Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
Buy Struck by Jennifer Bosworth at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Jill Murphy
Summary: Enjoyable catastrophe thriller with a lightning motif. This story has great pace and interesting characters and a plot that twists and turns in a most satisfactory manner. There's little in the way of thematic background, however.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 384	Date: April 2012
Publisher: Doubleday
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 085753095X
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Mia Price and her family had moved to LA shortly before a massive earthquake devastated the city. Mia has a connection to the storm that caused the earthquake - lightning seems to be attracted to her and she has been struck and survived countless times. But Mia is also attracted to lightning. It's like a drug for her and her entire body pulses when a storm is coming. Amidst the lawlessness and devastation of the city, two rival factions are gaining influence and both want to recruit Mia. Both say the entire world is in great danger - the Seekers believe that annihilation can be averted but the Followers welcome it. But who is right? And what part must Mia play?

Struck is an enjoyable catastrophe thriller with a lightning motif. The narrative moves along at a snappy pace and is easy to read; a real page-turner. Bosworth also paints a chillingly realistic picture of urban disaster and the way in which our surprisingly fragile social norms can disintegrate very quickly. With power and water intermittent, food and medicine become in short supply very quickly and violent criminals are happy to fill the gap. The federal government response is woefully inadequate.

Mia is also an interesting character and one the reader will be happy to root for. She's fiercely loyal and protective of her family, but she's also lonely and full of self doubt. We love a good reluctant hero at Bookbag, and Mia fills the role admirably. She certainly deserves the rather sexy bit of love interest she gets in the mysterious Jeremy.

Even so, Struck is a very light read. There is little in the way of thematic depth beyond the age-old battle of good against evil. The seeds of apocalypse aren't anthropegenic, they're just big ol' storms, so there's no discussion of global warming or political or ethical positions. It's just Mia for the good guys trying to get control of the big ol' lightning before the bad guys do. There's nothing wrong with this at all, but more sophisticated readers might want something a bit deeper.

You might also enjoy D4rk Inside by Jeyn Roberts, which also follows a chaotic society after earthquakes. Or Ashes by Ilsa Bick, which follows Alex after a catastrophic electromagnetic pulse sweeps across the globe and destroys almost everything, including her brain tumour.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Struck by Jennifer Bosworth at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Struck by Jennifer Bosworth at Amazon.com.

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