Orleans

Mar 13, 2013 Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mini review: Excellent world building and no romance.

Full Review:

Given the onslaught of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction, knowing which authors have simply hopped the trend bandwagon heading to Fametown and which just had a story to tell that happened to fall into the genre can be incredibly difficult. They've all got, more or less, visually arresting covers and a whole lot of marketing to convince you that this one will be the real deal. Well, my friends, Sherri L. Smith has most definit...more Mini review: Excellent world building and no romance.

Full Review:

Given the onslaught of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction, knowing which authors have simply hopped the trend bandwagon heading to Fametown and which just had a story to tell that happened to fall into the genre can be incredibly difficult. They've all got, more or less, visually arresting covers and a whole lot of marketing to convince you that this one will be the real deal. Well, my friends, Sherri L. Smith has most definitely not written this book in a bid to earn more readers by writing for a popular genre. Where the most popular of this sub-genre these days focus more on romance, Orleans pays attention to world building above all else.

Obviously, I really, really love dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction, otherwise I wouldn't read as much of it as I do. However, I go into this endeavor well-aware of the weaknesses of such novels. More often than not, the world building receives minor attention, taking a backseat to either mindless action or star-crossed romance. Sometimes, the author does not even offer the slightest hint of how the world evolved into its current state.

In Orleans, Smith starts the reader off with explanations, a detailing of how the Gulf coast went down the shitter, and got quarantined from the United States after a series of devastating hurricanes that resulted in an even more disastrous disease. The individuals still living in Orleans, having dropped the new as they're nothing new and shiny about this place anymore, live a very different life than the one we know. The bulk of the population lives in tribes, organized by blood type, as the disease affects the different blood types in varying strengths. Those with AB blood are most affected, but, as a result, they are most to be feared, since they will attack the other types to take their blood, which helps stave off the illness. From the very beginning, Smith starts building her world and she does not stop until the end, and, y'all, her world is creepy.

On top of the completely stellar world building, Orleans earns so much respect from me for being diverse. People of every race run around Orleans and, for the most part, skin color and heritage do not matter any more; now blood type does. The heroine, Fen de la Guerre, is dark-skinned, but, honestly, I'm not completely sure what her race is; what I do know is that she's non-white, and so are most of the people running around this book. Also, the cover matches this book perfectly, down to the way her hair's piled on top of her head.

Fen really does make a marvelous heroine, in that she looks out for herself and does whatever she needs to do to survive. In a lot of survival situations in novels, the heroine's always trying to save everyone and sacrifice herself, but that rarely strikes me as a realistic. Fen has one person she really cared about and would have died to protect, but that person dies in childbirth in the beginning, asking Fen to take care of her child. Even with this promise in place, Fen considers abandoning the baby at a couple of points to save herself. Later, when she meets a wandering scientist, Daniel, she only helps him to help herself. Her character arc does change a bit, but mostly she's a hardened warrior who has been through the worst and does not want to go back.

The downside for me was that I never felt any connection to the characters. While interesting, Fen closes herself off to everyone, including the reader. Despite her sections being told in first person, I really just didn't have a handle on who she was besides a survivor, which, while, utterly believable on the one hand, kept me from engaging completely. Though his sections were in third person, Daniel was still more approachable, but he's so useless in Orleans that I didn't feel much for him either. Also, I'm generally not a fan of multiple points of view when they're not all in either first or third person. The switches between first and third person narration, in general and here specifically, catch me off guard, especially once Daniel and Fen are in the same place.

Other factors worth noting are the writing style and the romance. For the former, be warned that Orleans is written with quite a bit of dialect, as Fen speaks and thinks that way. Her dialect, however is quite mild, mostly consisting of the use of 'be' in place of 'are.' Though I'm really not a fan of dialect, this did not bother me. To the latter point, there is no romance. None. If you like post-apocalyptics for romance, you'll want to be passing by this one. As for the rest of us, Orleans serves as a lovely break from the monotony of instalove.

Readers who have mostly given up on post-apocalyptics because you're sick of all of the sappy romances and pathetic attempts at world building, Orleans will restore just a little bit of your faith in the genre. (less)

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Mar 07, 2013 Bonnie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian-post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, ya, arcs-read, read-in-2013

'The shape of our great nation has been altered irrevocably by Nature, and now Man must follow suit in order to protect the inalienable rights of the majority, those being the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, the foremost of those being Life.'

