99 problems, and a book ain't one

4.5 Stars

Plague was fantastic! After being a little underwhelmed with the previous book, Lies, this was just what I needed. I know I have said this before, but I can't say it enough, Michael Grant has such an incredible imagination. And let me tell you, it was dark and gruesome in this book, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

There were truly multiple horrors to be feared in this book. As if the fear of starvation, entrapment, violence, and now also dehydration aren't enough, these poor kids get hit with this terrible plague that has you literally coughing up a lung. Then just because Michael Grant is that amazingly twisted, throw in there the grotesque worms that eat you from the inside out. Those things are a true nightmare!!! And no gruesome detail was shied away from here. He literally brought these monsters to life!

I was honestly relieved with some of Sam's acting out in this book. He is only 15 after all. It was nice to see him at least act a little selfishly and pout. No 15 year old is as noble and selfless as he was previously being portrayed. His slight shortcomings just made him more likeable and realistic to me. I also loved the ending of this book. I feel like Sam may have finally found a position he will flourish and be more comfortable in.

I swear with each book I finish in this series I come to like Astrid less and less. I couldn't stand her in this book. I really don't even know what Sam sees in her anymore. He admittedly says that he finds her insufferable a lot of the time. I hope he moves on at this point. I thought Lana was hilarious in this book! She's definitely a mega bitch, but I think Samjit might bring her around a little in the coming books. I really like Samjit and Virtue, I just hope to see more of them in the future.

Now on to Caine and Diana. Caine was pretty much his douschey self in this book too. I did like the progression of his relationship with Diana though. Diana was a little surprising in this book, I think that she no longer wants the same things that Caine does. I feel like a lot of her actions in this book were her trying to change Caine. I was not in the least surprised when Caine ultimately made a decision that was more beneficial to him and his true primary desires. I was however pretty shocked with Diana's decision at the end of this book, as well as her "condition". That I'm sure will be very interesting in the future, as will be Caine's reaction to it all!

I really think the ending to this book was my favorite one yet from this series! So many things are starting to come to light here, and at the same time so many new questions are being raised. None maybe more important than what is happening with Little Pete?! He is such a mystery, maybe the biggest most important one in these books! I can't wait to see where things go from here! If the next few books can carry on with this momentum this will quickly become a favorite series for me!!!