The Young World (Young World Series #1)

"Chris Weitz has made a beautiful transition from writing and directing films to novels. The Young World is populated with characters you won't forget and a story as fresh and urgent as Divergent."—James Patterson, #1 NY Times bestselling author of Maximum Ride.

Welcome to New York, a city ruled by teens.

After a mysterious Sickness wipes out the rest of the population, the young survivors assemble into tightly run tribes. Jefferson, the reluctant leader of the Washington Square tribe, and Donna, the girl he's secretly in love with, have carved out a precarious existence among the chaos.

But when a fellow tribe member discovers a clue that may hold the cure for the Sickness, five teens set out on a life-altering road trip, exchanging gunfire with enemy gangs, escaping cults and militias, braving the wilds of the subway—all in order to save humankind.

This first novel from acclaimed film writer/director Chris Weitz is the heart-stopping debut of an action-packed trilogy.

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The Young World (Young World Series #1)

This first novel from acclaimed film writer/director Chris Weitz is the heart-stopping debut of an action-packed trilogy.

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The Young World (Young World Series #1)

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The Young World (Young World Series #1)

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Overview

This first novel from acclaimed film writer/director Chris Weitz is the heart-stopping debut of an action-packed trilogy.

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About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780594752974
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	07/29/2014
Series:	Young World Series , #1
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Chris Weitz is an Oscar-nominated writer and director. His films include Twilight: New Moon, A Better Life, About a Boy, The Golden Compass, American Pie, Cinderella, and the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The Young World is his first YA trilogy.

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Editorial Reviews

…Weitz is a successful screenwriter because he is a fine—at times terrific—storyteller. Dystopian fantasies depend on details, and here they are often unforgettably right.

The New York Times Book Review - Adam Gopnik

04/28/2014
Screenwriter/director Weitz (The Golden Compass; About a Boy) kicks off a post-apocalyptic trilogy with a riveting adventure in which teenagers—the only ones immune to a fatal plague known as the Sickness—have inherited the Earth and are fighting over the remnants of New York City. Narration alternates between Jefferson, the cautious and protective leader of the Washington Square Clan, and Donna, who Jefferson is falling for. When one of the group’s members, Brainbox, discovers a clue that might explain the origin of the Sickness, a few members of the tribe embark on an epic cross-town quest for information. As they make their way through the ruined city, they contend with cultists, cannibals, slavers, wild animals, and more. Weitz offers a satisfying YA interpretation of the Greek classic Anabasis, brimming with grisly encounters and gallows humor. He also finds room to touch upon issues of race, class, commercialism, and sexuality in nuanced moments that are sharply juxtaposed with the near-constant dangers and seeming hopelessness of the larger picture. A game-changing cliffhanger will have readers ready for the next book. Ages 15–up. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, William Morris Endeavor. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"A broken NYC is so compelling that readers will find it hard to put this book down."—School Library Journal
"Telling his story in the alternating voices of Jeff and Donna, noted film director Weitz, in his first YA novel, has done a good job of meticulously building his postapocalyptic world."—Booklist

From the Publisher

The Young World is captivating with its constant action that will draw readers in and keep them enthralled until the very end. This intriguing debut includes realistic characters and a plot that hits close to home. It is similar to the Gone series by Michael Grant due to the teens’ responsibilities. Teen readers will enjoy this dystopian futuristic book. Reviewer: Lizzie Ruetschle, Teen Reviewer; Ages 15 to 18.

VOYA, June 2014 (Vol. 37, No. 2) - Lizzie Ruetschle

In this new dystopian novel, teenagers run the world. All adults and children were killed by “The Sickness.” The main characters and their tribe live in a small section of New York City, where they fight every day to survive until they turn eighteen and die. This book is realistic, if the reader accepts that the world has been taken over by an epidemic that killed only adults and children. The characters are believable and relatable because they are all so drastically different from one another. Readers of The Hunger Games or Divergent will definitely enjoy this book. Reviewer: Katarina Dranchak, Teen Reviewer; Ages 15 to 18.

VOYA, June 2014 (Vol. 37, No. 2) - Katarina Dranchak

The Washington Square tribe is trying to survive in a dystopian New York City following “The Sickness,” which kills teens when they reach their eighteenth birthday. The Sickness has already killed all of the children and adults, leaving only the tweens and teens , who remember the time from Before. There are rumors about an Old Man who lives at the top of the Empire State Building. Wash is the leader of the tribe, which also includes his brother Jeff and assorted teens from the neighborhood. When an enemy gang, the Uptowners, tries to strike a deal with the tribe to exchange a pig for some of the tribe's girls, Wash shoots the pig dead, leaving no question that such an exchange was never going to take place. The next day, Wash turns eighteen and dies, leaving Jeff as the leader of the tribe. Brainbox, the smartest member of the tribe, discovers an abstract from a science journal that may hold the key to the cure for the mysterious Sickness. Five of the tribe members set out for the New York Public Library to find the journal. Once there, they encounter a cult that has resorted to eating human flesh, and after the tribe escapes, hoping to reach an animal research center on Long Island, the journey becomes increasingly dangerous. This is Weitz's debut novel and the first in a planned trilogy. The author is the director of The Twilight Saga New Moon and the director and screenwriter of The Golden Compass and About a Boy. The Young World is most suitable for older teens due to sexual themes. Fans of dystopian fiction may be interested in the New York City setting. Reviewer: Pat Clingman; Ages 15 to 18.

VOYA, June 2014 (Vol. 37, No. 2) - Pat Clingman

2014-04-09
A twisted Neverland where you don't get older, you just die. As if traffic and congestion weren't enough to cope with in Manhattan, the rapid-fire, incurable Sickness has begun eliminating New Yorkers. Strangely, the only unaffected residents are teenagers. Stranger still, once the surviving teens reach their 18th birthdays, fever, coughs, delirium and death swiftly follow. A short life means there's no reason for civilized order, so New York devolves into Mad Max-like chaos. Union Square and Washington Square are no longer overpriced zip codes, they're pocket territories for tribes of gun-toting teens as likely to trade a pig for people as they are to resort to cannibalism. When the brainiac of one of these tribes theorizes that he can cure the Sickness, a cluster of five dives headfirst into the task of either saving civilization or prematurely ending their already doomed lives. Inclusion of New York landmarks lends an authenticity that makes the chaos frighteningly plausible. Through the dual narration of Jefferson, the focal tribe leader, and Donna, his crush, veteran screenwriter and director Weitz presents a veritable dichotomy of literary and commercial; Jefferson's chapters are intellectually elevated, while Donna often sounds like an elongated Facebook post. The action perseveres, the sex, blood and violence dominate, and race and class clashes continue headlong into the sequel. A post-apocalyptic teen novel that's far from just another post-apocalyptic teen novel. (Post-apocalyptic adventure. 13 & up)

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