Brief Synopsis
“The Disaster Days” is a middle-grade survival novel by Rebecca Behrens. When an earthquake leaves Hannah Steele stranded on an island with just her two next-door neighbors she was babysitting, she’ll have to fight for survival. And things just keep going from bad to worse…
Content Warnings: Intense Action (PG-13)
What Do I Think?
So a quick disclaimer: “The Disaster Days” is one of the books that inspired me to write my own novel, “Legend of Samantha Torres.” Does that mean that I am maybe a little biased in this review? Possibly! That being said…this is a solid book.
Realistic survival stories aren’t necessarily the sort of books I normally read – as you’ve probably noticed if you follow this blog at all, I skew more towards the fantastical than the contemporary. However, the gorgeous cover art had caught my attention, so I picked this up.
The novel is a little slow to start, but once we get to the meat of it (the earthquake and its consequences), the story really picks up. The protagonist is very much just a teenager trying to do her best to keep herself and her two neighbors alive, and as a result she does make logical, normal mistakes. “The Disaster Days” never really suspends disbelief with the situations that occur, and for a contemporary novel, that’s actually a good thing! The stakes are high, the characters are likeable, and the story moves quickly from disaster to disaster. When you finally reach the end of it (spoiler: they survive), you release a sigh of relief, as if you’d been holding your breath the entire time.
Overall, this is a great read! The characters feel authentic, the action is non-stop, and the premise is fantastic.
Jacob Ryckman 