After Hurricane Katrina ripped through the South, six more Hurricanes followed, each more powerful than the last. Hurricane Jesus hit in 2019 and left the South changed irrevocably. Not only did it come bearing death and devastation but...more

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Jun 09, 2013 BAYA Librarian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Orleans is one of the scariest dystopian novels I’ve read. The story is set in a future American Gulf Coast destroyed by hurricanes and quarantined from the rest of the country because of Delta Fever. This scenario feels likely. The “government documents” shown in the first few pages detailing the closing of the Gulf make it feel more real. Far from dead, though, the Gulf Coast is home to a primitive society divided into tribes by blood type. O-Positive Fen de la Guerre is left caring for a newb...more

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Jun 07, 2013 Brandy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, adventure, dystopian-post-apocalyptic, library, speculative-fiction, teen, potential_booktalks

Katrina was not the last hurricane to devastate New Orleans. A decade passed while the city rebuilt, and then six more hurricanes destroyed the whole region. After the hurricanes, the Delta Fever broke out. Eventually the gulf coast was quarantined, and then evicted from the United States. Half a century later, Fen is a young girl surviving with her tribe, until the night another tribe attacks. She's alone, save for her dead friend's newborn baby, and a researcher who is more helpless in Orleans...more

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May 28, 2013 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

There are quite a few reviews that sum up my feelings pretty well (try A.L. Davroe's). Here is a quick overview of my thoughts:

Though Orleans is not a novel that I would gush over, it is very well written, inventive, and exciting. Sherri L. Smith takes a natural disaster and weaves it into an entirely new world. This is a story about survival. There is no mushy gushy love story because where the story starts there really isn't time for that. This is a story about knowing who to trust and relyin...more

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May 17, 2013 Wandering Librarians rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: boy-appeal, dystopia, fiction, friendship, middle-grade, realationships, science-fiction, series, ya

Ever since the deadly outbreak of Delta Fever, the entire Gulf Cost has been cut off from the rest of the Outer States. The people on the outside assume that almost everyone in Orleans is dead. But that is far from the case. Fen de la Guerre lives in Orleans. In Orleans, you live with a tribe that corresponds to your blood type. Blood is the most precious commodity in Orleans, and you need a tribe to protect you. But Fen's tribe has just been attacked, and now she has her leader's new born daugh...more Ever since the deadly outbreak of Delta Fever, the entire Gulf Cost has been cut off from the rest of the Outer States. The people on the outside assume that almost everyone in Orleans is dead. But that is far from the case. Fen de la Guerre lives in Orleans. In Orleans, you live with a tribe that corresponds to your blood type. Blood is the most precious commodity in Orleans, and you need a tribe to protect you. But Fen's tribe has just been attacked, and now she has her leader's new born daughter, and the promise that she will give the baby a better life. Daniel is a scientist whose brother died of the Delta Fever. Daniel is so close to finding the cure. He believes that going into Orleans itself will help him get there.

I liked the set-up for this story a lot. No, it's not at all new that there was a deadly outbreak of some kind and part of the U.S. gets quarantined and young people must struggle to survive. BUT! Sherri Smith went beyond the rather old and tired trope and created a really interesting way of life. Delta Fever appears to be a kind of blood disease, and different blood types are effected different ways. Fen is an O-Positive, and that's a good thing to be. She has the Fever, but it's not going to make her go crazy, unlike some other blood types. Because having "clean" blood is so important, back market blood farms have sprung up, and it isn't unusual go tribes to attack each other for their blood, or to sell them to a blood farm. It's super creepy, and yet, totally fascinating.

Fen is a tough cookie who, after her parents were killed, lived on her own for a while and experienced some fairly terrible things. She then became part of the O-Positive tribe, lead by Lydia, who Fen is devoted too. Lydia wants to try and make alliances with other tribes to stop the killing and constant fighting. Unfortunately their tribe is attacked, and Fen ends up on her own with Lydia's baby, determined to get the child out of Orleans. The baby's blood is clean, for now, but soon she will be affected too and then no one in the Outer Sates will take her.

