Pandemic Booklist - Gates Public Library

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TEEN FICTION

Fever 1793

By Laurie Halse Anderson | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION AND

During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out. Separated from her sick mother, Matilda learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.

Never Fade

The Darkest Minds Book 2

By Alexandra Bracken | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION BRA

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby ‘Leader’, but she knows what she really is – a monster. When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet – leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children – and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts – has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place – in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future and who now wouldn’t recognize her.
As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam, she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself.

Plague

Gone Book 4

By Michael Grant | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION GRA

Disease is spreading through the streets of Perdido Beach; a devastating, hacking cough that makes the sufferers choke their guts up – literally. For the moment the Darkness has disappeared and the only sign of its power lies in the basement prison where the monster, Drake, is being held. But a new horror is about to infest the FAYZ. Something is growing. Growing inside the unsuspecting victims…and eating at them from the inside.

One for Sorrow

By Mary Downing Hahn | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION HAH

Against the ominous backdrop of the influenza epidemic of 1918, Annie, a new girl at school, is claimed as best friend by Elsie, a classmate who is a tattletale, a liar, and a thief. Soon Annie makes other friends and finds herself joining them in teasing and tormenting Elsie. Elsie dies from influenza, but then she returns to reclaim Annie’s friendship and punish all the girls who bullied her. Young readers who revel in spooky stories will relish this chilling tale of a girl haunted by a vengeful ghost.

The Eleventh Plague

By Jeff Hirsch | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION HIR

In the aftermath of a war, America’s landscape has been ravaged and two-thirds of the population left dead from a vicious strain of influenza. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his family were among the few that survived and became salvagers, roaming the country in search of material to trade. But when Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father falls into a coma after an accident, Stephen finds his way to Settler’s Landing, a community that seems too good to be true. Then Stephen meets strong, defiant, mischievous Jenny, who refuses to accept things as they are. And when they play a prank that goes horribly wrong, chaos erupts, and they find themselves in the midst of a battle that will change Settler’s Landing–and their lives–forever.

Conversion

By Katherine Howe | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION HOW

It’s senior year at St. Joan’s Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys’ texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together. Until they can’t.

First it’s the school’s queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan’s buzzes with rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic.

Soon the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone, to blame. Pollution? Stress? Or are the girls faking? Only Colleen—who’s been reading The Crucible for extra credit—comes to realize what nobody else has. Inspired by true events—from seventeenth-century colonial life to the halls of a modern-day high school, this is the mystery that raises the question, what’s really happening to the girls at St. Joan’s?

Illuminae

The Illuminae Files Book 1

By Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION KAU

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again. Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

The Absence of Sparrows

By Kurt Kirchmeier | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION KIR

In the small town of Griever’s Mill, eleven-year-old Ben Cameron is expecting to finish off his summer of relaxing and bird-watching without a hitch. But everything goes wrong when dark clouds roll in.

Old Man Crandall is the first to change- human one minute and a glass statue the next. Soon it’s happening across the world. Dark clouds fill the sky, and, at random, people turn into frozen versions of themselves. There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no one knows how to stop it.

With his mom on the verge of a breakdown, and his brother intent on following the dubious plans put forth by a nameless voice on the radio, Ben must hold out hope that his town’s missing sparrows will return with everyone’s souls before the glass plague takes them away forever.

The Two Princesses of Bamarre

By Gail Carson Levine | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION LEV

Twelve-year-old Addie admires her older sister Meryl, who aspires to rid the kingdom of Bamarre of gryphons, specters, and ogres. Addie, on the other hand, is fearful even of spiders and depends on Meryl for courage and protection. Waving her sword Bloodbiter, the older girl declaims in the garden from the heroic epic of Drualt to a thrilled audience of Addie, their governess, and the young sorcerer Rhys.

But when Meryl falls ill with the dreaded Gray Death, Addie must gather her courage and set off alone on a quest to find the cure and save her beloved sister. Addie takes the seven-league boots and magic spyglass left to her by her mother and the enchanted tablecloth and cloak given to her by Rhys – along with a shy declaration of his love. She prevails in encounters with tricky specters (spiders too) and outwits a wickedly personable dragon in adventures touched with romance and a bittersweet ending.

The Scourge

By Jennifer A. Nielsen | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION NIE

As a lethal plague sweeps through the land, Ani Mells is shocked when she is unexpectedly captured by the governor’s wardens and forced to submit to a test for the deadly Scourge. She is even more surprised when the test results come back positive, and she is sent to Attic Island, a former prison turned refuge—and quarantine colony—for the ill. The Scourge’s victims, Ani now among them, can only expect to live out short, painful lives there.

