Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse Karen Coats Klauss, Lucas . Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse. Simon Pulse, 2012. 403p. Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4424-2388-6 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-4424-2390-9 $9.99 Ad Gr. 7-10. Trying unsuccessfully to avoid his sadistic cross-country coach, known as "Ferret," Phillip hides behind a mailbox only to be found simultaneously by Rebekah, a pretty girl, and by Ferret himself. Rebekah saves the situation by inviting Phillip to her church youth group, of which Ferret is one of the leaders. Phillip goes to the meeting and eventually makes the decision to become a Christian, partly because he wants to get close to Rebekah, and partly because he genuinely feels called. His father, however, takes a very dim view of any kind of spirituality; Phillip's mother's involvement in a fundamentalist church convinced her that the family needed to prepare for the coming Apocalypse, and now that she's dead, all that's left is a basement full of supplies and a lot of unresolved feelings. As Phillip becomes more involved in church activities, he does in fact get closer to Rebekah and he also becomes Ferret's special project, but neither helps him understand what his new faith means, and he's thrown prematurely into a situation he can't handle. The various emotional threads are loosely woven here, without sufficient development to really get at why Phillip is so attracted to end-of-the-world scenarios and how that attraction affects his decisions; readers need to make a lot of inferences on scant information. In particular, the plot threads involving his relationships with Rebekah and Ferret, his feelings for his mother, and most importantly, his faith, are left largely unresolved in the end, which might gain full marks for realism in teen life but offers considerably less satisfaction in fiction. However, the realism here can be instructive, helping readers see the consequences of trying to change your life for the wrong reasons and trying to practice a faith you don't understand. [End Page 358] Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois