Z for Zachariah

Z for Zachariah By Robert C, O Brien Science fiction Z for Zachariah is about a nuclear bomb that has been dropped on the US but by some unexplainable reason, Burden Valley was protected from radiation. I think the novel should receive an award because it was thought provoking and made me wonder what it would be like to survive a nuclear war. Z for Zachariah is set in the US in a green, luscious valley with a big sparkling pond near the store. The story appears to be set in current time, with nuclear bombs a real threat in current times. The story setting is important as it allows the reader to believe that this quiet valley could have survived a nuclear bomb. The isolation of the valley makes its survival more real. The limited characters provide closeness with the reader identifying with the main players in the book. Ann Burden is a 16 year old girl that has lived in Burden Valley for her whole life. During the story a mysterious man in a green biohazard suit comes into the valley. When Ann sees the man coming she fears for her safety and goes into hiding. She comes out when the man goes swimming in a radioactive creek and gets very sick and might die. The story reaches a climax when Ann gets shot in the leg on her way back to the house. This builds suspense with a threat to Ann s life and a change in the main characters relationship. The story has an unpredictable ending, but a pleasant one, leaving the reader to won der what might happen next. I feel the setting and plot is worthy of winning the literary award. The two major characters in the story are Ann burden and Mr John Loomis. Ann is a 16year old female, fending for herself after the disappearance of her famil y. Mr Loomis is a male in his twenty s that has been walking through cities filled with corpses for 10 months. When Ann first meets Mr Loomis she likes him. Towards the end of the novel, her feelings change and she becomes wary and doesn t like him. On th e other hand Mr Loomis s feelings change towards Ann and he comes to like her more. In the story the characters are realistic in the way they think and behave. They are believable the way they act. Towards the end Ann learns to change her tactics. Mr Loomis learns to set traps to get Ann. The characters portray good and evil in a very realistic way giving the story a sense of realism. I think the characterisation is worthy of winning an award. The author has used dairy style writing to create a timeline an d add a personal feel, so we can see things from Ann s perspective and know when it happened. I think the story is well written, and appealing to youth, making it worthy of winning an award.

In the novel it says nothing about war, but focuses on survival. Mr Loomis would kill to survive but Ann would try and make peace. It would be very difficult to survive a post -war environment. These are important themes in the novel and the author has dealt with them realistically. The themes in the novel contribute to it being worthy of winning an award. It continues to make me question how I would react to a terrifying situation. Young adolescent readers would enjoy this novel and understand the concepts presented. I recommend this novel for a literary award.