Rage: Seventeen Series by Suzanne Lowe is the second book in the series, about a world where adults have been wiped out by a virus, leaving only the kids behind. They must learn to survive in this new world. Set in Australia, the teenagers search for somewhere safe, away from gangs. Now the virus has changed, mutated and they are in even more danger. The characters are well developed and believable. Lexi is a great character as she tries to deal with everything that is happening to her. I have not read the first book, but the prologue at the beginning caught me up on the major points, so I understood what was going on. It moved at a decent pace, there was plenty of tension that kept me reading.

Suzanne Lowe has written an entertaining book with Rage, although it is an idea that has been done before a few times and it did remind me a little of the 90's TV show The Tribe. I do like the idea of teenagers having to navigate the world, where there are no adults and no one to help them. It is an interesting scenario, particularly when you think how dependent teenagers are on technology. I think this could do well on the market as young adult sci-fi and young adult dystopia. They are very popular genres right now and it is nice to read something not set in America for once. I would recommend it to dystopian fans.

Rage: Seventeen Series Book 2 by Suzanne Lowe takes us into a dystopian environment in Western Australia where the world is now populated by children. The mysterious KV17 virus eighteen months ago had wiped out the entire adult population (everyone over the age of 17). Left to fend for themselves the young teenagers and children attempted to keep life operating and survive in the harsh environment that was the Western Australian outback. Lexi and Hadley, two sisters who had lived in Perth, had escaped the crime-ravaged and vermin-infested city to travel to Jasper’s Bay, a small rural town where they hoped they could link up with other survivors and somehow rebuild their lives. In the first book of this series, there had been a violent confrontation between a bully-gang and the ordinary children that had resulted in deaths and the realization that the now mutated KV17 virus would also infect those children when they turned 17, not killing them but altering their brain chemistry to make them emotionally unstable and dangerous. Against this forbidding backdrop Lexi, Hadley, and their friends have to try to eke out an existence whilst always being cognizant of the dangers of wild teenage enemies and equally dangerous friends.

I found the premise fascinating and this is what drew me into the story. Could a group of children form a cogent society once all the adults had disappeared? In Rage, Lowe presents us with a wide variety of different characters that generally ring true to form; from the “black sheep” of the family in the guise of the evil brother Kevin to his brainless sycophantic girlfriend Cindy, right through to those characters determined to make the most of an impossible situation. I found the story to be well written and the flow and tempo to be totally appropriate to the setting. I particularly enjoyed the clear emotional connection between Braydon and Lexi and wanted very much to see where this would lead. The author’s target market is clearly the YA market; however, this did not stop me from thoroughly enjoying the read. The author clearly knows her environment and this shows through in her work. As a New Zealander, the Aussie slang was second nature to me but even for others it just adds authenticity to the work rather than distracting from it. Lowe did an excellent job of filling in the backstory, so this can be read as a stand-alone book. The ending (although I’m not personally a fan of cliff-hangers) did nicely set up book three and I look forward to reading it.