I received my copy from the publisher.
By: Barry Jonsberg
The day comes, the world falls apart, or at least the bits of it Pandora Jones can remember once she wakes in a hospital somewhere. She quickly finds out nearly everyone has become the victim of a terrible plague, a pandemic, and her family as well as most of humanity has gone. Pandora and a few others have been rescued and are now quarantined in a facility referred to as The School, by those who run it. Here they are being taught to start over and all that entails; limited food, power and no hot water. It is harsh but supposedly safe. Pandora can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right. She is one of a team but she doesn’t know who to trust and when she steps out, taking a risk to discover something, anything, things don’t go as she planned.
This is a dismal world Jonsberg has created. It’s dark undertones draw you in. The central characters all suffer nightmares of the things they remember of that final day, no one really wants to talk about them. Pandora is one of the students who believes it shouldn’t just be about survival of the fittest, she stands for her beliefs that art is important as are other things because they are what make us human. Pandora’s ethics are central to her character, her drive to discover what is really happening and to question the way things are done around her. Her gift is a strange one, Pandora can find things, and this isn’t necessarily a good thing because more than anyone else’s gift (which are in the more normal spectrum of things) her psychic ability sets her apart. There are interesting dynamics being developed between some of the charters who surround her, most noticeably Jen, who is the one who clashes with Pan the most.
It is a dark tale, set in a dark and hidden world. Hidden in as much as we only know what Pandora knows and there is so much that is kept from her. Pan’s strong moral centre and unique ability makes for an interesting character and I am curious to see where this series goes, where her character goes.
Publisher: Allen and Unwin Children’s Books
Published: 01 May 2014
Format: Paperback 312 pages
Categories: SciFi, Fantasy, Post Apocalyptic
ISBN 13: 9781743318119
Purchase: here or use Booktopia link on the side of the page.
TheKylieVerse 
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