When her family is suddenly split up, Velvet (Contaminated) is taken by force to a sanitarium. Her mother is one of the Contaminated (consumers of a diet drink contaminated by animal proteins that eat holes in the victims' brains, rendering them dangerously violent)--and Velvet discovers that she is a very special case herself. Velvet's complexity and thoughtfulness make her an especially interesting dystopian heroine.

Gr 9 Up-The Contamination hit as a result of a defective protein additive in a popular weight-loss water. By the time Velvet's mother became one of the "Connies," the government had learned to treat the sickness with an electro-shock collar connected directly to the brain. Connies then became docile enough to be returned to their families. In a moment of desperation as her mother's collar went into "Mercy Mode," an extreme electrical shock capable of killing the wearer, Velvet managed to remove it. Rather than the immediate death the government claimed would occur if the contraption was removed, her mother's condition miraculously improved. For several months, Velvet has been caring for her family in their old house well outside of town with her mother, little sister, a neighbor, and Dillion, her love interest in Contaminated (Egmont USA, 2013), whom she recently married to get better rations and medical supplies. While it has been difficult, they have been able to get by, but the fear caused by the recent outbreak may soon make it impossible. Garner continues her unique take on the very popular zombie story, focusing less on the horror of being attacked by mindless hordes of the undead and more on the homesteading tale of a small group just trying to survive. While the ending takes an unexpected and not necessarily beneficial turn into more common sci-fi territory, this book is a strong follow-up, keeps the pace active, and sets up a new direction for the series. Ryan F. Paulsen, New Rochelle High School, NY