A high-interest book at a low reading level, this gripping apocalyptic tale in Orca’s “hi-lo” Anchor line is specifically for teens reading below a grade 2.0 level. A black slime is taking over the people of Vancouver, and 15-year-old Bran is trying to survive after the ooze got his mom and his neighbor. Bran bands together with Mohammed, Zey, and Aisha, three young siblings and survivors, to try and rescue his boyfriend Hayden—and perhaps save the entire city.
Bran is also a trans boy. “Bran is on puberty blockers, but he’s skinny and small. He’d planned to get on testosterone soon,” we learn, as he confronts his slime-possessed mother, whom he notes is bigger and stronger. His queer identities are not a focus of the plot, but nor are they ignored; trans author Tash McAdam knows how to find a good balance. Bran reflects at one point that his relationship with Hayden “didn’t even miss a beat when Bran came out. Hayden was the first person he told. Hayden had smiled and thanked Bran for trusting him.” That’s a relationship model to admire, even if Hayden is mostly an off-screen presence. Bran also goes through the story wearing a t-shirt Hayden gave him that says “self-made man”—a nice touch by McAdam to quietly underscore Bran’s identity and remind us that trans people can be action heroes, too.
And yes, there’s action aplenty here to hold readers’ interest, especially for fans of zombie movies and other apocalyptic tales. Things do wrap up fairly quickly, but that’s kind of the point of a hi-lo book: a satisfying read that won’t feel tedious. Even in its short length, however, the book still manages to show us Bran and the three siblings learning to trust each other and work together as they formulate a plan to fight back.
Bran and Hayden read as White; the siblings are likely of Middle Eastern descent (Mohammed speaks at one point in a language that Bran thinks is Arabic). A neighbor is cued as Latino.
Short chapters, simple sentences, and lots of spacing between words and lines make this story accessible for striving readers. It is intended for teens, however, as the use of swear words (including the f-word) indicate. Other content warnings: There are several scenes of combat against the slime, including one in which Bran and his friends make Molotov cocktails, and one scene in which Bran discovers that his mother, controlled by the slime, killed their cat. (We don’t see her doing so, but Bran finds the body.) Technically, it’s a young adult book; I’m including it here in the database, however (which does not typically include YA titles), because of its accessibility. Some younger teens (and their grown-ups) may also be fine with the content and appreciate both the easy, compelling read and the trans hero; evaluate it yourself for the young people you know.
