review 1: The world has fallen apart. Dead adults. The kids who are left have to band together to find out what happened, and hopefully stop the world from collapsing in on itself.What I liked: This is a really well written book. The author has great characters and you can easily follow the story with Shane as the main leader. The story left me wanting to know what had happened, and kept me turning page after page. There is a ton of action, guns, fighting, and a tiny, tiny bit of a love interest, though that isn’t too strong. The characters were likeable and clear, which I was thankful of, because there were a lot of kids that showed up throughout the story, but the author didn’t bombard you with them. What I didn’t like: The gore is a bit overkill for me in this book. He desc... moreribes the dead adults quite a lot, which often left me feeling queasy as I read it. There is a lot of gun action, which is okay for the most part for me, but I prefer a little less blood and guts as a reader. I think if the author is going for YA he may wanna lay off a bit on the gore, but that’s just my opinion.Overall, this story was very interesting, fast-paced, with a good draw to keep you reading. review 2: I'm a big fan of post-apocalyptic novels... especially when they're well done. The latest trend is to have some sort of natural catastrophe, such as a virus or space dust, kill all of the adults leaving the children to fend for themselves. Reading The Last Orphans, I was hoping for a twist on this trend... and luckily, I was right!The action happens pretty quickly, but has a nice progression to it. The day starts out normally, but Shane seem notices the animals and insects behaving unusually. When he meets up with his Aunt, he finds out that "unusual" is an understatement... the wildlife has turned murderous. In what can only be called an Attack by Mother Nature, Shane watches every adult he finds be brutally killed by bees, dogs, cattle, and even cockroaches. Only the children, those under eighteen, seem to be safe.There are a lot of good parts to this book: the surviving children band together to keep safe and to protect the youngest, differences are put aside (for the most part) and no one is whining in a corner saying that the world is going to end and refusing to act. Yes, the world is going to hell around them and everyone has lost friends or family, but instead of giving in to the misery and self-pity they actually act to help each other. The darker side of humanity is shown as well.. the people who only care for themselves, criminals, gangsters, and those who take advantage of the disaster. But for the most part, at least so far in the series, the goodness in people is stronger. Of course, that may be because they discover a message that forces them to act to save themselves and everyone around them... the disaster is not over, and the cause is not natural.I'm really interested to see where the story goes next. The ending of this story has a slight cliffhanger, but since the main plot of Book 1 is resolved I can't complain too much, since this just lets me know that there is something more in store when the tale continues. I think the author has a great story here that is both well-written and enjoyable to read, and if he continues with letting his unique ideas shine though this will be a great series.Thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. less
