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A review by annievannie
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
2.0
I started to read this book in anticipation of loving it. I hadn't read any dystopian fiction for a while, so I thought I would give this one a try. The first chapter in, I wasn't hooked. I thought the overall story was very interesting, but there were so many things I didn't like. The characters are very undeveloped and dull. Stephen, the main character, seems to be at war with himself most of the time and does things impulsively. I prefer a main character with a strong will and is mature. Speaking of maturity, most of the characters were teens, but acted like children sometimes. They get into fights, are self-centered, etc. I realize that these things are put in the book to make it more interesting, but while I was reading it I was like WHAT THE HECK. These kids are a little too spoiled for living in a post-apocalyptic world.
My least favorite character was Jenny. Ugh. I don't know what's up with her. Yeah, I understand that she had a difficult life and everything, but her attitude towards everyone at the beginning was so freaking annoying!!! And then Stephen comes along. They have a few fights at the beginning, and then they kiss, and poof! She's different. Yeah, it's good that Stephen changes her attitude a bit, but her sudden change indicates a weak, lamb-like character, ready to follow wherever Stephen leads. [Spoiler Alert: And at the end, for some reason, she all of a sudden LEAVES?? What? I was like WHAT?? This child confuses me. Why the heck is Jenny galloping around the ruins of the world? What's the point?]
The other characters were dull as well. Will was a typical bad guy, and of course I didn't like him at all, but there was nothing special about him. He had no unique characteristics or anything. Just a spoiled brat. And his dad, Caleb, seriously. You'd think that after everything he'd seen with P-11, he'd be a little softer. But no, he and his family just think they own the world!
Oh, and the slavers. Sure, they seemed intimidating, but seriously, what was with them? They appear at the beginning of the book and nothing very interesting happens, and then Stephen is all of a sudden really really worked up and angry at them when he sees them at the end! The slavers were just kind of "there" with not much of a part in the story.
Another thing I didn't really enjoy about the book was the plot. I thought the idea was interesting: a post-dystopian world with a salvager as the main character. Yeah, I thought. This would be good! But nope, this book didn't cut it for me. The first few chapters bored me. There was hardly any story to tell. Then WHOA! There are people chasing us and dad is now in a coma. And WHOA! Random people all of a sudden offer us help. WHOA!!!! Everything is SO BORING!!!!!!!!!!!
And then the spoiled brats fight him, etc.
When I read the synopsis, I thought that 'The prank gone wrong' was going to happen near the beginning. But of course I was wrong. This prank doesn't happen until past the middle of the book. And seriously, WHY THE HECK did they mess with the firecrackers? Yeah, they want revenge, but still. Why are they so FREAKING STUPID?????? And then of course everything goes downhill from there.
Then the inevitable battle happens at the end. And then all of a sudden, at the end, the people from Fort Leonard come and everything is ALL GOOD. yay. :P
Overall, this book kept me reading, but I only kept reading it to get it finished. There was nothing spectacular about the book. I wouldn't read it again. Hopefully the next book I read will be good enough to make up for the disappointment I had with this one.
My least favorite character was Jenny. Ugh. I don't know what's up with her. Yeah, I understand that she had a difficult life and everything, but her attitude towards everyone at the beginning was so freaking annoying!!! And then Stephen comes along. They have a few fights at the beginning, and then they kiss, and poof! She's different. Yeah, it's good that Stephen changes her attitude a bit, but her sudden change indicates a weak, lamb-like character, ready to follow wherever Stephen leads. [Spoiler Alert: And at the end, for some reason, she all of a sudden LEAVES?? What? I was like WHAT?? This child confuses me. Why the heck is Jenny galloping around the ruins of the world? What's the point?]
The other characters were dull as well. Will was a typical bad guy, and of course I didn't like him at all, but there was nothing special about him. He had no unique characteristics or anything. Just a spoiled brat. And his dad, Caleb, seriously. You'd think that after everything he'd seen with P-11, he'd be a little softer. But no, he and his family just think they own the world!
Oh, and the slavers. Sure, they seemed intimidating, but seriously, what was with them? They appear at the beginning of the book and nothing very interesting happens, and then Stephen is all of a sudden really really worked up and angry at them when he sees them at the end! The slavers were just kind of "there" with not much of a part in the story.
Another thing I didn't really enjoy about the book was the plot. I thought the idea was interesting: a post-dystopian world with a salvager as the main character. Yeah, I thought. This would be good! But nope, this book didn't cut it for me. The first few chapters bored me. There was hardly any story to tell. Then WHOA! There are people chasing us and dad is now in a coma. And WHOA! Random people all of a sudden offer us help. WHOA!!!! Everything is SO BORING!!!!!!!!!!!
And then the spoiled brats fight him, etc.
When I read the synopsis, I thought that 'The prank gone wrong' was going to happen near the beginning. But of course I was wrong. This prank doesn't happen until past the middle of the book. And seriously, WHY THE HECK did they mess with the firecrackers? Yeah, they want revenge, but still. Why are they so FREAKING STUPID?????? And then of course everything goes downhill from there.
Then the inevitable battle happens at the end. And then all of a sudden, at the end, the people from Fort Leonard come and everything is ALL GOOD. yay. :P
Overall, this book kept me reading, but I only kept reading it to get it finished. There was nothing spectacular about the book. I wouldn't read it again. Hopefully the next book I read will be good enough to make up for the disappointment I had with this one.