***Originally posted to: Bookish blog as a part of MEN in YA event 
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 In his debut YA novel, The Eleventh Plague, Jeff Hirsch paints a haunting portrait of post-apocalyptic America. Bleak and depressing, but also profound and in many ways uplifting, Hirsch's utterly convincing wasteland is a raw, horrifying experience, but a rewarding one nonetheless. 
 "We made a mess of things before you were born," he said. "P Eleen was just what we deserved. It was no plague. It was a blessing . Surviving it, that's the real plague. But soon it'll just be... silence." 
 In the world after the Collapse, in which you often can't tell the difference between good guys and bad guys, it's better to trust no one. Stephen Quinn, together with his father and grandfather, travels through the vast, desolate landscape in search of anything (food, weapons, tools, etc.,) that could later be traded for something useful, something that would keep them alive for another month, week, or even just a day. They're salvagers (or scavengers if you will). They keep to themselves, avoiding other people, trying not to cross paths with anyone, silently roaming the country. Three ghost-like creatures, sad and hopeless. 
 "I swear", he exhaled. "That man was a purebred son of a bitch." 
 "Maybe we should put that on his tombstone." 
 When Stephen's grandfather succumbs to his illness and passes away, things quickly go bad. Not long after his grandfather's body is burried, Stephen and his father cross paths with slavers. While trying to help a mother with a child, Stephen's dad gets seriously injured and falls into a coma. Shortly after that, Stephen comes across a small community called the Settlers Landing, and, not having any other choice, accepts their offer to take care of him and his dad. All the rules his grandfather made to keep them safe, are now broken. The question is: can anything good come out of it? Or is it just the begging of Stephen's problems? 
 "Mom had said that maybe the world wouldn't always be like it was now. But even if it was, she said, sometimes it was important to do things there was no real use for. Like reading books and taking pictures. 
 She said we had to be more than what the world would make us." 
 The Eleventh Plague is an extremely sad, grim and depressing depiction of a world destroyed by a brutal war. I think the worst part of it is the fact that we - humans - did it to ourselves. We destroyed the world. We started the war. We used up all the Earth's natural resources, causing the Collapse. There isn't anyone else to blame. This book shouldn't even be read as a YA fiction, it should be read as a prophecy of what's to come if we keep doing what we do now. Isn't it exactly where we're heading? Terrifying! 
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 Jeff Hirsch did a great job painting the bleak post-apocalyptic reality in this story. The setting was absolutely convincing and for the most part of the book it reminded me of John Hillcoat's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. The atmosphere of this book was dark and overwhelming, heavy with the omnipresent sense of danger. 
 Sadly, as much as I loved the chilling premise of this book, I really hated the main characters - Stephen and Jenny. To me, they were nothing but ungrateful, irresponsible brats. I didn't see the character depth so many people seem to be raving about. I had a hard time relating to them and didn't understand the motives behind their actions. At all. I mean, I get that Jenny felt ostracized, lost and angry. She didn't feel like she belonged in the Settlers Landing, and after all she's been through, that's understandable. But I still think she should at least show some gratitude to the people who saved her. Instead, she just ran around all sulky and angry all the time, causing trouble, starting fights and being insanely annoying. Same goes for Stephen. He's been going on and on about how he should stay by his dad's side, take care of him and make sure he's alright, but in the end he did the exact opposite - he ran around with Jenny, picking fights and stirring trouble. There are so many instances when he thinks to himself: I should stay out of trouble, I know if I get into (yet another) fight, we will be banished from the community and my dad will die. And then two pages later he's doing what he just said he won't. I really couldn't stand that. 
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 I feel that this book had a huge potential. With Jeff Hirsch's skillful world-building and deliciously raw writing style, this could have been my new favorite post-apocalyptic novel. Unfortunately, what promises to be an epic story of survival, faith and family at the world's end, turns out to be merely a good and enjoyable read. The setting is utmost brilliant, the atmosphere - completely overwhelming, the plot line (for the most part) - thought-provoking and solid. In the end, though, even all that wasn't enough to make up for the poorly motivated, unforgivable, childish actions of the lead characters. 
 I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, though, and I really think it's one of the 2011 must-read! If not for anything else, read it just to enjoy the fabulously depicted settings!