Review: Orphan Flu
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 28, 2012
Wow.. just wow...Orphan Flu is one of those books that you read the blurb and think hmmm... what would happen if it was only children left alive after a virus came through and killed all the adults?  It has been done before but the author took a new direction, away from the "Lord of the Flies" type scenario, which made it seem much more realistic and let you invest emotionally in the characters.The family consists of sixteen year old Sara, who is telling the story, her nineteen year old brother Adam, their little sister Eve who is seven, and their parents.  Sara was a popular blonde hair blue eyed cheerleader who had everything going for her until her Father started getting all "doomsday" and pulled the kids out of school to homeschool them and start isolating them from the "normal" world.  Dad, with the help of the family, builds a shelter and a self sufficient home that can run off the grid, complete with ham radios, satellite links systems, camera security, etc... He has taught the children "survival training" since they were young - morse code as a contest to see who could translate and send it the fastest, shooting (Sara is actually the best shot, winning the State competition and planning on going to Nationals in the spring), etc.  Sara starts off completely and totally shallow and I loved her!Adam is more serious but has an extremely close relationship to Sara.  It is more the two of them against the parental figures a lot of the time growing up.  Eve has always been Sara's special little sister - once she was born, it was like Eve was there just for Sara to love and raise.What sets this book apart from the "normal" apocalypse stories are the characters and their hidden growth.  The author takes the "surface" that we all see and the behaviors that you expect them to portray and the next thing you know, BAM, hidden secret comes out that throws you for a loop.  And its not just the kids - the parents and their behavior - especially the Mom - completely shocked me.  Can't tell you more without spoilers but trust me when I say you will be surprised..The trio face great difficulty after their folks die (as all adults eventually do so no spoiler here) but also great growth.  Based on the "back cover" description by the author, I was expecting a completely different "army" than what he actually wrote about.  It was so much more than imagined and the details of their duties and Washington DC - the good and bad parts - was remarkably well done.  You felt for the children left behind - both the little ones trying to survive and the older ones that were now "soliders" trying to rebuild the country and a new way of life.  They were so over their heads but doing the best that they could and you felt that with every "mini story or scenario" told.The ending ... I won't go there.  Not everything in life turns out with unicorn rides over rainbows and in a post apocalyptic world, not everyone will survive.  What you can really tell by the other reviews is that the author did a WONDERFUL job of making each and every one of us CARE about the characters enough, in some cases, that they lowered the ranking because of what he wrote - not because it was bad writing but because we were heartbroken.Don't let that keep you from purchasing this book.  It takes a little bit to get into the story (or at least it did me) but once you get there, you won't want it to end.I highly recommend this book for readers of all ages who enjoy apocalyptic fiction or even stories of families and what we will do to protect them and survive.