Feature: It’s the End of the World – Biohazard Edition
For some readers, picking up new reads this week feels…especially hazardous.
To all the distressed readers in my mentions: we’re in agreement that it just wasn’t a great week to start reading Station Eleven, and I don’t like to think about the coronavirus either.
— Emily St. J. Mandel (@EmilyMandel) January 26, 2020
It’s hard to miss the recent coronavirus outbreak. Thousands of people have become sick and those with special risk factors have lost their lives. Throughout history, new or shifting viruses have decimated populations. If reading about viral infection (and picking up some survival tips along the way) interests you, we have some recs. If not, let this list serve as a list of books to avoid (at least for now!).
Biohazardous Outbreak & the End of the World – Bookish Recs
A few books that explore the collapse of society after a deadly viral outbreak. Don’t panic; it’s not all hopeless!
- A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen
- Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
- This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada
- Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
- The Passage by Justin Cronin
- This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
And one upcoming story that we can’t wait for!
Agnes at the End of the World
by Kelly McWilliamson June 9, 2020
Pages: 432
IndieBound
Goodreads
The Village meets Octavia Butler's After the Fire in this unique, voice-driven novel from Kelly McWilliams.
Agnes knows she loves her home of Red Creek—its quiet, sunny mornings, its dusty roads, and its God. There, she cares tirelessly for her younger siblings and follows the town's strict laws. What she doesn't know is that Red Creek is a cult, controlled by a madman who calls himself a prophet.
Then Agnes meets Danny, an Outsider boy, and begins to question what is and isn't a sin. Her younger brother, Ezekiel, will die without the insulin she barters for once a month, even though medicine is considered outlawed. Is she a sinner for saving him? Is her sister, Beth, a sinner for dreaming of the world beyond Red Creek?
As the Prophet grows more dangerous, Agnes realizes she must escape with Ezekiel and leave everyone else, including Beth, behind. But it isn't safe Outside, either: A viral pandemic is burning through the population at a terrifying rate. As Agnes ventures forth, a mysterious connection grows between her and the Virus. But in a world where faith, miracles, and cruelty have long been indistinguishable, will Agnes be able to choose between saving her family and saving the world?
I finished A Beginning at the End last week and am on the street team for Agnes at the End of the World. I will read anything Mike Chen writes.