The Smallest Thing
Lisa Manterfield
Publication date: July 18th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
The very last thing 17-year-old Emmott Syddall wants is to turn out like her dad. She’s descended from ten generations who never left their dull English village, and there’s no way she’s going to waste a perfectly good life that way. She’s moving to London and she swears she is never coming back.
But when the unexplained deaths of her neighbors force the government to quarantine the village, Em learns what it truly means to be trapped. Now, she must choose. Will she pursue her desire for freedom, at all costs, or do what’s best for the people she loves: her dad, her best friend Deb, and, to her surprise, the mysterious man in the HAZMAT suit?
Inspired by the historical story of the plague village of Eyam, this contemporary tale of friendship, community, and impossible love weaves the horrors of recent news headlines with the intimate details of how it feels to become an adult—and fall in love—in the midst of tragedy.
My Review:
In a small village in the English country side lives a young
girl who wants nothing more than to leave her home behind and move to London.
Emmott Syddall doesn’t like her mundane life and has plans to leave with her boyfriend
Ro when she turns eighteen in a just a few weeks. Just like any other young
person Emmott wants to be in control of her own life and not have to do what
her Dad says.
But just shy of moving day the village is hit with a deadly
virus that is not only killing the older people but the younger people as well.
The government comes in and quarantines the village. No one is allowed in or
out. This upsets Emmott very much because she doesn’t want to be like her Dad
and never leave. She wants out never to return. With this deadly virus running
amuck Emmott is afraid that she will never get out.
Emmott did a lot of growing after everyone started getting
sick. Like all young folk she thought she was an adult and didn’t need anyone.
But as more and more people became sick she saw what her Dad was doing to help
make things easier for them and soon realized that she didn’t know it all.
I enjoyed reading The Smallest Thing way more than I thought
I would. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I kept comparing it to that
movie with Dustin Hoffman and Renee Russo Outbreak as well as Stephen King’s
Under the Dome. The connection I was making with Outbreak was probably just the
virus and the hazmat suits and with Under the Dome it was just the fact that
the people couldn’t get out. They were trapped under the dome while the people in
The Smallest Thing had an imaginary line that they were not allowed to cross.
Lisa Manterfield is one brilliant author that can make you feel
what the characters are feeling and seeing what they are seeing. I would like
to recommend The Smallest Thing to anyone who loves a great story. The Smallest
Thing will stay with me for many years to come.
Author Bio:
Lisa Manterfield is the award-winning author of I’m Taking My Eggs and Going Home: How One Woman Dared to Say No to Motherhood. Her work has appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, Los Angeles Times, and Psychology Today. Originally from northern England, she now lives in Southern California with her husband and over-indulged cat. A Strange Companion is her first novel. Learn more at LisaManterfield.com.
1 comments:
The synopsis sounds fascinating. I'd love to read this book.
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