Z for Zachariah by Robert C.O'Brien~Nick Burrows

This book ties into the us history aspect greatly. It is all about the atomic bomb and that fits right into the 1940's lesson we did. When America dropped the first and only nuclear bomb on Japan. This book takes place in a valley were this girl is leaving with her family. Her name is Ann Burden she is 16 years old. She and her family have just survived a neclear bomb. the valley in which they live in has not been touched. at this point thought her family and herself do not know that. Her brother Joseph, David, her cousin her father and mother both leave the valley to see whats going on. They never returned, what hapend is once they crossed over the ridge they were suseptable to radiation poisoning so they all died. Ann is know alone in the valley, but one day she sees a man in a what seems to be a nuclear radiation control suit. she is not alone anymore. at first she doesn't trust this man so she stays her distance. Then though she finally has to meet him. but she finds out that he's sick because he took a bath in the radiation filled river so she nurses him back to good health. once he is in good spirits he trys to take advantage of her treating her poorly, being over controling almost killing her. so she knows she's not safe so she abandons him. and takes the suit with her leaving him trapped in the valley. She leaves the valley in hope of a new safe haven. The time peroid of this book is during the late 1940's i know that because just the way everything is described i could pretty much pinpoint the general time. protagonist is Ann Burden she's the good guy, just trying to look out for herself and the man in the suit is the antagonist but even in the beginning he was very nice and seemed like a good person but towards the end it was evidant that he was not. The Conflict was deffinatly man vs. nature because they both are fighting to survive in the valley both trapped in the valley. Because all around the valley is radiation. But it also is man vs. man ann is struggling towards the end to stay alive and away from the man in the suit. and one of the main symbols is the nuclear control suit it symbolizes power and survival because the suit is the only way out alive and they both know that and they both need the suit but there only one. the suit is a very key aspect. and the theme would be to never let your guard down. because even when things seem to be doing fine they could turn for the worst. just like what happend to Ann, every time she thought she could trust him she thought wrong. Over all this book was great always kept me interested couldn't put it down, i recomend it to everyone.

Nick Burrows