Fallout
Info
Published by: Candlewick Press
Copyright: 2013
ISBN: 978-0763676766
Genre: Historical Fiction
Review
Although this was a very short book, I enjoyed every word of it. It has alternating points of view between the main character Scott after the bomb fell and Scott before the bomb fell. I had never seen an author do different points of view between the same character, but I loved it. This takes place during the Cuban missile crisis and the author wrote it to say that Russia had actually launched nuclear weapons at the United States. Scott's father had built a bomb shelter because he thought that there would be a war between the U.S and Russia because of the Cuban missile crisis. Scott's father was the only one in the neighborhood to build a bomb shelter. He stocked it with enough food, water, and supplies to keep his family of 4 alive for the 2 critical weeks so the radiation levels outside would go down to a level that was safe to live in. Everyone else wasn't concerned about the threat of incoming war and when the bomb actually drops everyone rushes to Scott's house and tries to get in the shelter. Some of Scott's neighbors eventually force their way in. So there are 10 people in a shelter meant for 4 people.
This book was extremely well written. I really liked the fact that the author used 2 different points of view with the same character. I had never seen it before but it really seemed to work well with this book. Everyone in Scott's neighborhood was thinking about the possibility of nuclear war but everyone thought it would not happen. I loved the way the author described the survivors life in the shelter for the 2 weeks. The way he writes makes me think that it is the steps to the end. He writes in a way that shows the survivors condition getting progressively worse. Some of them decide that they are going to leave the shelter even thought they know that they will die outside. In the point of view before the bomb fell everyone is concerned about the threat of war. At Scott's school they practice air raid drills and flash protection to be ready in case a bomb actually dropped. I could imagine what was happening in the shelter when everyone was saying that they were hungry. Scott was saying that his hunger was a knot in his stomach. This book was one of the best books that I have ever read. I had been wanting to read it for a couple years but I had just gotten around to reading it. It was really descriptive and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Additional Reviews
Further Explorations
- Click here for a Q&A with the author of Fallout, Todd Strasser.
- This is a site that I found that explains what nuclear fallout is and what effects it has on people.
- This site shows what a fallout shelter is and shows how to build one.
- This site is a intriguing little game type thing that you can mess with and customize the effects of nuclear explosions.
- This is an interesting site that shows how many nuclear weapons each of the nine nations that have them possess.
Partner Titles
The Fallout
The Cold War A New History
The Cold War A Military History
Works Cited
"Location, Location, Location: Where to Build Your Bomb Shelter."Underground Bomb Shelter. N.p., 06 Feb. 2015. Web. 08 Dec. 2015.
"Radioactive Fallout." Radioactive Fallout. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2015.
"NUKEMAP." Restricted Data. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2015.
Macias, Amanda. "Nine Nations Have Nukes - Here's How Many Each Country Has." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 17 June 2014. Web. 08 Dec. 2015.
"Q & A with Todd Strasser." PublishersWeekly.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2015.
"“Fallout” by Todd Strasser (Candlewick 2013)." Patricia Hruby Powell. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
"Fallout." Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
"FALLOUT by Todd Strasser | Kirkus Reviews." Kirkus Reviews. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
Amazon.com. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Amazon.com: The Fallout (The Compound) (9781250050786): S. A. Bodeen: Books. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
Lewine, Edward. "Nuclear Families." The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2015.
Kara. "Book Review: Fallout by Todd Strasser." Great Imaginations Book Review Fallout by Todd Strasser Comments. N.p., 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2015.
"Robot Check." Robot Check. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2015.
"Nonfiction Book Review: The Cold War: A Military History by Robert Cowley, Editor . Random $27.95 (496p) ISBN 978-0-375-50910-0."PublishersWeekly.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2015.