Bloom

Bloom

By Kenneth Oppel

Anaya, Petra and Seth are three teens who live on Salt Spring Island, and all of them are a bit “different”.  Anaya is allergic to many, many things and constantly battles the acne that is caused by her allergies.  Petra has an extremely rare condition that makes her allergic to water (!).  And Seth is a foster kid who’s living with one of the island families.

When strange black “grass” begins to grow all over the island, no one can seem to get rid of it; it’s like the strongest weed in the world!  As the grass spreads through crops and forests, island residents start to experience terrible reactions to the unusual plants.  But Anaya, Petra and Seth are the exceptions.  For some reason, the plants don’t affect them at all.

Soon these invasive plants are spreading all over the world with deadly consequences.  Anaya’s dad, a biologist, sets off to Cordova Island to do some experiments and promptly disappears.  Meanwhile, CSIS (Canada’s version of the CIA) sends Dr. Weber to do tests on Anaya, Petra and Seth.  When the three friends and Dr. Weber begin searching for Anaya’s dad, they end up battling for their lives!

Bloom is a very suspenseful novel that will have you on the edge of your seat!  This is the first in a trilogy.