The Wall

This flawed tale is set in an interesting but incompletely drawn near future of a viral epidemic, draconian laws, and massive social unrest. Sarah Davis, a young teacher, lives a quiet life as one of the lucky few uninfected people in an unnamed Southwestern city. A high wall separates her and the other healthy people from the lawless hordes of violent, desperate infected people. Her own inner walls, which keep her distant from others in the city, begin to shatter as she becomes attached to several people caught in melodramatic problems: her young teaching assistant, an orphan girl in her class, her elderly neighbor, and an attractive hospital orderly named Martin. When Martin convinces her to smuggle needed drugs to his brother on the other side of the wall, Sarah learns how close total chaos is. Faced with impending danger, Sarah must decide who she can and cannot save. Madden (Gaslight and Fog) excels at capturing the new normal and Sarah’s attempts to balance her own concerns with care for others. However, once the action picks up, the writing becomes more hurried and less rich, and the pat and abrupt ending leaves too many unresolved questions. Despite these flaws, this is a chilling portrayal of love and concern in a world on the brink of apocalypse. (BookLife)