Review: Orleans by Sherri L. Smith

Orleans

By: Sherri L. Smith

Pub. Date: March 7, 2013

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Pages: 336

Source: Netgalley

First came the storms. Then came the Fever. And the Wall.

After a string of devastating hurricanes and a severe outbreak of Delta Fever, the Gulf Coast has been quarantined. Years later, residents of the Outer States are under the assumption that life in the Delta is all but extinct… but in reality, a new primitive society has been born.

Fen de la Guerre is living with the O-Positive blood tribe in the Delta when they are ambushed. Left with her tribe leader’s newborn, Fen is determined to get the baby to a better life over the wall before her blood becomes tainted. Fen meets Daniel, a scientist from the Outer States who has snuck into the Delta illegally. Brought together by chance, kept together by danger, Fen and Daniel navigate the wasteland of Orleans. In the end, they are each other’s last hope for survival.

Sherri L. Smith delivers an expertly crafted story about a fierce heroine whose powerful voice and firm determination will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

Orleans will hook you from the first section, "Before". The story is definitely a thrilling and exciting dystopian novel. The Gulf Coast area, especially New Orleans have been destroyed by the worst hurricanes humans have ever seen. If you thought Katrina was bad, that was nothing compared to the sister hurricanes that came through the gulf a month apart, or Jesus, that killed 8,000 people in 2019. The citizens in this area couldn't rebuild. People got sick with fevers and medications were limited. Between the plumbing problems, the sicknesses and the bacteria, a new virus formed, known as Delta Fever. Things got so bad that the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas were actually taken out of the United States to save the rest of the country. Now the year is, 2056 and Fen lives in Orleans a place plagued by disease and where blood is treated like gold.

Fen is 15 years old, an O positive (like me!) and has learned to adopt to this cruel world. She knows about the Outer States (the former U.S.) but has never been there or met anyone from there. That is until she is captured and meets a scientist from the Outer States who was also kidnapped. Daniel traveled over the wall to find a cure for Delta fever, which also affects people on the outside, like his little brother who died from it. Orleans just hits the surface with these characters. I don't feel like I knew them at all. But I think that was the point. The character we were supposed to know was Orleans and the dystopian world they live in.

I really enjoyed Orleans. The fact that New Orleans is one of my favorite places, the cover alone freaked me out. At this point, I am not sure if this will be apart of a series, or if it is a stand alone, but I am excited to find out!