However, Ani quickly discovers that she doesn’t know the whole truth about the Scourge or the Colony. She’s been caught in a devious plot, and, with the help of her best friend, Weevil, Ani means to uncover just what is actually going on. But will she and Weevil survive the Scourge—and the gorvernor’s wardens—long enough to make their escape and expose the cruel plan?

Ball Peen Hammer

By Adam Rapp & George O’Connor | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN GRAPHIC NOVEL RAP

The world is dying. After most of the city succumbed to the plague, Welton’s staying inside- permanently. But hiding in his claustrophobic basement room- the only place he knows is safe- exacts a gruesome price, and he becomes part of a collective that’s killing children. Infected with the plague himself, with no way to find the woman he loves, Welton takes refuge in apathy- until someone knocks on his door. Ball Peen Hammer gives us a window into life in a half-deserted apartment building in a time of raw love, sacrifice, fear, and death.

Give the Dark My Love

Give the Dark My Love Book 1

By Beth Revis | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION REV

When seventeen-year-old Nedra Brysstain leaves her home in the rural, northern territories of Lunar Island to attend the prestigious Yugen Academy, she has only one goal in mind: learn the trade of medicinal alchemy. A scholarship student matriculating with the children of Lunar Island’s wealthiest and most powerful families, Nedra doesn’t quite fit in with the other kids at Yugen, who all look down on her.

All, except for Greggori “Grey” Astor. Grey is immediately taken by the brilliant and stubborn Nedra, who he notices is especially invested in her studies. And that’s for a good reason: a deadly plague has been sweeping through the North, and it’s making its way toward the cities. With her family’s life–and the lives of all of Lunar Island’s citizens–on the line, Nedra is determined to find a cure for the plague.

Grey and Nedra continue to grow closer, but as the sickness spreads and the body count rises, Nedra becomes desperate to find a cure. Soon, she finds herself diving into alchemy’s most dangerous corners–and when she turns to the most forbidden practice of all, necromancy, even Grey might not be able to pull her from the darkness.

Plague Land

ReMade Book 1

By Alex Scarrow | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION SCA

Leon and his younger sister, Grace, have recently moved to London from New York and are struggling to settle into their new school, when rumours of an unidentified virus in Africa begin to fill the news. Within a week the virus hits London. The siblings witness people turning to liquid before their eyes, and they run for their lives. A month after touching Earth’s atmosphere, the virus has assimilated the world’s biomass.

But the virus isn’t their only enemy, and survival is just the first step.

Contagion

Dark Matter Book 1

By Teri Terry | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION TER

Young teen Callie might have been one of the first to survive the disease, but unfortunately she didn’t survive the so-called treatment. She was kidnapped and experimented upon at a secret lab, one that works with antimatter. When she breaks free of her prison, she unleashes a wave of destruction. Meanwhile her older brother Kai is looking for her, along with his smart new friend Shay, who was the last to see Callie alive.

Amid the chaos of the spreading epidemic, the teens must find the source of disease. Could Callie have been part of an experiment in biological warfare? Who is behind the research? And more importantly, is there a cure?

Ashes, Ashes

Ashes, Ashes Book 1

By Jo Treggiari | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION TRE

Epidemics, floods, droughts – for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, taking 99% of the population with it. As the weather continues to rage out of control, and Sweepers clean the streets of plague victims, Lucy survives alone in the wilds of Central Park. But when she’s rescued from a pack of hunting dogs by a mysterious boy named Aidan, she reluctantly realizes she can’t continue on her own. She joins his band of survivors, yet, a new danger awaits her: the Sweepers are looking for her. There’s something special about Lucy, and they will stop at nothing to have her.

Pandemic

By Yvonne Ventresca | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN FICTION VEN

Even under the most normal circumstances, high school can be a painful and confusing time. Unfortunately, Lilianna’s circumstances are anything but normal. Only a few people know what caused her sudden change from model student to the withdrawn pessimist she has become, but her situation isn’t about to get any better. When people begin coming down with a quick-spreading illness that doctors are unable to treat, Lil’s worst fears are realized. With her parents called away on business before the contagious outbreak-her father in Delaware covering the early stages of the disease and her mother in Hong Kong and unable to get a flight back to New Jersey-Lil’s town is hit by what soon becomes a widespread illness and fatal disaster. Now, she’s more alone than she’s been since the “incident” at her school months ago.

