The citizens on the outside – the families of the children inside – have to fight to stay alive and keep their kids alive. They want to destroy the school and destroy the disease that rages on within its walls. The world in Quarantine isn’t safe inside or outside the McKinley walls – on the outside, there are those who want to destroy what the citizens have put together. It’s a powerful, gut-wrenching book that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you read. There are references to sex, pregnancy, drug abuse, and violence throughout the book, so if any of these are issues for readers, this isn’t your book.

It’s got action, fantastic pacing, strong characters, and pulls no punches in its storytelling. It’s a no-man’s land where children will do whatever they are forced to in order to make it to “graduation” – when the disease breaks and they can leave the building, assimilating into life on the outside. The kids inside the school have split into factions that fight to survive life inside the school. The publisher has called this series “Lord of the Flies in a 21st century high school setting”, which is spot-on. Lucy, the last of the group from the previous book, is still inside – for now – trying to survive, and Hilary, who’s finally, completely, snapped, brings a reign of terror with her as she takes control of the school and all the gangs within it.

The third book in Lex Thomas’ post-apocalyptic series continues the story of Will and David, the brothers from McKinley High, where the kids are quarantined in the wake of a disastrous infection. Quarantine 3: The Burnouts, by Lex Thomas, Egmont USA (2014).

Quarantine the loners series