And on this farm he holds teens. The government has gathered up teenagers to keep them safe after a potential cure for cancer went all wrong and created vampire-like creatures called Ticks. The Ticks are overtaking major cities and moving across the country, but how much safer are the kids in THE FARM? They have to donate blood and those who misbehave are left out as food for the Ticks. In addition to Ticks, there are other, more traditional, vampires in THE FARM that makes the plot more confusing and less believable.

Twin sisters Lily and Mel have found a way to escape. Lily is overprotective of her autistic sister, who speaks mostly in nursery rhymes and short sentences. Then Lily's crush from the Before, Carter, turns up and offers to help. Like everyone else, he has his own agenda.

I enjoyed Mel's character the most as author Emily McKay does a nice job describing how she thinks as an autistic person. What I don't know is if her portrayal is accurate. Lily and Carter are more cliché and between the two, there is more angst than I've seen in a book in a while.

McKay's version of vampires is a bit different than most, but the post-apocalyptical world is similar to many others I've read. I think I would have enjoyed the action more if I was not so distracted by characters' overthinking every move. Also, while I don't have an issue with romance in post-apocalyptical novels, I have issues with romance that feels forced. Lily and Carter felt forced to me and therefore were not enjoyable.

McKay's writing is solid, but much of the plot appears contrived and overdramatic. I'm writing this review after reading the whole trilogy, and while most of the questions raised in the first book are answered by the end, a few remain. With all the post-apocalyptic young adult novels on the shelves today, THE FARM sits among the pack rather than standing out as a diamond in the rough.

Book Summary

Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are — holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notices things no one else notices — like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...