Tuesday, November 24, 2015

A Hundred Hours of Night by Anna Waltz - OPTIONAL

Woltz, Anna A Hundred Hours of Night, 256 pages.  Arthur A. Levine (Scholastic), 2016.  $18.  Language: R (30+ swears and 15+ ‘f’); Violence: G; Mature Content: PG (some drinking).

Emilia is disgusted with the aftermath of dealing with her (formerly) principal father’s embarrassing text messages with one of her fellow students.  With a little bit of planning, a few lies,  and her father’s credit card, Emilia takes off for the unknown environs of New York City.  She made one big mistake, however; she rented a room via a stranger online and there is no such place when she arrives.  She wanders New York at night and meets a boy not much older than she is who is in bad shape and takes care of him for the night.  Just as Emilia is getting her bearings, news about Hurricane Sandy arrives on the scene.  Now Emilia, Jim, and two other strangers need to find a way to keep everything together when their part of New York is plunged into darkness.   The four band together to survive the days until power is restored and until any of their parents can arrive.  Emilia is about to learn a whole lot about herself, her family and the world.

I really liked this book a lot; I just wish it didn’t swear to heartily.  The throwaway ‘f’ words were the worst.  Beside that, the characters draw you in and the situation is very compelling, adding a first person look at life during and after Sandy and a great look at a family trying to hold things together.

HS - OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher

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