Book info

• Title Flowertown
• Author S. G. Redling
• Year 2012
• Genre Science Fiction

When Feno Chemical spilled an experimental pesticide in rural Iowa, scores of people died. Those who survived contamination were herded into a US Army medically maintained quarantine and cut off from the world. Dosed with powerful drugs to combat the poison, their bodies give off a sickly sweet smell and the containment zone becomes known simply as Flowertown. Seven years later, the infrastructure is crumbling, supplies are dwindling, and nobody is getting clean. Ellie Cauley doesn’t care anymore. Despite her paranoid best friend's insistence that conspiracies abound, she focuses on three things: staying high, hooking up with the Army sergeant she's not supposed to be fraternizing with and, most importantly, trying to ignore her ever-simmering rage. But when a series of deadly events rocks the compound, Ellie suspects her friend is right—something dangerous is going down in Flowertown and all signs point to a twisted plan of greed and abuse. She and the other residents of Flowertown have been betrayed by someone with a deadly agenda and their plan is just getting started. Time is running out. With nobody to trust and nowhere to go, Ellie decides to fight with the last weapon she has—her rage.

Thoughts

I had no idea what to expect when I started reading this, and I was surprised at the intensity of the story right from the beginning. Flowertown tells the story of what happens when a chemical spill means an entire community is quarantined from the outside world… for years. With relationships growing tense, supplies running out, and conspiracies going wild, Flowertown dives right in with our heroine Ellie, and doesn’t let up until the end.

What really got me hooked on the story was how realistic the premise is, how well handled each detail is, even down to the codes being used by the medical staff to categorise each inhabitant. There’s a whodunit element, in that you’re never quite sure who to trust, and there are twists and turns along the way that keep you constantly guessing.

I really enjoyed the book, from start to finish, and I think it would be perfect for an adaptation to the screen - TV or film. Such strong characters, such heroics and cowardliness throughout, and the political tensions that can only come from putting all our faith in the pharmaceutical companies. Great stuff.

Rating: 5 / 5