Bookverdict.com

Gr 9 Up—This grim tale tells of a city beset by plague. Everyone has to wear a protective mask, and corpse collectors come around every morning to dispose of the dead. Araby Worth lives a nihilistic existence centered around partying and taking drugs at the exclusive Debauchery Club, though she is careful never to kiss or sleep with anyone as she has vowed never to experience anything that her dead twin brother, a plague victim, would be unable to experience. This resolution is tested by two young men. Elliot is the n...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

The influence of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story of the same title is clear throughout this disturbing novel about a crumbling world that is mostly centered on surviving a horrific plague -- technology, equality, and social mores be damned. Seventeen-year-old Araby has been floating through life for years, constantly blocking out the world with her protective, lifesaving mask, even as she longs to feel and do something different. She allows herself to be dragged to decad...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

In a crumbling world that is mostly centered on surviving a horrific plague, seventeen-year-old Araby becomes involved in a p...Log In or Sign Up to Read More