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mistree's review
5.0
Children's dystopian type book due to a natural occurence. Nice, not too scary.
library_brandy's review
4.0
Charlie is outside on New Years Eve with his mom and sister, and most of the town: in their New Hampshire town, there's a great view of the Aurora Borealis tonight, and the show is as promised-- until the giant solar flare destroys everything, including the earth's magnetic field. The power is out, regardless of its source: generators won't work, engines are dead, batteries are drained. To survive, the town will have to pull together -- but not everyone feels that way, and someone is willing to put the whole town in danger to further his own agenda.
While the cause is different, I'd user this as a middle grade alternative to Mike Mullen's Ashfall, which has similar themes with a more mature execution of them. A quick, engrossing read for middle schoolers.
While the cause is different, I'd user this as a middle grade alternative to Mike Mullen's Ashfall, which has similar themes with a more mature execution of them. A quick, engrossing read for middle schoolers.
thesillyman's review
4.0
Rodman Philbrick knows how to tell a damn good story. As a kid I read ‘Freak the Mighty’ and ‘Then Last Book in the Universe’ and loved them both. I also found that nearly two decades on from my first time reading them they still hold up beautifully. Naturally, I was excited to read some of Philbrick’s more recent work.
Filled with action, adventure, strong characters, and solid prose, ‘The Big Dark’ was a delight of a read and would be perfect for readers young and old alike. The books message about choosing mutual aid and solidarity over greed in times of hardship was particularly prescient (if just a little bit heavy handed at times.)
My only slight would have to be some of the more sparkly, patriotic aspects of the book, depicting the government (and even police) as contrary to white supremacy. Though the antagonist represents an (often anti-government) fringe brand of white supremacy, recent times have shown us white supremacy exists not just in anti government fringes, but within this country’s highest positions of power.
Also the depiction of mental health was incredibly awkward and cringey.
Filled with action, adventure, strong characters, and solid prose, ‘The Big Dark’ was a delight of a read and would be perfect for readers young and old alike. The books message about choosing mutual aid and solidarity over greed in times of hardship was particularly prescient (if just a little bit heavy handed at times.)
My only slight would have to be some of the more sparkly, patriotic aspects of the book, depicting the government (and even police) as contrary to white supremacy. Though the antagonist represents an (often anti-government) fringe brand of white supremacy, recent times have shown us white supremacy exists not just in anti government fringes, but within this country’s highest positions of power.
Also the depiction of mental health was incredibly awkward and cringey.
amdame1's review
3.0
For upper elementary (or middle school) students who are wanting a dystopia that is not as graphic as some of the YA novels out there, this is a good choice.
When a massive solar flare erupts on New Years Eve, all electricity, including any kind of battery, is lost in a small, rural town in the cold, snowy north. People are forced to heat their homes using wood or kerosene, light is by candle-light or kerosene lantern as flashlights are not working either. Many people are working together, but one family is causing lots of trouble. And when his mom's medication starts to run out, Charlie Cobb must set out on the most dangerous mission of his life.
When a massive solar flare erupts on New Years Eve, all electricity, including any kind of battery, is lost in a small, rural town in the cold, snowy north. People are forced to heat their homes using wood or kerosene, light is by candle-light or kerosene lantern as flashlights are not working either. Many people are working together, but one family is causing lots of trouble. And when his mom's medication starts to run out, Charlie Cobb must set out on the most dangerous mission of his life.
libscote's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this one. It was scarily realistic. I mean, how would we survive without electricity? No internet? How freaky! This one was so well written. It's only 178 pages, but you are kept on the edge of your seat and hoping that Charlie, his family and friends will make it through everything okay.
reader44ever's review
4.0
This book was a rather fun read. But my one major complaint is. . .
I know this is a middle-grade children's book, but did the apocalyptic event have to be fixed?! (???) Knowing that things went back to near-normal in the end really diminished the whole story for me. This was such a quick read that. . . Well, I just didn't like that the electricity was restored and things went back to pretty much how they were before the disaster. (This was despite the fact that phones were still down and the power grid wasn't quite back up to snuff.)
I recorded in my status update that the final line made me sort of laugh-sob, but when I read that final line at the beginning of this review, I really just had to wonder why. So I turned back a few more pages and sort of skim-read the last few chapters. This time, when I reached the final line, I again sort of laughed-sobbed! And all that happened was that "Charlie is not sure how he feels about that." That's it. That is the final line to this book. . .
I think it was the relief that brought on the tears. After all, Charlie is a likable kid and he was in some pretty serious danger while the electricity was out. So it was nice to see him safe, even if the reason for that was because the apocalypse didn't happen, it was just an apocalyptic-type hiccup. (The laughter is hopefully self-explanatory from the quote. Or maybe you need to know about what it was that Charlie isn't sure what he feels? For that, you'll need to read this book for yourself.) :-)
One other bit of dissatisfaction I felt was that it was awfully convenient forBragg to be on the spot to stop Charlie from returning home with the medicine for his mother. I'm not sure now if I'm dissatisfied with this because it was truly awkward or because I just really disliked Bragg, but. . .
Still though, this was a pretty great story. :-)
I know this is a middle-grade children's book, but did the apocalyptic event have to be fixed?! (???) Knowing that things went back to near-normal in the end really diminished the whole story for me. This was such a quick read that. . . Well, I just didn't like that the electricity was restored and things went back to pretty much how they were before the disaster. (This was despite the fact that phones were still down and the power grid wasn't quite back up to snuff.)
I recorded in my status update that the final line made me sort of laugh-sob, but when I read that final line at the beginning of this review, I really just had to wonder why. So I turned back a few more pages and sort of skim-read the last few chapters. This time, when I reached the final line, I again sort of laughed-sobbed! And all that happened was that "Charlie is not sure how he feels about that." That's it. That is the final line to this book. . .
I think it was the relief that brought on the tears. After all, Charlie is a likable kid and he was in some pretty serious danger while the electricity was out. So it was nice to see him safe, even if the reason for that was because the apocalypse didn't happen, it was just an apocalyptic-type hiccup. (The laughter is hopefully self-explanatory from the quote. Or maybe you need to know about what it was that Charlie isn't sure what he feels? For that, you'll need to read this book for yourself.) :-)
One other bit of dissatisfaction I felt was that it was awfully convenient for
Still though, this was a pretty great story. :-)
thisgrrlreads's review
4.0
Charlie Cobb and the residents of Harmony, New Hampshire do not expect anything besides the Northern Lights on New Year's Eve. Instead, they get the shock of their lives when there is a bright light and all electrical devices stop working, including those that use batteries. This is a slim compelling read that reminds a person how much we rely on these devices, like the one I'm currently typing on, and the ones that heat our homes and drive us around. What would life be like? People react differently to big events like this. There is a good amount of action for such a thoughtful book and I read this one in just one sitting.
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