The Enemy by Charlie Higson
Penguin, 2009. ISBN
9780141325026.
(Ages
11+) Arran,
Freak, Ollie and Achilleus are limping back to their home after a
failed
scavenging raid. They have trawled the area, finding nothing but a dog
they
killed when a pack attacked them. But they are missing one of the
group, and
must explain to the other children what has happened to Deke. The group
at
home, an old supermarket, fortified against attack, also has news:
another
youngster, Sam, was taken that day. Sam and Deke have one thing in
common; they
were taken by the grown-ups, the rampageous, disease ridden remnants of
those
left alive after the plague.
So
begins this breathless story where things have got out of hand. Those
under 14
are generally alive and fighting for survival, where survival means
scavenging
for food as well as being always on the lookout for the grown-ups who
take them
to eat. When a boy is rescued, he tells them of life at Buckingham
Palace,
which he and his group of kids have called their own. They need more
though to
keep the gardens going and he invites Arran's group to join them at the
palace.
So
begins a journey for the group, and that of their neighbours, to find a
better
place to live, a place of safety. But along the route they struggle to
survive
against the seemingly concerted efforts of the grown-ups. Some of their
number
is killed but they reach the palace with high anticipation. Here they
find that
the leader, David, is not all he seems, and when they are asked to kill
another
group of kids in his way, splits develop in the group.In one horrific
scene, a fighter from each
group, face each other in a duel to the death. Gladiatorial in its
scope, the
end result will see Arran's group stay or find somewhere else to live.
A
winning story about right and wrong, survival and friendship, this
dystopian
novel will intrigue upper primary and lower secondary readers, intent
on an
adventure novel with an overlay of moral questioning. Higson wrote the Young
Bond series of books, and this has
a similar level of violence. A most enjoyable read, with echoes of The
Lord
of
the Flies, it is the first
in a series, and has its own website which
will further excite the readers.
Fran
Knight