Daniel is a smarty pants young scientist who works for the military. His brother died of Delta Fever and Daniel believes he will be the one to find a cure. He is close, except that what he has no doesn't actually cure the Fever. It kills the carrier. He doesn't want the military to get their hands on it, so he brings it with in on his journey into Orleans for more information. There used to be an Institute in Orleans that was studying Delta Fever. Surely there will be information there.

Daniel isn't really expecting to find many people in Orleans. He certainly wasn't expecting to find a whole society, alive, if not exactly well. It blows his Outer States mind, as does the conditions that the people must live in.

There's lots of mystery and twists and turns in the story. We learn more and more about Fen's background. We learn about the people who worked at the Institute and what they were really trying to figure out. I also like that Fen and Daniel do not form a romantic relationship. They reluctantly work together, not really frustrating each other, and gradually form a bond, but it's not a romantic one. That was kind of cool. Boy and girls don't always have to fall in love! There are all sorts of relationship! They can, like, friends and stuff.

I also enjoyed how the book was in both Fen and Daniel's point of views. It was interesting to hear how they described each other. I'd built a picture of Fen based on her character, and then Daniel described how he sees her and it was odd because it just didn't quite match up.

This is the first book in a series.(less)

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May 04, 2013 Rich in Color rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia-post-apocalyptic

“In the early days, before the sky got so angry at the sea and went to war, there was a piece of land between them, and they called her New Orleans. She was a beautiful place, a city that sparkled like diamonds, sang like songbirds, and danced a two-step to stop men’s hearts” (p 35). Through a storyteller, Sherrie L. Smith gives us a glimpse of the past beauty of New Orleans. Then, with exquisite skill, she proceeds to show us what time, floods, sickness and nature has wrought on this city. The...more “In the early days, before the sky got so angry at the sea and went to war, there was a piece of land between them, and they called her New Orleans. She was a beautiful place, a city that sparkled like diamonds, sang like songbirds, and danced a two-step to stop men’s hearts” (p 35). Through a storyteller, Sherrie L. Smith gives us a glimpse of the past beauty of New Orleans. Then, with exquisite skill, she proceeds to show us what time, floods, sickness and nature has wrought on this city. The world-building in this novel is amazing. We see “…the Garden District, where the city, had gone to seed, a cancerous jungle. Lush garden courtyards had burst like tumors, swallowing their outer buildings whole” (p 162). Debris from floods rests high in the trees or under the mud, mold creeps up on buildings throughout the city and the forest seems to be a living breathing creature. There is more to this world than the surroundings though.

Smith also slowly reveals the new rules and ways people have learned to survive within their new world. Survival is seldom anything but gritty, messy, and dangerous and that is definitely the case here. Fen, the main character, has led a hard life and it has left its mark on her in more ways than one. She is described as the fierce one and there is no doubt she has learned to fight and protect herself and those she loves. As part of her protection, she keeps herself closed off from most people. This is one of the only drawbacks to this book. It is easy to admire Fen for her intelligence, strength and courage, but it is also very hard to get to know her personally. In spite of this, Smith manages to allow the reader just close enough to care for Fen through the use of her first person accounts. Fen’s voice is clear and almost poetic. Her dialect may be distracting initially, but most readers will likely adjust to it fairly quickly.

Early on, Daniel, a scientist from the Outer States, gets pushed into Fen’s life. The author used third person for his storyline and this seemed to help keep the focus solidly on Fen. Her story remains the main thread though there are many throughout. Smith stopped just short of having too many threads going, but they do weave together well.

There were many layers to the story including trust, racial issues, economic inequality and respect for life. After devastating floods and illness, society has adjusted, but there are still people who do not have what they need and others who have more than their fair share. In Orleans, Smith has created a frighteningly believable world where people must fight for their lives every single day.

Recommendation: Get it soon. The world-building in this novel lifts it above many others in the genre and Fen will be a character you won’t soon forget.

Original review with extras: http://richincolor.com/2013/03/review...(less)

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May 01, 2013 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars

As a rare request, I want you to first judge this book by its cover. Look at it, analyze it, think about what you expect to get from this book. Got it?

Now, I can guarantee that Orleans will give you something entirely different than what you thought. Something you didn't expect -- so much greater than you could ask for, and far deeper than you thought it could go.

