Written by Teralyn Mitchell
What happens when antibiotics stop working and infections run rampant? That’s what Rachael Sparks explores in Resistant. This story starts in the year 2041, years after an antibiotic crisis killed millions and left the survivors scrambling to find a cure. It is a world where a simple infection can turn into a life or death situation because there is no medicine—antibiotics—that work against bacterial infections.
Rory and her father, Byron, live on a farm in Massachusetts just trying to survive. They lost Rory’s mother three years prior to infection, but the two of them have been able to survive. They are self-sufficient and seem to be relatively happy. Their simple life is shaken up when a mysterious traveller named Navy shows up wanting shelter in exchange for fixing a boat. They accept and end up taking in Navy’s friend, Army as well. Rory is predictably drawn to Navy despite or maybe because of his mysterious demeanour and appearance but it seems as if he is interested in her as well. Their relationship heats up slowly until Rory learns more about Navy and Army.
A week or so passes before Rory learns exactly who these men are: ex-military who are there to take her and her father away from the farm into safety. Rory is in danger since it is thought that her blood may be the cure everyone is looking for. Rory learns all of this and is understandably upset with the secrets that have been withheld from her by her father and Navy. She is not given time to process this betrayal since the four of them must leave and head to a safe place where Rory will be able to help create a cure which hinges on her blood. The rest of the story follows Rory, Navy, Byron, and Army as they travel to this safe haven where more secrets are discovered and they have to figure out how to stop the government from taking Rory and commercialising the cure and withholding it from everyone.
While reading Resistant it is clear that the author did her research. There was a lot of scientific jargon and explanations that made it hard to understand exactly what the characters were talking about. I didn’t follow half of what was going on until it was explained plainly later in the book. That took away from the book and made it drag somewhat as well. I also felt as if some parts of the story moved too quickly while others seemed to drag on unnecessarily. For example, the part of the story where Navy and Rory were in the hospital seemed to go on longer than necessary; but the part of the story encompassing the time they arrived at the safe place to the end, seemed to move too quickly and without a lot of details. The story had a lot of potential, but it did not delve deep enough into this world and what they were dealing with.
The characters were not fleshed out enough for me to feel anything other than a passing, vague sympathy. Rory was too immature and stubborn for me. She just never seemed to really stop and think about why the people around her did the things they did. She was quick to scream that she was betrayed but slow to forgive even after they explained themselves. The romance between her and Navy was stilted and seemed to move from zero to a hundred quickly before screeching to a stop once Rory found out that the man she’s known for only a week or so isn’t who she thought he was. I wished Rory could have been more understanding with just how smart she actually was. I did enjoy Army and Byron and Birdy, Rory’s friend. I even liked Navy. There were some humorous and interesting parts in the book just not enough to keep me engaged while I was reading.
The concept of this book was brilliant and the explanations were well explained eventually. The research was phenomenal and I enjoyed seeing how the author brought it all together in the end which I think was done perfectly and I liked seeing everything work out for everyone.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
In the final battle with drug-resistant bacteria, one woman’s blood holds a secret weapon.
Rory and her father have survived the antibiotic crisis that has killed millions, including Rory’s mother—but ingenuity and perseverance aren’t their only advantages. When a stoic and scarred young military veteran enters their quiet life, Rory is drawn to him against her better judgment . . . until he exposes the secrets her mother and father kept from her, including the fact that her own blood may hold the cure the world needs, and she is the target of groups fighting to reach it first.
When the government, which wants to use Rory to produce a cure and sell it to the highest bidder, comes after her, she, her father, and their new protector are forced to flee. But can she find the new path of human evolution before the government finds her?