With friends and neighbors dying all around her, Lil does everything she can just to survive. But as the disease rages on, so does an unexpected tension as Lil is torn between an old ex and a new romantic interest. Just when it all seems too much, the cause of her original trauma shows up at her door. In this thrilling debut from author Yvonne Ventresca, Lil must find a way to survive not only the outbreak and its real-life consequences, but also her own personal demons.

TEEN NONFICTION

Fever Year: The Killer Flu of 1918

By Don Brown | GPL Shelf Location: NEW TEEN 614.518 BRO

New Year’s Day, 1918. America has declared war on Germany and is gathering troops to fight. But there’s something coming that is deadlier than any war.

When people begin to fall ill, most Americans don’t suspect influenza. The flu is known to be dangerous to the very old, young, or frail. But the Spanish flu is exceptionally violent. Soon, thousands of people succumb. Then tens of thousands…hundreds of thousands and more. Graves can’t be dug quickly enough.

What made the influenza of 1918 so exceptionally deadly—and what can modern science help us understand about this tragic episode in history? With a journalist’s discerning eye for facts and an artist’s instinct for true emotion, Sibert Honor recipient Don Brown sets out to answer these questions and more in Fever Year.

Pandemic: How Climate, the Environment, and Superbugs Increase the Risk

By Connie Goldsmith | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN 614.4 GOL

New Year’s Day, 1918. America has declared war on Germany and is gathering troops to fight. But there’s something coming that is deadlier than any war.

When people begin to fall ill, most Americans don’t suspect influenza. The flu is known to be dangerous to the very old, young, or frail. But the Spanish flu is exceptionally violent. Soon, thousands of people succumb. Then tens of thousands…hundreds of thousands and more. Graves can’t be dug quickly enough.

What made the influenza of 1918 so exceptionally deadly—and what can modern science help us understand about this tragic episode in history? With a journalist’s discerning eye for facts and an artist’s instinct for true emotion, Sibert Honor recipient Don Brown sets out to answer these questions and more in Fever Year.

Bubonic Plague: How the Black Death Changed History

By Barbara Krasner | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN 616.9232 KRA

The bubonic plague is a disease spread by fleas that live on rats. Outbreaks of the disease killed millions of people. Read this book to learn more about the history of this infectious disease.

Disease in History

By Bruno Leone | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN 362.1969 LEO

Disease in History describes several of the epidemics that have significantly influenced historical events. It explains how the discovery of germs in the last two centuries was able to reverse millenia of superstition and ignorance in the treatment of infectious diseases. Finally, it explains how and why the world of microbial organisms has been able to thwart many of medical science’s greatest efforts to eliminate, or, at the very least, control them.

Patient Zero: Solving the Mysteries of Deadly Epidemics

By Marilee Peters | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN 614.49 PET

Engrossing true stories of the pioneers of epidemiology who risked their lives to find the source of deadly diseases. Throughout history, more people have died in disease epidemics than in wars or other disasters. The courageous, trail-blazing defenders against these diseases faced a terrifying personal gamble. Often they were ignored, laughed at, or even fired from their jobs. But they kept hunting for answers, putting the pieces of the epidemic puzzle together. As they looked for clues to the origin of a disease, scientists searched for the unknown “patient zero”–the first person to have contracted it. Patient Zero reminds us that millions of people owe their lives to the work of these pioneer epidemiologists, work that continues to this day.

Very, Very, Very Dreadful: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918

By Albert Marrin | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN 614.518 MAR

Of all diseases, the 1918 flu was by far the worst that has ever afflicted humankind; not even the Black Death of the Middle Ages comes close in terms of the number of lives it took. No war, no natural disaster, no famine has claimed so many. In the space of eighteen months in 1918-1919, about 500 million people–one-third of the global population at the time–came down with influenza. The exact total of lives lost will never be known, but the best estimate is between 50 and 100 million.

In this powerful book, filled with black and white photographs, nonfiction master Albert Marrin examines the history, science, and impact of this great scourge–and the possibility for another worldwide pandemic today.

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

By David Quammen | GPL Shelf Location: TEEN 614.43 QUA

Ebola, SARS, Hendra, AIDS, and countless other deadly viruses all have one thing in common: the bugs that transmit these diseases all originate in wild animals and pass to humans by a process called spillover. In this gripping account, David Quammen takes the reader along on this astonishing quest to learn how, where from, and why these diseases emerge and asks the terrifying question: What might the next big one be?