Trigger warnings: Pandemic

7/10, I've been wanting to read this for a while and after reading a quite terribly written YA dystopia I was hoping that this would be better than that and I'm glad that I read this because it was just so much better than the last book in every single way, by the way this was the first book I've read from this author and I've enjoyed one of her other works since, where do I even begin. It starts off quite interestingly with the main character Ani Mells or Ani for short and she lives her normal life in a fictional country whose name I forgot and it was unique that the people there were called grubs by others from a neighbouring country so they called them pinchworms. Anyways the government raided Ani's house to test her for the Scourge and she was positive so she was sent to Attic Island along with some other people who tested positive and this struck me as quite familiar as it was similar to the experiences of the COVID pandemic, maybe it's just me. It seemed that Ani would live the rest of her short and painful life involving taking antidotes amongst other things before she dies of the Scourge but this isn't the full picture. Ani alongside Weevil predictably discovers that the government lied about the Scourge but what for, I don't quite understand why however in the end there was an action packed rebellion against them and that ended it on a high note. ( )

Wow, wow, wow!!! Another AMAZING book from Jennifer A. Nielsen!!! ( )

The Scourge is one of my all time favorites. And even though I have a lot of those, this is tied with The False Prince (also by Jennifer Nielsen).
I'm not going to explain what it's about, because...well...just read it and find out! And also when reviews pretty much just tell you what the book is about is just the boringest.
So..
I love the characters, who are sarcastic and clever, and are just super fun to read. I love ALL of Jennifer Nielsen's books, so this came as no surprise when I read it and loved it.
I reccomend this to pretty much any age, and people who love great books. It's pretty amazing.
Do yourself a favor, a read it and hopefully you'll get as obsessed with it as I am! ( )

Maybe 3.5 stars. Ani and Weevil are best friends from the lower caste River People; however, their people are blamed for a terrible disease (the Scourge.) Anyone with the disease is banished to a island prison to avoid contamination, but the truth is something different as Ani and Weevil discover. I found the first half of the book kind of slow, but liked the pacing in the second half. Also, I thought the world building was subpar, especially in comparison to the richness of Nielsen's Ascendance Trilogy. ( )

I felt the characters were 2-Dimensional and this was a very easy read. It should not be compared tot he False Prince trilogy, but I am doing it anyways. A strong female character that has a quirky male friend. You can see the budding romance and the Evil Ruler of the kingdom next door, she just as 2 Dimensional as the other characters. Not to Pleased with the book. . . ( )