A MATTER OF DAYS, by Amber Kizer

The story: Their parents are dead. In fact, everyone they know is dead--except possibly their grandfather, a survival expert they've never met. Now Nadia and Rabbit have to make a 3,000-mile journey to find their lost family--but on the way, it's impossible to know who'll help you out and who'll kill you for your food supplies. Impossible to know...until it's too late.

June Cleaver’s ratings: Language R (including one "F-bomb); Nudity PG; Sexual Content PG; Violence R (the heroine kills someone); Substance Abuse PG; Magic & the Occult G; GLBT Content G; Adult Themes PG-13 (worldwide death, mob behavior, death of parents; overall rating PG-13.

Liz's comments:> Not sure whether two category ratings of "R" should equal an automatic overall rating of "R", but I think this one is a solid book for 8th-up. (Its dreary cover will drive most kids off, anyway.) This is an interesting speculative view of how people would change if a global pandemic really did kill off 95% of the population, and although it's not very positive, it's probably pretty accurate. There's lots of stealing that's no longer really stealing because the stuff doesn't belong to anyone who's alive; there's also the occasional glimmer of light as a few people try to do the right thing. Not a real upbeat read--but then, no one reads dystopian fiction for the rainbows and fairies.