cover image The Eleventh Plague

The Eleventh Plague

Jeff Hirsch, read by Dan Bittner. Scholastic Audio Books, unabridged, six CDs, 7 hrs., $34.99 ISBN 978-0-545-35396-0

Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his father travel the desolate, depopulated, and despoiled landscape of what was once the United States. Ravaged by war and an enhanced form of influenza—labeled the Eleventh Plague—two-thirds of the populace are dead. Stephen and his father exist as scavengers, traversing the ruined, hostile countryside searching for anything to help keep them alive. When Stephen’s father is injured and falls into a coma, the duo is rescued by the inhabitants of Settler’s Landing, a town that seems to have escaped the ravages of war and plague. But Stephen soon learns that even the most idyllic of places can harbor darkness, hatred, and danger. Dan Bittner skillfully narrates this postapocalyptic YA novel. His reading conveys the adolescent angst and confusion of the novel’s protagonist a believable way, enabling listeners to understand Stephen’s often-misguided actions. The voices Bittner creates are unadorned and uncomplicated, while his delivery of dialogue is natural and straightforward. An entertaining listen for young adults—and the not so young. A Scholastic hardcover. (Sept.)