner and a descriptive quality that may affect those with tender stomachs. Some scenes are grisly more than typically found in YA, and there is also a sex scene that gets pretty heated. So YA readers be warned, this is truly an NA book that I would feel more comfortable recommending to slightly older readers.

Strain of Resistance wraps up its main plot, so this first installment feels like a complete story. However, the epilogue opens things back up in a dark and creepy way that leaves the reader wishing for more pages. In all, this harrowing tale of human survival is sure to please hardcore sci-fi readers.