A Matter of Days

by Amber Kizer
Hennepin County Library audiobook 7 discs
read by Alex McKenna
genre: YA futuristic, SciFi

Loved this! Reader McKenna brought the story to life amazingly well, as Nadia and her little brother Rabbit set out from Seattle to meet their uncle Bean and their Grandpa in West Virgina. The deadly virus BluStar has decimated more than 90% of the human population. Roving gangs have wreaked yet more havoc. Their trip is fraught with dangers (both natural and human) and small joys. What a wonderful piece of storytelling! I am buying the book for my media center asap!

The kids' dad died overseas in combat. Their mom was a nurse who resented the military life that claimed her husband. Zach is a surprising hero. Wanted to write down the dog's name . . . but I may have to re-listen to get it. Something like "tiwocky" - it was an acronym. Relistened - it's Teotwawki "tee-oh-twocky" - The End Of The World As We Know It.

Wonderful book!

 

<Above written 1.5.15. Below added 6.16.25.>

 

I got this as a Libby ebook this time. The subtitle is "Will you be a survivor or a statistic?" The kids constantly talked about "being the cockroach" as their dad taught them - survive. The story opens on "Day 56" with their mom's death. Since the start of the emergency, they had hunkered down in their house. Now they had to try to get to West Virginia from the Seattle area. 

 

"Day 57: "Then the clean crisp air hit my lungs. No smell. That wasn't entirely true. Pine and ozone filled my lungs. No death. No rotting flesh. Just air. 'Oh my God, I forgot.' This is what the world used to smell like."

 

 I don't have a super-sensitive nose, but I hold my breath when I walk by a smoker. I think that it would be amazing to smell fresh air after being around decaying corpses!

"Day 61: The idea only worked when the invader was visible - viruses were smarter than humans in many ways. Invisible to the eye and skilled at adapting, they hitched rides on carriers before ever making them sick."

 

She wrote this before Covid-19. In her author's note, she writes about pandemics, epidemics, history, and future predictions. She is right that viruses can be very difficult to fight.

 

Day 61: "I tried to remember to breathe - oxygen makes the brain work better. Shallow breathing kills common sense."

 

I love that Nadia took lessons from both her dad and her mom and put them into practice!

 

Day  61: "We weren't close before. Too many years, too much technology, and too much responsibility got in the way of a close relationship. That was changing. Needs to change."

Nadia recognizes that she and Rabbit are on different footing now that they are in survival mode together. They've just rescued Teotwawki and she is trying to clean and treat his wounded feet.

Day 63: "'You read a lot?'

'Not before I needed to. Now pretty much every day for something. The streets of Los Angeles didn't really have much in common with here.'"

I love that Zach is turning to books to learn about farming, fixing things, etc. I love books! 

Day 63: "'. . . that's why I decided I needed a place, a farm and crap. I used to think school was for morons, but now books about history and guidebooks. You know? How to survive without your cell phone or the Internet.'"

I love that he named his small town "Zachville" and used the police station to store supplies. 

Day 89: "In our truck? Why do all these groups seem to have a dictator? Is democracy another fatality of BluStar?"

Dictators and democracy . . . these are incredibly relevant topics.

Day 95: "This wasn't a country of flashy SUVs or European imports, this was a use-it-up-until-it-falls-apart world. Maybe we're all of that mind-set now? How many years of my life will be using up until it all falls apart?'"

Nadia recognizes that poor people in Appalachia didn't have much for scavenging. I am closer to the "use-it-up" end of the spectrum than most people I know. Thanks, Mom. I don't want to be a wasteful, materialistic person

Day 98: "'You can do better than that. It's not like anyone's going to film it and put it on YouTube.' 

All the things that were so important once upon a time were gone. No Internet. No school. No popular kids. No college. No parents pushing me to be the best I could at everything.'"

I think it's really hard to imagine what a dystopian / futuristic / survival mode world would actually be like. I was frustrated last week by three days at the cabin with no internet connection! When we're in the BWCA, I'm always so glad to get back to a comfy mattress and cold beverages. Many teenagers nowadays don't seem to be able to function without TikTok, Siri, etc.

Day 98: "Rays of gold caressed the world, slapping at shadows, and pushing the last pinkish gray away."

I love this image!

Author's Note: She mentions being inspired by Richard Preston's The Hot Zone. I've never read this book, but I'm a bit surprised she read it in middle school! I thought it was more geared to adults. I may need to add it to my list. She has a lot of great content in her author's note, but I'm getting tired of blogging! I'm not even going back to read what I wrote and proof for errors . . . 

Author's Note: "If you have questions, find an adult you trust and seek out information. Information is always the best tool!"

I just love this advice. I also love that she said a lot fewer people would get sick if everyone just washed their hands properly. True story!

Oh! This book reminded me so much of 96 Days that I kept calling it that in my mind (and waiting for plot points from that book to show up in this one).