Western themed, somewhat historical, with zombie-like creatures. I think the world is solid, and the adventure, while harsh, is well told. For some reason, it just didn't knock my socks off, but I certainly would recommend it without hesitation.

Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss. ( )

This novel had a slow start while it was setting up the background for the whole storyline. But I promise you that it gets MUCH better if you stick with it, through to the end.
I had a feeling about a couple things that might happen during this novel and I was correct about them. But the one twist that happened got me, and the aftermath had me tearing up here and there. (It was told so well and wish such feeling, I was kind of there, feeling it too. Not many novels make me tear up anymore, but this one knew how to do this).
If you give this novel a chance, I think you may like it also.
This review tells all I’d like to say, but better:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2099998398?book_show_action=true&from_...



4 stars, and recommended. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book that I bought at my son’s book fair.

Story (4/5): I loved this story. This is set 10 years after the Civil War in the small town of Glory, Texas. Daisy, better known as Willie, is trying to make a living for her and her three younger siblings. Their mom is dead and their dad is a drinker and a liar. When their dad takes on more than he can handle he skips town and his debts fall on Willie’s shoulders. In order to protect the rest of her family Willie hires a couple hunters and heads out to hunt down her dad and make him pay for his debts. However, the desert and the shakes that inhabit it make it even more deadly than the thugs that are after Willie’s family.

I am a huge sucker for this kind of post-apocalyptic dust bowl story. This reminded me a lot of “Elysium Girls” or “Dread Nation”, both of which I have read in the last few months. It definitely has that zombie-survival vibe to it that “Dread Nation” has. The story was incredibly engaging and well done and I just loved it.

Characters (5/5): I loved Willie and her brother and the two hunters that accompany Willie across the West Texas desert. Willie is just so determined to do good and so stubborn. She’s not a warrior by any means, but she is definitely a survivor and I loved reading about her. All the characters in here are complex and have rich histories. They are all just very well done.

Setting (5/5): I love these alternate history types of stories that are set in the historic United States. The town of Glory was well done, as was the world built around trying to survive the shakes and the illness they carry. You hear bits about the North and what’s going on in the rest of the world. I just loved this alternate history so much, I want to read more stories set in other parts of this crazy world.

Writing Style (5/5): This was incredibly well written, very easy to read and engaging. The description was amazing, everything was easy to picture and really came alive. The writing is lyrical but still portrays the starkness of the world very well. This is a long book but it never felt long, the whole thing flew right by which was exactly the kind of story I needed at the time.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely loved this and will definitely be checking to see what other book Berquist has written. If you love alternate histories set in a dust bowl type United States setting...with zombies...I would definitely check this book out. It was incredibly well done. I would recommend it for fans of “Elysium Girls” and “Dread Nation”. ( )

If you are a fan of True Grit, you will enjoy this book. It's a similar tale set in West Texas with a young girl heroine who is fighting off "shakes" whatever they are, some kind of zombie creatures to find her dead beat father. A good first book for any author. ( )

"Willie" Wilcox has protected her brothers and sisters deep in the west Texas desert for years, since their mother died of the sickness and their father ran off. But now there's a bounty out on their father's head that his kids need to pay, unless they can find him. The only place he could have gone is outside the walls of their town of Glory...outside where the shakes live. So Willie hires two guides - with the promise of money she does not have - to help her venture out and find her father and bring him back to pay his debts. She's in danger from the shakes, humans turned into monsters by sickness, but also from man's inhumanity to man, and from the desert itself.

A very good YA adventure, and a very good zombie book. I enjoyed all the characters, especially the main character. The world building, especially setting the book in the 1870s right after the U.S. Civil War, was very smart. The disease is not so infectious that it's going to take over the country, but the Texas desert has little protection and even less medical resources so it makes sense that it would gain a foothold there. I very much enjoyed it as both a good example of genres I'm familiar with and a book set someplace I don't often read about. I especially loved a few twists along the way that genuinely surprised me. Recommended if you like zombies or dystopian YA. ( )