About this book:
Seventeen-year-old Cardinal has escaped the virus that ravaged his town, leaving its victims alive but without their memories. He chooses to remain in the quarantined zone, caring for a group of orphaned kids in a mountain camp with the help of the former brutal school bully, now transformed by the virus into his best friend. But then a strong-willed and mysterious young woman appears, and the closed-off world Cardinal has created begins to crumble. A thrilling, fast-paced work of speculative fiction for teens, from a bestselling author, Black River Falls is an unforgettable story about survival, identity, and family.
*Review contributed by Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer*
Is the problem forgetting… or remembering? There’s a lot going on in this dystopian adventure: sur
Black River Falls, New York has been beset by Lassiter’s Viral Retrograde Amnesia and is quarantined. The National Guard is keeping the infected citizens inside a boundary, but sending help in the form of food and clothing. When the virus first hit, there was a lot of violence and confusion, but things have settled down. Sadly, anyone who caught Lassiter’s has no memory of their previous life, although skills and general knowledge seem to be little affected by the virus. Cardinal Cassidy is an exception– he hasn’t caught the virus yet, but continues to stay in the area to help take care of a small group of children, helped by Greer. Since Cardinal can remember what life was like before, he tries to help identify anyone who comes into the community, so when he saves a girl with green hair from being attacked by the town’s ruffians, he tries to help her find her identity. When he can’t, the children give her the name of Hannah, and she helps out as well. Soon, the government will pull out, and a company called Martison Vine will take over. The only problem is that they want to be able to reopen Black River Falls, so intend to send all of the residents to a secure camp in a location like Arizona. Cardinal has many reasons to stay in the area. The book is in the form of a note to his brother Tennant, and as things unfold in the present, we also learn about Cardinal’s past. His father was a noted comic book artist whose main character, Cardinal, meets an end similar to the reality that has befallen Cardinal. When these past events become too much for Cardinal to bear, he tries to get infected with the virus, only to find that he is immune.