A Matter of Days

By: Amber Kizer

Narrated by: Alex McKenna

On Day 56 of the pandemic called BluStar, sixteen-year-old Nadia's mother dies, leaving her responsible for her younger brother Rabbit. They secretly received antivirus vaccines from their uncle, but most people weren't as lucky. Their deceased father taught them to adapt and survive whatever comes their way. That's their plan as they trek from Seattle to their grandfather's survivalist compound in West Virginia. Using practical survival techniques, they make their way through a world of death and destruction until they encounter an injured dog; Zack, a street kid from Los Angeles; and other survivors who are seldom what they seem. Illness, infections, fatigue, and meager supplies have become a way of life. Still, it will be worth it once they arrive at the designated place on the map they have memorized. But what if no one is there to meet them?

Critic reviews

“The narrative is engaging and the characters believably portrayed. This post-apocalyptic tale is particularly frightening as it doesn’t take place in some distant, imagined future. A solid, realistically imagined survival tale with a strong female protagonist.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Nadia and Rabbit’s cross-country trek through a plague-hollowed America makes for a gripping, and, yes, infectious tale.” —Michael Northrop, author of Trapped

“A cross between Cynthia Voigt’s Homecoming and Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life As We Knew It.” —Print Matters

“If you like books such as The Maze Runner, The Darkest Path, or The Hunger Games, you can’t go wrong with this book.” —The Book Blog

A different slant

A slightly different take on end of the world survival. No zombies. This was decent and geared toward slightly younger listeners. No romance either. Mild elements of violence (which is pretty good considering this is EOW). Mentions dead bodies and death, duh. Not bad, but a bit boring in places. I’m probably a bit older than the target reader, but I still enjoyed it overall.

Loved it!

I feel the book had a great and believable story line. I wish the author would make it a series.

Great dystopian story for the younger reader!

Great narration and very well laid out story line for a younger (tween) reader who shows interest in dystopian future stories, but isn't old enough or ready to digest some of the more hard-core scenarios of what a post-apocalyptic world could have in store.

Good listen and interesting idea.

It was an interesting idea and the stuff they went through was described well and in a realistic way if things like this were true. I know that technicaly something similar could actually happen one day. Maybe far off. A subject that makes you think. The only thing I didn't like was the narrator doing the brothers voice, I found it annoying but the rest of it was pleasant to listen to.

One of my favorite end of the world stories

I found this to be one of the best dystopia narrations I've read or listened lately. It reminded me to the Stand, minus the fantastic elements. You get to care for the characters, and the situations are realistic to the degree that you feel immersed into the reality they're living. There were only a few times when I found myself saying to the main character "why would you want to go there???" but other than that, the whole story gets your attention and doesn't let it go. Worth the credit for sure!