Orleans is a Young Adult novel that takes place in a world where massive hurricanes have changed the face of the southern United Stat...more As a rare request, I want you to first judge this book by its cover. Look at it, analyze it, think about what you expect to get from this book. Got it?

Now, I can guarantee that Orleans will give you something entirely different than what you thought. Something you didn't expect -- so much greater than you could ask for, and far deeper than you thought it could go.

Orleans is a Young Adult novel that takes place in a world where massive hurricanes have changed the face of the southern United States. New Orleans is so damaged, that eventually it just becomes Orleans; and it is cut off from the rest of the world in order to quarantine a virus found only in the blood of those who still live there. The novel follows a 15-year-old named Fen as she tries to get a newborn baby over the wall and into the northern United States before the virus taints the baby's blood.

Fen's journey is nothing shirt of incredible. The author, Sherri Smith, seamlessly weaves Fen's past into her present, and you notice how every choice she makes, every survival instinct has been affected by her past. Fen has endured tragedy after tragedy in her life and yet she chooses to fight - to continue living in the hell that Orleans has become. I actually wish there were a sequel to this book, because I'd love to see how she turns out as she grows older. I imagine she would be queen of the bayou or something!

Another essential character in the story is Daniel. He is a naive doctor from the north who believes he can cure the virus -- if only he had blood samples from the people of Orleans. In many ways, Daniel's innocence represents Fen's past: innocent, naive, believing he can change the world rather than deal with what it has become. But as the two meet and are forced to deal with each other, he becomes a lit more like Fen's present, and in the end, he leaves with her future. (Pretty deep, right?)

I loved this book, not just for it's fearless use of serious issues: religion vs. church, politics, science vs. nature, etc. Not just for its awesome female protagonist who kicks ass (literally). Although both of those are great reasons, I actually loved this book simply because it is so beautifully written. Smith has one of the most vivid imaginations and it just immerses you so deeply into the story.

Amazing novel - 5 out of 5 stars :)(less)

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May 01, 2013 Blackwatch_vw rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

In short : an amazing story, great world-building and (finally!) a YA without romance (that's a nice change!). I love the characters and I must say I want more in that universe !

Full review (in French) :

Gros coup de coeur pour ma part pour ce roman YA (hélas, pas encore traduit en français) "Orleans" de Sherri L. Smith. C'est de la vraie dystopie, un roman post-apocalyptique dans ce qu'il a de plus essentiel. Ne cherchez pas là-dedans de romance ou de méchants qui retournent leur veste au derni...more In short : an amazing story, great world-building and (finally!) a YA without romance (that's a nice change!). I love the characters and I must say I want more in that universe !

Full review (in French) :

Gros coup de coeur pour ma part pour ce roman YA (hélas, pas encore traduit en français) "Orleans" de Sherri L. Smith. C'est de la vraie dystopie, un roman post-apocalyptique dans ce qu'il a de plus essentiel. Ne cherchez pas là-dedans de romance ou de méchants qui retournent leur veste au dernier moment. C'est un récit de survie, sans concession, et qui n'exclut pourtant pas l'espoir.

Le pitch : Le delta du Mississipi, après avoir été la cible d'une épidémie d'ouragans d'une force sans précédent, se retrouve ravagé par une fièvre mortelle. Surnommée fièvre du Delta, elle s'avère redoutable. Pour lutter contre son extension, les Etats-Unis bâtissent un mur séparant les Etats infectés (dont la Louisiane) du reste du pays. Désormais, les Etats infectés ne font plus partie des Etats-Unis jusqu'à ce qu'on ait trouvé un remède contre la fièvre.

Dans une ville laissée à elle-même, dévastée par les ouragans, la fièvre et les guerre entre tribus, survit Fen de la Guerre, jeune fille dont l'unique objectif consiste en sa survie et celle du bébé laissé à sa garde. Au même moment, un jeune scientifique, Daniel, traverse le mur pour se rendre à Orléans, avec dans ses poches, une arme mortelle...

