Before This Is Over by Amanda Hickie

BEFORE THIS IS OVER by Amanda Hickie is a powerful, thought-provoking drama that looks at one family in the heart of a devastated community and compels us to ask: how far would I go to save my children?

Plot:

Meet Hannah Halloran. Wife of Sean, mother of teenage Zac and little Oscar.

Their comfortable home is in a suburb of a city unaffected by the deadly flu that’s killed thousands. But Hannah is tense. She’s worried about Zac’s vulnerability miles away at a crowded summer camp. She’s uneasy about Oscar’s boisterous play with the children at his school. Is physical contact wise when an epidemic is coming closer?

Hannah fears that their safe little world is about to be blown apart. And she’s right. It’s time to get Zac home – if they can…

As the virus traps Hannah and her family in their neighbourhood and then within their own home, supplies of food, water and electricity dwindle. The battery life on their mobile phones fades, cutting them off from critical news bulletins. Sean’s confidence that the government will keep everyone safe is misplaced. Every day, Hannah has choices to make that will decide whether they live or die. Choices with devastating consequences. Just how far will she go to protect those she loves?

My 2 cents:

Oh gosh… I don’t know if this happens to everyone but since I got pregnant, anything related with kids is just too much for me. This is NOT a zombie book!

I couldn’t stop reading this book. I have several books in my to-do list that you will like it but this one was just very emotional. You read the book and got you thinking if you would do a little bit more than the Hannah or not… the fact is that probably not.

A fast paced thriller tat will make you think about vulnerabilities and about your family.

This book was originally published under the title AN ORDINARY EPIDEMIC.