#Review of Wasteland (Wasteland #1) by Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan

Welcome to the Wasteland. Where all the adults are long gone, and now no one lives past the age of nineteen. Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan’s post-apocalyptic debut is the first of a trilogy in which everyone is forced to live under the looming threat of rampant disease and brutal attacks by the Variants —- hermaphroditic outcasts that live on the outskirts of Prin. Esther thinks there’s more to life than toiling at harvesting, gleaning, and excavating, day after day under the relentless sun, just hoping to make it to the next day. But then Caleb, a mysterious stranger, arrives in town, and Esther begins to question who she can trust. As shady pasts unravel into the present and new romances develop, Caleb and Esther realize that they must team together to fight for their lives and for the freedom of Prin. 

 About the Author

Susan Kim & Laurence Klavan cowrote the graphic novels City of Spies and Brain Camp.

Susan is also a five-time Emmy nominee for her work in children's television and a Writers Guild Award winner for best documentary. She wrote the stage adaptation of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, teaches writing at Goddard College, and is a blogger for the Huffington Post. When she was growing up, her family moved a lot, and the combination of being a) shy, b) the constant new kid, and c) the only Asian meant she was often picked on. In Guardians, she explores her thoughts and feelings about not just bullies but how others deal with them . . . and learn to stand up for themselves.

Laurence has also written the novels The Cutting Room, The Shooting Script, and the Edgar Award-winning Mrs. White and a short-story collection, The Family Unit and Other Fantasies. He received two Drama Desk nominations for the book and lyrics to Bed and Sofa, a musical produced by New York's Vineyard Theatre. Laurence was the baby in his family, the youngest of four brothers; even his twin brother was two minutes older. He learned that having little expected of you can be a source of power. So does Esther in Guardians: she has to finally accept being a leader of people before it's too late. She is sixteen, after all.

Let's start by saying--I was very surprised by this book. I wasn't sure it was my cup of tea when I first read the blurb. Mostly, because it sounded so depressing at sad to read about a world that no one made it past the ripe old age of nineteen. That in it's self is horrible upsetting---but I was intrigued none the less to learn why this occurred and if it could be prevented or stopped. So, I read on. And I was actually very much in engrossed in the story that it became a fast read, that had me needing to know more by the end of book one. Since, we don't share spoilers because where's the fun in that, I will tell you that by the end of book one--hope remains. There might be away to save themselves and the lives of those around them. With that, I was anxious for book two.

 Go Into This One Knowing 

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Posted in: 4 Stars, Giveaway, HarperCollins, Review, Young Adult