J'ai eu du mal avec le début du roman - la voix de Fen est assez difficile à lire en VO, mais on s'y fait ensuite - j'étais totalement conquise à la fin (même si celle-ci m'a brisé le coeur). L'univers d'Orléans est glacant et en même temps terriblement crédible. J'ai été totalement séduite par les relations entre les tribus, divisées par groupes sanguins, et dominées par le besoin de transfusions pour se prémunir de la fièvre, les risques que prend Fen pour le bébé, son obstination à ne rien lâcher, à ne faire aucun compromis et sa relation avec Daniel. C'est super rafraîchissant de lire un YA sans romance (je n'ai rien contre, mais le phénomène devient parfois automatique, comme s'il s'agissait d'une étape obligée), où l'héroïne ne s'extasie pas sur le physique du "love interest" pas plus qu'elle n'est sauvée par ses soins. Fen est au contraire une jeune file débrouillarde, qui a survécu à de terribles épreuves (et croyez-moi, quand je dis "terribles" ca l'est!) et qui a pu s'adapter à son environnement. En face, Daniel apporte un peu de fraîcheur avec son idéalisme, sa volonté de bien faire qui donne lieu à de très mauvais choix, d'ailleurs...

Bref, un total coup de coeur pour ce roman et j'espère vivement de un ) qu'il y aura une suite (y'a assez de portes ouvertes à la fin pour ce faire) de deux) que le roman sera traduit et publié en français! Il mérite un très large public!(less)

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Mar 16, 2013 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: readin2013, yafiction2013, yasciencefiction2013, yarealistic2013

Orleans is intense and I suspect unforgettable. The novel is set after the Delta and/or the Gulf Coast have been cut off from the rest of the United States. (There being an actual wall to prevent people from entering/exiting.) The reason is simple: Delta Fever is too contagious and there isn't a cure. Everyone is infected with the fever, but each blood type responds differently to the disease or virus. This separates everyone into groups or tribes according to blood type.

Fen, our heroine, is O...more

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Mar 13, 2013 C.L. Bevill rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 25, 2013 Emz rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Sherri L. Smith and Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Shelves: arc

ORLEANS is centered around Fen, a native who is left with her leader’s baby to take care of, and Daniel, a scientist from the “Outer States” (the New America). ORLEANS is set in the Delta, also known as Orleans. A disease, known as the Delta Fever, has plagued what used to be known New Orleans. It is in the blood of the natives and deadly. The Delta Fever is the reason why Orleans is no longer part of the United States, and why there even is an “Outer States”. In the Delta it is hard to survive...more ORLEANS is centered around Fen, a native who is left with her leader’s baby to take care of, and Daniel, a scientist from the “Outer States” (the New America). ORLEANS is set in the Delta, also known as Orleans. A disease, known as the Delta Fever, has plagued what used to be known New Orleans. It is in the blood of the natives and deadly. The Delta Fever is the reason why Orleans is no longer part of the United States, and why there even is an “Outer States”. In the Delta it is hard to survive without a tribe classified by blood type. Fen used to be part of the O positive tribe, until one day, it is attacked, and the tribal chief dies.

ORLEANS surprised me in many ways. One thing that surprised me was how the book jumped right into action. I didn't have to wait long for something interesting to happen. It didn't just stop there. The action continued to the very end. That made the book fun to read, and I had a hard time putting it down. I just wanted to keep reading and find out what happens next. That was one of the factors that made the book so good.

The most surprising thing about ORLEANS was not how good it was, (it was really good), but the style of writing half of it was written it. The style of writing is something that makes ORLEANS stick out to me. I think Sherri L. Smith took a risk in writing like that, but it paid off in the end. The book alternates between two different points of views - Fen’s and Daniel’s. Fen was born in Orleans and has never been anywhere else, trapped in the Delta because of the Delta Fever that probably is in her blood. Daniel, on the other hand, was born in the Outer States. One of the differences between the two, is not where they are from, but their education. Fen grew up learning how to survive, not really the traditional education we get today. Daniel grew up going to school and then went to college. Afterwards, he became one of the many scientists trying to find the cure to the Delta Fever, the disease that killed his brother. Their difference in education is reflected in the way they speak and think. Daniel’s thoughts sound more educated, while Fen’s sound less educated. At first, Fen’s way of speaking turned me off. She was introduced first, way before Daniel. When I first read it, all I could think of was “how did this get published?” But the more I read, the more the genius behind it became more and more clear. Sherri L. Smith did a fantastic job capturing the way Fen would have spoke. It made the novel seem even more realistic.

