*** I would like to thank Netgalley, Serial Box Publishing and the author Andrea Phillips for sending me this digital copy of Whiteout in exchange for an honest review***

This story is mostly about May and Gabe . The teens are still indecisive, some want to stay and get comfortable, built shelter and some want to move away from the train, but for now they must eat and remember those who aren't there anymore.

May is a loner. She likes being alone so when her and Gabe go off to look for food, there's a misunderstanding. She starts to wonder about her family, friends and everything that she missed out on, she even dreams of taking the SAT's. That shows you what a determined good student she was. While out looking, a storm comes out of nowhere. This leads to quick thinking, an accident and a discovery.

I like getting to know these characters more, there's still a lot to learn about them. You start to wonder what would you do in a situation like this, where you're with a group of strangers with different ideas and lives. Will you survive? Be a leader? A follower? Or would you give up?

This episode focuses on May.
We don't get to see much of the other teenagers. May leaves the camp to explore with Gabe but she makes sure she's alone most of the time. Because of this, we get to know more about her.
May is not particularly great, she's just okay for me.
Now that the climate has changed, I'm curious to see how they'll survive. I'm excited to read the next episode.

Book 9: Whiteout
Star rating - ★★★☆☆
POV – May
Would I read it again – No

** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **

Despite having not read a volume of this for a few months, I remembered where we left off quite clearly. The story is unique enough that you don't easily forget about a bunch of teenagers stuck in a wilderness that may or may not be the future, after having died and been woken up by someone like Umna.

However, I was sad to see that May got yet another POV. She's not, to me, an interesting enough character to offer her own POV so often. Half of this part of the story was shown in flashbacks – which wasn't necessary to begin with – and to make it worse half of it was weather description. Which, in my mind, proves how lacking May is in worthy storytelling POV, because the weather took up at least 50% of her time and the other half was her whining about being stupid, doing stupid things and not being any use. Which she isn't. She also, inexplicable, became very racist in this story (rallying against what she assumed was a racist comment and then saying not to turn her into a “white girl”)

Inez, once again, ruins Holden's moment in the story. I swear to God that I hate this girl with a passion because she is so not right for this story. Yet, again, she and Teddy are the two clueless idiots putting everyone in danger, making stupid decisions and not seeing the bigger picture. Once again trying to diminish Holden's authority and challenging everything out of his mouth, even when it makes sense. I can't help but wonder just WHEN are these kids going to wake up and realise that Holden is the one keeping them alive, as he's done until now, and that without him they would all be dead. If they'd only listened to him in the first at least a dozen other characters would still be alive. It's incomprehensible.

Honestly, at this point, I'm only following the story to find out what happens. It feels like, with every new episode, the essence of the original parts is slipping further and further away.

I'm giving it 3 stars simply because it returned to the original plot of living in the wilderness and tackling this new world in a different way. But I've also taken points off for May being boring and repeating most of what we already knew about her in a POV that would have been better served given to someone else. I want to read about Cole, Loki, Holden and Hyrum. I even wanted to read about Wesley, but since he's dead that's not going to happen.

Sadly, another episode that missed the mark.

~

Favourite Quote

“Holden carried on with his latest rant in progress. Though – he'd been right, hadn't he? About the caretakers, and the danger they'd been in. If they'd only believe him from the start, how many more would be sitting beside them now? Maybe annoying, maybe arguing, but at least they'd be alive.”