Krista Reviews: The Girl Who Owned A City

The Girl Who Owned a City by O. T. Nelson, Joëlle Jones (Illustrator)

A deadly virus killed every adult on Earth, leaving only us kids behind. My parents are gone, so I’m responsible for my little brother, Todd. I have to make sure we stay alive. Many kids are sick or starving, and fierce gangs are stealing and destroying everything they find. Lots of people have given up, but here on Grand Avenue, some of us are surviving. Because of me.

I figured out how to give the kids on Grand Avenue food, homes, and protection against the gangs. But Tom Logan and his army are determined to take away what we’ve built and rule the streets themselves. How long can we keep fighting them off? We need to find another place for us to live safely. A strong place. A secret place.

In a world like this, someone has to take charge. But do I have the strength to take charge of a whole city?

Hardcover, 125 pages
Published April 1st 2012 by Graphic Universe (first published January 1st 2012)  ISBN  0761349030 (ISBN13: 9780761349037)

With the popularity of dystopian and post-apocalyptic books today, this story appealed to me. Although it is based on a book for more middle grade readers, I thought it was something that you may be interested in as well. From the synopsis the first thing that came to mind was the Gone series by Michael Grant.

The story focuses on Lisa and her brother Todd. Chicago becomes an all out war zone with kids fighting for weapons, food and shelter. Lisa has been driving her parents’ car around town looking for supplies and seeing the situation that all the kids are in. Even though she wants to protect herself and her brother, she knows that they have no choice but to form groups and try to work together

Lisa is a really strong main character. She is smart and has great leadership skills. She can think on her feet and can be stubborn, especially if she knows she’s right. She builds a little city in an abandoned building for the neighbourhood children to gather in and help each other.

When another faction decide to cause trouble in her city, she fights back. She is the epitome of a strong leader, but sometimes a dictatorship is not the best for the situation. This story is very detailed for a graphic novel and will definitely get you thinking.

This is one of those stories that you want to become a series. I would love to see the development in a couple of years when Lisa is a teenager. What would the years of running the city done to her? I also really enjoyed how detailed the pictures were.