The Smallest Thing
Lisa Manterfield
Publication date: July 18th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
The very last thing 17-year-old Emmott Syddall wants is to turn out like her dad. She’s descended from ten generations who never left their dull English village, and there’s no way she’s going to waste a perfectly good life that way. She’s moving to London and she swears she is never coming back.
But when the unexplained deaths of her neighbors force the government to quarantine the village, Em learns what it truly means to be trapped. Now, she must choose. Will she pursue her desire for freedom, at all costs, or do what’s best for the people she loves: her dad, her best friend Deb, and, to her surprise, the mysterious man in the HAZMAT suit?
Inspired by the historical story of the plague village of Eyam, this contemporary tale of friendship, community, and impossible love weaves the horrors of recent news headlines with the intimate details of how it feels to become an adult—and fall in love—in the midst of tragedy.
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Author Bio:
Lisa Manterfield is the award-winning author of I’m Taking My Eggs and Going Home: How One Woman Dared to Say No to Motherhood. Her work has appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, Los Angeles Times, and Psychology Today. Originally from northern England, she now lives in Southern California with her husband and over-indulged cat. A Strange Companion is her first novel. Learn more at LisaManterfield.com.
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Emmott Syddall wants nothing more than to leave her small town and move to London. She does not want to become another dead Syddall buried in the small Eyam cemetery. Emmott make plans to move to London with her boyfriend, Roland right before her 18th birthday. However, before she can get out of Eyam, her neighbors begin dying. At first, it looks like a weird flu, but no one really knows, and then, Eyam is quarantined. There is no leaving, the exits are surrounded by military patrol. Relief workers in yellow haz-mat suits flood the town and begin asking questions. No one wants to go out and about or interact with anyone else. Except for Emmott, who just wants to escape and her father, who just wants to help his neighbors. Emmott's mind begins to change about leaving when a suited up relief worker named Aiden begins visiting.
The Smallest Thing is a creative re-imagining of the self-imposed quarantine of the village of Eyam in the 1660's due to the plague. At that point in time, the villagers of Eyam were seen as selfless, heroic- allowing the plague to ravage them, saving countless others. In modern times, with social media and aggressive TV reporters, the town is a spectacle, the victims are no more than statistics. Emmott is very easy to identify with, restless and burgeoning on adulthood, her story is one of growth and finding her place. I enjoyed watching her change her opinion of her father from a fearful man who is tying her down, to a hero who allowed her to grow. The virus also interested me, this was not just a resurgence of the plague, but something unknown, brought about possibly by climate change and increased human movement. The romance in this felt just right, not rushed, not insta-love, but definitely intensified by the situation. If not for the fact that it was a haz-mat suit, the fact that Emmott saw nothing but Aiden's eyes felt almost exotic their connection was based on something deeper than physical attraction when Emmott wants nothing more than to connect with someone. Overall, a heartfelt story of devastation and how a community can pull through.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
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