Gr 7 Up-It has been 66 days since the global blackout that rendered all technology useless. Adam and the denizens of his suburb community continue to follow Herb, the retired former government official. But as catastrophes escalate and Herb's decisions become increasingly questionable, the teen begins to wonder if they've put their trust in the wrong person. Plot twists and double alliances will keep readers guessing and coming for more in this riveting installment of the survival adventure series.

Fight for Power takes off in the immediate moments following the cliffhanger ending of The Rule of 3 (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2014/VOYA February 2014). There is a bit of recap in the dialogue, but readers will definitely need to read the first book. The community has now established some basic survival guidelines and is working to protect their resources. The hard moral choices continue and the main character, Adam, grows in his leadership skills but is still wrestling with the morality of difficult choices they all must make to survive after the collapse of civilization. Because of the community that Adam and his tribe have built, they are targets for others who want what they have, including the remnants of a group that appeared in the first book. There is also some internal conflict as members of the community disagree and fight for leadership positions.Like its predecessor, Fight for Power often reads like a story built around a survival manual. As if Walters does not trust the reader to understand the choices his characters are making, he sometimes becomes didactic in narrative explanations. Walters has the characters do a lot of explaining, too, which can break the "fourth wall" and interrupt the momentum of the story. There is a lot of interesting information here often told through the character of Herb who is sometimes too convenient in his skills and knowledge (on page 168 he gives a mini-history lesson on the crossbow), but the pacing of the story is uneven. Still, it will appeal to those who are interested in post-apocalyptic scenarios.Karen Jensen.