No Safety in Numbers (No Safety in Numbers Series #1)

by Dayna Lorentz

Overview

"Think of the heart-racing chase of The Hunger Games, but a giant mall is your arena."—Seventeen.com

A suspenseful survival story and modern day Lord of the Flies set in a mall that looks just like yours.


A biological bomb has just been discovered in the air ducts of a busy suburban mall. At first nobody knows if it's even life threatening, but then the entire complex is quarantined, people start getting sick, supplies start running low, and there's no way out. Among the hundreds of trapped shoppers are four teens.

These four different narrators, each with their own stories, must cope in unique, surprising manners, changing in ways they wouldn't have predicted, trying to find solace, safety, and escape at a time when the adults are behaving badly. This is a gripping look at people and how they can—and must—change under the most dire of circumstances.

And not always for the better.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780142425978
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	04/04/2013
Series:	No Safety in Numbers Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	282,678
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Dayna Lorentz has an MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from Bennington College. She used to practice law, but is now a full-time writer and part-time cupcake enthusiast. Dayna is the author of the No Safety in Numbers trilogy and lives in South Burlington, Vermont with her husband, two children, and two dogs.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Think of the heart-racing chase of The Hunger Games, but a giant mall is your arena."—Seventeen.com

"[An] engrossing . . . thriller."—Kirkus Reviews

"This tense trilogy opener . . . build[s] a sense of claustrophobia and desperation."—Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

"Think of the heart-racing chase of The Hunger Games, but a giant mall is your arena."—Seventeen.com

"[An] engrossing . . . thriller."—Kirkus Reviews

"This tense trilogy opener . . . build[s] a sense of claustrophobia and desperation."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

"Think of the heart-racing chase of The Hunger Games but a giant mall is your arena and everyone is potentially a tribute."

Seventeen.com

Gr 7 Up—This addition to the dystopian-literature craze takes place over the course of seven days in a megamall in New York, and is told in alternating chapters from the perspective of four teens with varying backgrounds. Marco is a Hispanic boy who works in a restaurant and is bullied by the local jocks. Lexi is an African American teen who has a dysfunctional relationship with her busy and absent senator mom, aka "Mom-strosity." Ryan is a jock who is trying to live up to the expectations of his superstar older brother. And Shay is new to town and at the mall with her sister and immigrant grandmother from India who is suffering from diabetes. While all four are at the mall, a bioterrorism bomb explodes. The large space is locked down, trapping everyone inside. It's not long before people start getting sick, security guards commence hunting down anyone with a cough, and everyone begins fighting for survival. As this book focuses on the relationships and personal dramas of the four narrators, the suspense and tension of an emergency situation is never really felt. Ryan and Marco are both attracted to Shay and dealing with their own tribulations, while Lexi makes some friends and connects with her mom. The characters, though a little clichéd, are likable. This book will find an audience with teens drawn to disaster novels.—Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO

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