Outage

Gr 7 Up—Dee is not happy to be spending a week in the sticks of Washington state, in the care of her veterinarian grandpa. Dee's at an awkward age: half of her wants her parents to take away the hurt of her younger brother's death, and the other half wants them to leave her the heck alone. She rebelliously "borrows" her grandpa's old truck, picks up a handsome teenage hitchhiker, and heads into town to buy a bus ticket back to someplace familiar. But plans change when a mysterious pulse knocks out all technology. Dee and hitchhiker Mason spring into action: helping firefighters, buying groceries, doing good deeds, and bonding. There are happy coincidences, like running into a survivalist who tells them what to buy at the store. Grandpa has a farm, Mason can fix anything, and the lady up the road cooks and cans! The story is straightforward and simple: baddies are leering and greedy; goodies are kind and prayerful. Kate Rudd has a distinctive tone and captures Grandpa's folksy twang.