A Matter of Days

by Amber Kizer

In the not-too-distant future when a global pandemic kills most of humanity, a teenaged girl and her younger brother struggle to survive.

• ISBN10: 0385739737
• ISBN13: 9780385739733
• Publish Date: 11 June 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Delacorte Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 276
• Language: English

Reviews

[readingwithwrin]

4.5 stars

"Yeah but there are always more, right? And he'd tell us we didn't have to survive the cause of something, like the earthquake, but the effect. What came
after was more about our character then if we were lucky enough to live through something bad."


A Matter of Days showed a terrifying situation that could happen in the future. I loved how instead of just the US being affected it was everywhere, and it wasn't just one person that caused it but, instead a virus.

For once there weren't any zombies which while it was a nice change. It also showed the reality of having to deal with seeing your neighbors, and other people in your town just lying there dead. It showed how much that Nadia and Rabbit both had to deal with, and it made me wonder several times how I would deal with being in this type of situation.

Nadia was a pretty good heroine. She wasn't the normal warrior type character. But instead she was real, she was very unsure of how to keep them alive, or what she should do in certain situations. She never wanted to have to be the hero, she just wanted to make it to Pappi's safe.

Rabbit was an interesting kid. One minute he was all survival informative, who knew how to read maps, siphon gas, cook full meals of out nothing, and then the next he was back to being the 11 year old boy that he was before the virus.

While Nadia and Rabbit did learn pretty early on not to trust much of anyone besides a fellow kid that they met named Zach. Who was a pretty incredible, character. Zach grew up the complete opposite of Nadia and because of that had a lot of street savvy skills that turned out to be pretty useful through the trip.

While there was a hint of romance between Zach and Nadia it wasn't enough to distract from the rest of the story.

I did like the ending, I just would have like more information. Did their Uncle's help save the important people of the government? Is there anyone else besides them close by? How will they survive in one place now? What will happen with Nadia and Zach? While I don't think these needs another book. It would have been nice to get a little more closure.

See more reviews like this on my blog

[inlibrisveritas]

A Matter of Days is a survival book with a rare feature, there is no over the top sci-fi angle and there are no monsters waiting to destroy them. Instead it’s a survival book with an incredibly realistic feel and very realistic cause, and in it we watch a sixteen year old set out in a world half dead and fend for herself and her younger brother.

The book is very short and it moves quickly, literally counting the days that have passed since the human population started to dwindle down to almost nothing. The cause isn’t really important, but it’s something that could happen incredibly easy in our world of fast travel and constant contact. A virus. The effect is what Nadia and her brother Robert, known as Rabbit, have to deal with. They have to leave the marginal comfort of their home and make their way across a country where danger is present. I loved the realism in this. We see two siblings take care of each other, support each other, squabble and joke with each other. We see them break down and we see them make bad choices, but they pull through.

Nadia and Rabbit are amazing main characters. They have been taught to survive by their military father and thanks to their uncle, who had enough warning about the virus spreading, supplies and a goal. With their parents dead they have to fend for themselves and I could honestly see how human these two were. There were moments when my purely logical brain would scream for them to avoid something, but in their real desperation they would go anyway. I also loved their banter and even their squabbles, because it’s rare to find a YA book (outside of contemporary) with a sibling relationship that truly seems real. We also have Zack, who is someone they meet along they way. He’s used to struggle and making things work to get by, and it was interesting to see how he fared as well as his dynamic with the siblings.

If you’re looking for a quick, addicting read then I completely recommend A Matter of Days. There is a ton of tension and a lot of true emotion poured into these characters. As an added bonus it’s a stand alone, so you know you’re going to get the answers you need before it’s all over.