This one picks up about a year after the first book ended. Leon and Freya have been on their own surviving through a very harsh winter. Leon has managed to pick up the pieces after what happened to his sister and has gotten stronger because of it. Both Freya and Leon have trouble trusting people, with good reason. Both of these characters are well developed and continue to grow through out this book as well as the face the harsh realities of surviving.

In the first book, we only really learn about what is happening where Leon is, because of course there is no longer any communication systems set up. In this book we find out what has been happening through out the world through Leon’s dad. It was good to learn that there were other survivors out there and what else was going on with the virus in other parts of the world. We do continue to get chapters told through the ‘voice’ of the virus which continues to give me chills.

The plot of this book was just as good as the first. Lots of twist and turns and some horrific scenes having to do with the virus, but also some horrible things that humans do as well. It is so hard to talk about without giving stuff away. But it will keep you wanting more. The ending was not exactly a cliff hanger, but definitely will keep you wondering what will happen next and will the humans continue to survive.

Even if you are not into apocalypse/dystopian books right now, you should think about reading this one. I have never read anything quite like it. It will get you thinking about things and how even the smallest thing can take over the world if given the chance. I am really eager for the next book to see if humanity survives, I’m not sure we will.

I love when I read a book that I feel like a need to take a couple of days to process it before I post a review. Plague Land Reborn is definitely one of those books. It sounds like your typical viral post-apocalyptic stories. Yes, there is a virus. Yes, it decimated the population. Yes, there are survivors. That's where the similarities end. If I had to explain this book, it would be somewhere between "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", John Carpenter's "The Thing" and the Borg of Star Trek. Oh, and the Garthim of The Dark Crystal.

Intrigued? You should be.

We find out from flashbacks that Leon, his mother, and sister, Grace, were on a train fleeing London at the advice of his father, Tom when the virus hits. This virus is not like any other. You don't get enlarged lymph nodes like bubonic plague. You don't bleed like Ebola. No, this virus melts people. Immediately and horrifically.

"The man pulled some flesh away from his hand. It came off far too easily like slow-cooked beef. Blood streamed down his forearm; a tendon hung from the ones of his hand in a tired, swinging loop."

Yeaaaaa. Grab your cast iron stomachs. This story is gruesome.

Reborn now follows Leon and fellow survivor Freya as they traverse this new cold, bleak world following the hope of a radio transmission broadcasting that help will soon be coming. We also jump back and forth to Tom, Leon's dad, and his experiences a continent away.

I found a few things about the choice of the MC's very unique. 1- They are teenagers on their own. 2- Freya has MS. She relies on a cane to help her mobility. That was extremely surprising to me as you don't find many physically handicapped protagonists, especially in apocalyptic scenarios when it is so often lauded as the survival of the fittest. I applaud the author for that decision. Not every MC has to be physically fit and mentally cunning.

The presentation of the virus itself was unequaled as well. Only those who were on some form of medication present as immune to the virus. Those who weren't, well, we know what happened to them. Not only does it precipitate people to oozingly melt like a bloody, macabre Wicked Witch, but it creates and births monsters: crablike, scuttling creatures with serrated pincers, that not only attack but seem to be able to learn and adapt as the story progresses. Strange root systems, like branches of trees, start growing underground everywhere but what they are doing is anyone's guess. It's also learning to create human and animal simulacrums. At first, easy to differentiate from humans, it's also learning from its mistakes and soon no one can tell which is the real person and which is monster made.

The part that I think makes this book the most unique is that we are able to get inside the head of the virus as well. It turns out that the virus is assimilating everyone into this vast network like a supercomputer. Everyone that has been engulfed by the virus still exists there and are connected. The virus insists that everyone is still there...memories, personalities, all there. It feels sympathy for all those yet unchanged because they are alone, disconnected and adrift and when they die, they are simply gone as if they never existed. While it understands that the change is painful and difficult, it feels like those untouched simply don't yet understand what they are missing out on.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Likable yet somewhat flawed MC's, a fast-paced adventure, and gory and repugnant descriptive horror all make Plague Land Reborn into a great midnight read for young adult and young-at-heart readers. There is some strong language so reader beware.

I really enjoyed this book. It read very well if you didn't read the first book, like myself. I read this one and had no idea there was a book prior to this one till I got to the end. Besides normal editing that needs to be done, it was written well.
I enjoyed the concept of the novel, and the intelligence of how the virus was perceived at the end. I was almost rooting for the virus as it seems to be how humans were evolving.
There were some great descriptive scenes, but then others that were not necessary. Explaining the virus and it morphing from human to virus to appearing human again you could truly imagine it. There were a few lulls in the book that lost my attention, especially with President Trent and Tom. I found I skimmed a few of those chapters but still able to get the gist of their journey.
I'm anxious to read the third installment!

"Plague Land: Reborn" continues the YA horror that began in the first book with a devastating virus which infected everyone quickly and killed off most of the population. It then began creating creatures to attack those that survived the initial waves. As we learned in the first book, those that survived were those with illnesses which required medications that make it hard for the virus to take root in their systems. At the end of the first book, Grace was burnt alive for fear of the virus and Leon and Freya kicked out.

This book follows Leon/Freya, Grace, and now their father Tom back in time and towards the present. Leon and Freya are surviving alone when they find a light at a radio station and soon discover a message which says they can go to Southampton and be rescued by American ships. Deciding to take a risk that the message is still good, they make their way until a savage attack by the virus leads to being saved and brought to an organized group in a castle. They soon learn that the virus can be identified by its intolerance to salt water and both pass the test. As time continues, their camp finds Grace- and nothing will remain the same.

On the other side of things, we follow Grace and Leon's father, Tom, right after the virus struck and how he has survived and what has been happening there along the timeline of the previous and current books. These sections felt a little disconnected because we are flipping back and forth in time between the different people. However, it's interesting to hear about other human strongholds that survived the initial attacks.

This second book is an intense continuation of the first and does a pretty good job of recapping the previous events throughout so that you don't need to read them back to back to remember what is going on. However, I will say that this one also ends with a cliffhanger, so I am expecting another book to come from this series. These books are definitely better suited for older audiences as there is a lot of violence and gore, plus some frightening situations. They also pose some interesting questions about humanity and our morality.

Overall, it's a fast-paced, at times horrifying, and intriguing look at what another life form might be like and the consequences for humanity. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Did not finish. This is the second book of the Plague land series. The author made a valiant attempt at bringing readers up to speed on the story but it was confusingly done. I absolutely did not understand what was happening with the electronic/cellular interaction with Grace and ... whoever.

Two years ago the virus struck London, killing everyone it came in contact with and forcing the rest into hiding. Leon and Freya, still in Norwich, have been doing their best to survive the winters and forage for food. No signs of the virus have been spotted in over a year, a sign that the nightmare may finally be over. When a flashing light in a nearby building sends them searching for survivors, what they find instead is a radio broadcast that suggests help may be on the way. They have six months to make their way to Southampton in hopes of a rescue mission that may not even exist only the virus isn't dead and now it's ready to finish what it started...

Plague Land Reborn is the exciting and terrifying second novel in this YA post-apocalyptic sci-fi/horror trilogy. The novel begins two years after Freya and Leon escape, and follows them as they attempt to reach rescue efforts and any remaining survivors. It transitions between present day and two years prior as we get to find out what happened to Tom, Leon and Grace's father in America. I would highly recommend reading the novels in order to fully understand what is going on with the characters. As with the first book, this novel contains graphic violence and gore and may not be suitable for all readers. I have really enjoyed reading this series and can’t wait to see who will be left standing in the third and final book.

An interesting science fiction novel. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys sci-fi or young adult fiction.

Plague Land: Reborn by Alex Scarrow
Courtesy of netgalley.com
Publication date: September 4, 2018

Like Remade #1 (Plague Land), Plague Land: Reborn (#2) has some of the most descriptive writing in YA novels. And it's not description as filler; the descriptions become part of the characters, make them horrific and visceral, help them achieve creepy-crawliness. For those who didn't read #1 yet, it probably could read as a stand-alone and still be understood. HOWEVER, (spoiler alert) it has an unfinished, i.e., cliff-hanger ending.

#2 is more horror-bound than #1 was, and it crosses the line from sci-fi into horror. Scarrow does a good job of hiding who the bad guys and the good guys are, until he doesn't. It's a little easier in #2 than in #1 to figure out who - or what - has morphed into something ominous (spoiler alert) especially when a child or children are found without any adults two years after the first outbreak; Scarrow asked the readers to suspend disbelief that the uninfected characters would accept such a find, regardless of how compassionate they've been.

If you don't take the premise too seriously, you'll enjoy part #2. Go with the flow, be naive, suspend disbelief, and you'll be rewarded with a fun-filled horror ride. Think too hard, and you'll miss the joy of Scarrow's creepy tale.

This book is somehow both less terrifying and far more intense than the first. The virus is evolving, learning, and infecting key members of our cast, changing the whole playing field completely. I don't know whether I can't wait for the third book or whether I'm too terrified to try and read it...

(Oh and I did wonder whether a certain element might have been taken from one of the movie versions of Day of the Triffids...I don't suppose I'll ever know, though. Oh well...)