Character wise, I really loved Fen. I felt really bad for her for most of the book. She has a really sad story, and having to put up with a newborn baby and Daniel, the not-so-smart scientist, just made her life more difficult. Fen is really fierce and respectable. She does her best to keep her promises to others, even if those promises would make her life a lot harder. I thought Daniel was kind of stupid in the beginning, not to mention a wimp. If not for Fen, he would have never survived. That brings me to another thing that surprised me about ORLEANS. ORLEANS is the first book I have read in a long time that did not revolve around romance. That made ORLEANS even better, believe it or not.

Throughout the book, Fen and Daniel have one goal, survive living in the Delta and to get out to the Outer States. If you want to find out if they achieve their goal, you’ll have to read the book. Trust me, it’s definitely worth it.

*I received this book as a ARC as a prize from Fiona Paul (author of VENOM). This in no way influenced my review.

Originally posted on Icy Cold Reads (less)

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Mar 23, 2013 Lectus rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: abandoned

Via http://onlectus.blogspot.com/2013/03/...

This book has so many good reviews that I feel evil for not liking it!

I liked that there's no romance in the story. FINALLY! Not everything has to lead to romance. I was wondering at the beginning, if Fen is like 16 and Daniel is 24, will Smith dare to romance the stone b/w these two? she did not.

I enjoyed Fen's broken English BUT, it made wonder, didn't people speak proper English in Orleans before they were shut off from the world?

Because just about...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, science-fiction

Six hurricanes post Katrina have devastated the Gulf Coast. Those who survived and remained in New Orleans were hit with a deadly blood disease. Unable to find a cure and fearful that the disease would spread throughout the country, the United States government built a militarized wall around the city. Residents behind the wall were left to die, but that’s not what happened. New Orleans may have perished but Orleans is still fighting

In the years following the construction of the wall, those left...more Six hurricanes post Katrina have devastated the Gulf Coast. Those who survived and remained in New Orleans were hit with a deadly blood disease. Unable to find a cure and fearful that the disease would spread throughout the country, the United States government built a militarized wall around the city. Residents behind the wall were left to die, but that’s not what happened. New Orleans may have perished but Orleans is still fighting

In the years following the construction of the wall, those left behind discovered that the disease affects the various blood types differently. O Positive and Negative types are carriers of Delta Fever but do not suffer the symptoms. All other blood types suffer a slow, painful death unless they can receive constant blood transfusions. This creates a dangerous situation for the O-Positives and O-Negs who must stick together to avoid being kidnapped and forced into being a blood slave.

Fen de la Guerre is the fifteen year old heroine of Orleans. Her parents were killed and after a few horrific years of being on her own, she is taken in by an O-Positive tribe. When her tribe's chieftain dies in childbirth, Fen saves her baby and promises to give the child a better life. She has five days to find a way to get the newborn over the wall and out of Orleans before the child contracts the virus.

Daniel is a promising epidemiologist who lost his beloved little brother to Delta Fever. Living in the Outer States, he has spent years looking for a cure and has come very close. Unfortunately, his new miracle drug not only kills the virus, it also kills the host. He does not have access to good specimens for testing and development on his side of the wall; therefore, he decides to undertake a risky, secretive mission to illegally enter Orleans to gather the necessary data to fix his cure. He expects to find an uninhabited wasteland, but what he discovers is a very dangerous city with plenty of survivors. If he hopes to get out of Orleans, Daniel is going to have to partner with Fen and help her save the newborn baby.

Sherri L. Smith’s new dystopian novel is a wildly imaginative adventure that would pair well with the film Beasts of the Southern Wild or the novel Shipbreaker. The setting is both haunting and intriguing. The pacing of the novel moves very quickly, and the intense scenes will appeal to horror fans. There is quite a bit of violence, including a rape, which renders the book more appropriate for older teens. In a nice change from the abundance of young adult dystopian novels published these days, Orleans does not bother with a romance storyline. Fen is a strong main character who never veers from her mission of protecting the newborn. Daniel is less well developed but still very interesting. Their story will stick with readers long after the novel is over.

