The Enemy by Charlie Higson

The Enemy
Charlie Higson
438 pages (ARC)


  Normally, the word "grown-ups" bring moans and groans to misbehaving kids. In The Enemy, by renown author Charlie Higson, however, "grown-ups" mean "Run, or you'll get eaten"! All adults over the age of sixteen have either died or turned into hideous decomposing, brainless, flesh-eating monsters. The children of Holloway have divided themselves into two groups, some living in Waitrose, the others in the Morrisons supermarket, each with their own leaders.

  Life is tough, and only getting worse, with one kid getting eaten or killed almost everyday. Food is scarce, the kids are so desperate, they've started eating dead dogs. When a stranger arrives in the most unusual outfit saying he can take them to a safe place, it seems to good to be true for the Holloway kids. When they ask him where that safe place is, the answer is even more suspicious - The Buckingham Palace. After some debate, the kids decide they'll go, since they've got nothing to lose.

  As I read this book, it reminded me a lot of Gone by Michael Grant, and I kept expecting the kids in this book to develop super-powers just like the ones in Gone. There's a lot of blood and gore, and the loss of lives is painful at times. But its very face-paced, so readers won't feel as emotional as with some other books. Overall, I am pretty satisfied with it, and I am giving it 4 out of 5 stars because I think it could have had a little more substance to it.