I’m so happy that the first book in the series, CAMP ZERO by Sean Ellis is finally available. As the children of John and Emma Rourke, Paul and Annie Rubenstein and Michael and Natalia Rourke have grown older in The SURVIVALIST series, Bob Anderson and I felt that they needed room to spread their wings and have adventures of their own. How will they survive in a world that once again is on the brink of imploding?
You realize serious steps must be taken when your children are in danger because of who they are. The adults have been able to carry on for over six hundred years through planning ahead and continuing to hone survival skills brought to the table by John Rourke. Their children have up to now lived in a relatively safe environment, protected by their family and living a pretty normal life considering that Michael is the President of the United States and the rest of the adults are famous throughout the world. As things take a darker turn and the pizza gets closer to the fan every day, the six kids are sent off to learn how to survive on their own. This summer camp is more like boot camp, no slack given because of age or gender. Everyone must learn how to pull together as a team and at the same time learn how to think and act by themselves if necessary. Are they, as modern teens, capable of doing whatever needs to be done to stay alive at all costs? Who can they trust? That hasn’t been an issue so far living in a world sheltered by a loving family. Now, it’s a matter of life or death.
Every parent knows how it feels to send your child off to school that very first morning – a mixture of pride and happiness with a dose of fear that something out there could hurt them and they won’t be at their side to protect them. You rationalize that the other adults that are in charge will carry on with the same vigilance that you display and will be there in case of danger. Still, when they give you that last goodbye wave you feel a pain deep in your heart and wave back to them with a smile frozen on your face.
Is it any easier when you send them off to attend after-school activities, their first sleep-over or when you drop them off for a day at the local mall with their friends? Will there be boys? The anxious wait the first time your child drove off on their own with that hours old driver’s license which somehow coincided with the new patch of grey hairs on your head. These kids are sent off to a summer camp where parents are not allowed!
Are you sure you want your babies to grow up? The Rourkes have no choice and neither do we. What’s important is what they grow up to become.
Sharon
