A modern day, female Lord of the Flies - count me in!

I must confess that I bought this book solely based on the cover! Isn’t it gorgeous? Well, it turned out the story within the beautiful outer wrapping was everything I hoped for which is even better!

Rory Power did an amazing job of building this world within a world. Essentially the story is about 3 friends (Hetty, Reese and Byatt) attending the Raxter School for Girls when the school is hit with sudden, unexplained illness requiring quarantine. Soon the girls find themselves cut off from the rest of the world with very little supplies, struggling to survive their illness and fighting for their lives on an island being torn apart by the “Tox”.

I have seen reviews where readers have had issues with the book’s lack of answers and while I understand their point of view, this aspect actually worked for me. In my mind, I was as blind as the 3 main characters and uncovered bits and pieces with them. Seeing things from their POV made the story all the more interesting for me. We don’t have all the answers because they don’t either.

I adored these girls - each with their own personality, secrets and backstory. They were strong, determined, loyal and fierce. Definitely the kind of girls I’d want in my corner if the world was falling apart around me!

I hope this was a start of a series. The ending leaves further books a possibility and I’d love to see where it’s all headed. So keep writing Hetty, Reese and Byatt’s story Rory Power - I’ll definitely be following along on their journey.