“‘I thought you were dead,’ Will said.”

From Lex Thomas’ Quarantine: The Burnouts.

Will beat the impossible odds and survived long enough to escape the deadly virus, the murderous student groups, and the military-quarantined school that housed them all. Finally reunited with his older brother, David, Will is outside, but he is torn between his long-awaited freedom and the knowledge that their friend Lucy is alone and stuck in school. While Will keeps his romantic relationship with Lucy secret from David, who dated Lucy before he “graduated” from the school, Will struggles with distraction from leaving her behind. Left alone, Lucy struggles with completely giving up, but when she makes a startling discovery, it renews her desire to survive until she can escape from the virus-filled school. With no one to protect her, Lucy crosses paths with the vengefully wicked Hilary, and is then forced to seek inclusion with the only group that will have her: the Burnouts. However, when David and Will make a startling discovery about the quarantined students, they decide to risk everything and go back into the school to rescue Lucy before it’s too late. Racing against the clock in a school filled with a deadly virus and murderous students, David, Will, and Lucy must decide what they are willing to risk to have a safe future.

The third and almost-final book in the series is filled with the same violence, gore, and suspense that made the other books in the series so captivating. Lex Thomas creates a world that is just close enough to believable to add a terrifying layer to the story. The Burnouts is a non-stop story that is not for everyone, but it will captivate dystopian and thriller fans from start to frustrating finish.