this 4 is a 3.5, just so you know. because i trashed the last book i read from this publisher, i felt bad enough about it to round it up to a four. such is my guilt complex. 
 and this book is fun, it really is. so we have a massive hailstorm that destroys the school buses our protags are taking to school. one of the drivers manages to crash the bus into a megastore, and the surviving kids hole up inside to wait out the storm. the driver goes for help, and the kids barricade themselves inside. after managing to get a television set working inside the store, they learn what has happened: megatsunami. earthquakes. the failure of the Network. and then...chemical leak outta NORAD. all of this is bad news. 
 so, whaddya do? you fortify your barriers, and make sure nothing and no one can get in. the chemicals leaking react differently depending on blood type, but none of the effects are good, man. some are downright violent. so it becomes a story about how you use the things you would find in a superstore to protect and defend,to keep the bad air out, but also make a nice little cozy home for yourself while you wait out the apocalypse. 
 because the ages of the kids range from 5-17, there is a wide spectrum of ability and emotional maturity.and they form a sort of family, relying on the know-how of a few, and enduring the limitations of the many. it is sort of sweet, and sort of frustrating at the same time. 
 dean, our main man, becomes the mr. mom of the group, a role in which he feels ill-equipped and never wanted, but he ends up being really good at it, helping to organize the kiddies into cooking and cleaning activities, and soothing the more troubled cases. his brother is also trapped inside with him, and their relationship becomes tense, but is one of the best-written and most realistic parts. 
 this isn't really an action book. it is more like this is not a test, in that it is about the psychological effects of a horrific situation. it is more about the practical steps that need to be taken in this kind of circumstance. so take notes. 
 loooots of things happen. deaths, fights, pharmacy-looting, lice, marauders, visitors, love triangles, unexpected alliances... i thought it was a mostly-realistic take on what a group of kids would get up to in tight quarters without supervision, in a situation that seems hopeless. 
 and i 3.5 liked it.