HOLE IN THE SKY

The 1918 influenza outbreak killed 100 million people, but in 2028, the pandemic known simply as the Flu wiped out more than five billion. Now, in 2038, the Flu is on its third wave, wreaking fear among the healthy who live spread out in small communes and towns across the US. However, 1.3 million Survivors do exist. Although immune to the effects of the Flu, Survivors lose all body hair, and many develop impaired physical and or mental functions. In addition to the Flu itself, many are terrified of a rebel band of Survivors called the Kinka, who bring death and destruction wherever they go. Hautman’s (Stone Cold, 1998, etc.) sci-fi, adventure, survival, and Native American mysticism combine in the vastness of the Grand Canyon and center on four teens who each tell a part of the story. Ceej has never left the confines of his uncle’s makeshift house, but knows survival skills and the layout of the land; Bella is the world’s sole Hopi Indian; Tim, Ceej’s best friend, travels around the country with a safe trader; and Harryette, Ceej’s older sister, is a Survivor left deaf and without the ability to speak. What ensues is a foiled effort to save a dam and the environment when the Kinka capture Harryette, Ceej’s uncle, and Hap, the trader. Together, Ceej, Bella, and Tim must rescue Harryette, defend themselves against the Kinka, and make their way to the Hopi’s Sipapuni, which is an opening to the next world. Hautman at his best. (Fiction. YA)