Could you do it?

My cousin and his wife live in a log cabin at the edge of the family farm.  They have extensive gardens and grow much of their own food.  They built a greenhouse out of old windows and make their own herbal remedies.  If there ever is a zombie apocalypse I want to be on their team.

Robert C. O'Brien's Z for Zachariah is a true apocalypse story, only in this case it isn't zombies-it's nuclear war.  Everyone has died.  Everyone except for Ann, somehow the valley she lives in is free from radiation.  The rest of the town, including Ann's family, left the valley to see how the rest of the world was (since radios had stopped working), but they never returned.

Ann, just sixteen years old, has survived for over a year completely on her own.  She has a garden, chickens and cows.  Luckily her family were farmers so she knows how to work the land.  Also lucky the store was fully stocked at the time of the attacks so she has enough staple foods to fall back on as well as plenty of clothes, blankets, candles and matches.  It makes you wonder, if you were Ann could you survive?   Could I?

Things start to change when a mysterious man in a strange suit enters the valley.  Ann is torn.  She is desperate for some companionship-it's been years since she has spoken to or even seen another human being.  This is the turning point.  She could talk to the man and her whole future could be better, a companion, a helper, they could repopulate the valley-she would have a partner.   Or...the man is a criminal, an attacker, an enemy.  Her life is lonely but it's working-would he make it worse?

Which way does it go?  You'll just have to read the book to find out. A wonderfully engaging and thought provoking read.  Perfect for anyone who loved The Maze Runner. 

Surviving..that's kids stuff.