Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite

Epidemic, book one of The Elifer Chronicles by Julie Boglisch, follows fourteen-year-old twins Karina and Maxwell, who have lived their whole lives in a quiet, self-contained town surrounded by dense forest. Taught that the world beyond their borders is gone or dangerous, when their mother disappears without warning and strangers begin hunting them, their carefully protected life unravels. Forced to leave home for the first time, they discover a country far different and far more broken than they could have imagined. Disease spreads unchecked, communities are isolated or crumbling, and power rests in the hands of those willing to sacrifice truth for control. As they search for answers and their mother, the twins must confront not only the lies they've been fed, but the cost of uncovering what is beyond. “Most people would freak out if they just saw someone die and, right after, learned the cause of death was an infectious disease that no one has a cure for. Yet you two are more upset about the fact...that no one actually told you.”

Epidemic by Julie Boglisch is an expertly written introduction to a world that, despite being new to us as readers, feels totally lived-in and shaped by the “Eternal War Era,” a post-conflict America with eerily recognizable patterns. Boglisch signposts this with wonderfully sensory, tactile, visual, and auditory language that makes the environment feel real and visceral. The decay, weariness, and danger symbolically reflect the confusion, fear, and hopes of Karina, Maxwell, and, later, the amazing Lex. I love the camaraderie, and the connection between the three gives the story focus, anchoring the reader in their mission. Their choices and interactions reveal who they are without Boglisch having to tell us. There is one beautiful scene where Karina is willing to act as a decoy, while bleeding heavily, in a show of courage, sacrifice, and love. Committing to a new series is always a big ask from an author, especially when, as readers, we do not know them or know of them. But Boglisch proves that there are still great new stories out there to be told, and I look forward to following her for the next book. Very highly recommended.