4.5 of out 5 stars
Recommended for grades 9 and up
(less)

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Jan 05, 2013 Cathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley-arc, dystopian, environmental, speculative-fiction

I've never been disappointed in a book by Sherri L. Smith and this is great as well. Set in a hurricane and fever ravaged (New) Orleans, the Gulf Coast or Delta as it is called has been quarantined and movement across the separating wall is almost non-existent except for a few smugglers from the Outer States. Daniel, a scientist with hopes of curing the Fever. Caught by blood hunters, he is kept captive with a young girl and a baby she is carrying. Fen, who narrates her stream of the story in a...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of Orleans by Sherri L. Smith. I was quite excited to read it, living in the Greater New Orleans Area and enjoying books set in this region.

Smith does a great job of creating characters throughout this book. Each character is distinct and are developed in such a way that their flaws and their virtues are quite believable. I found many of the elements incorporated into the story quite brilliant, particularly the role that storm Jesus plays in the Delta region and the mythology b...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Heather Panella rated it 3 of 5 stars

Even after finishing this book, I'm torn on my feelings. I have decided that it reads like a hybrid of The Color Purple and The Hunger Games... a weird combo, I know, but trust me. There was good and there was bad. Here's the good. First, Sherri Smith's world building is flawless. She picks you up and drops you in the middle of a future world that is entirely probable and gives you the history neccessary to believe in its probability. Second, Smith's characters are likeablely flawed. Fen is stro...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-13, teen-read

It started with Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The area was still struggling to reach back to the way things used to be when Hurricane Isaiah hit in 2014. Then Hurricane Lorenzo fell the following year in 2015, Olga in 2016, Laura and Paloma in 2017, and finally Hurricane Jesus in 2019.

The area just wasn't able to recover from all those tragedies right after each other, with each deadly storm leaving behind physical and emotional causalities. After the storms came the Fever. Delta Fever led to the...more It started with Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The area was still struggling to reach back to the way things used to be when Hurricane Isaiah hit in 2014. Then Hurricane Lorenzo fell the following year in 2015, Olga in 2016, Laura and Paloma in 2017, and finally Hurricane Jesus in 2019.

The area just wasn't able to recover from all those tragedies right after each other, with each deadly storm leaving behind physical and emotional causalities. After the storms came the Fever. Delta Fever led to the Quarantine in 2020. When the Quarantine wasn't enough to stop the spread of Delta Fever, the Declaration of Separation in 2025 was inevitable "in order to protect the inalienable rights of the majority, those being the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, the foremost of those being Life." This wall essentially separated Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas (known as the Delta) from the Outer States.

Delta Fever didn't treat everyone equally. The Asian races seemed to be asymptomatic and mingled freely amongst each other. The segregating factor amongst the others was blood type. The Fever doesn't seem to affect O+ or O- much and affect ABs the most, making them volatile and hungry for transfusions from O+ or O- (O- being the universal donor).

In 2056, we meet Fen de la Guerre (Fen) who seems to play the role of a body guard to the chieftain of this particular O+ tribe, Lydia...who is pregnant and due at any time. Their camp gets attacked by an AB tribe and Fen barely gets Lydia out of the camp alive, where she goes into premature labor, gives birth, and passes away soon after. Fen, of course, promises to take care of Lydia's baby and give her a secure future. The only secure future Fen can think of is over the wall, thinking that this newborn, presumably O+ baby won't be affected by the Fever and is so pure being just born that she would be welcomed over the wall to live happily ever after? I only question that because if that were so, any newborn from an O tribe could presumably be passed over the wall right after birth to live a 'better' life. But...that just isn't happening. Anyways...

While Fen is thinking of a way to get her new charge out over the wall, we meet Daniel Weaver, a scientist, naturally, trying to get over the wall into the Delta. He has been working on creating a cure, only to have created one that kills the host with Delta Fever as well. He feels he is so close to a cure, only if he could get some real research, some real fieldwork. So...in he goes.

Fen and Daniel meet up as they both get captured and sent to a blood farm. Because they were in the same dire situation, they decide to work together to save their own lives foremost, and then later to achieve the goals they each have: A better life for a newborn baby girl and a better life for all with a cure for the Fever.

This was a great read for a younger audience with the only caution to the idea of brothels and how some young girls can be victimized. I'm also glad that there wasn't a forced romance of any sort.

I totally feel like there could be a good sequel made set 15 years later with Enola and Daniel entering back into the Delta or maybe a companion novel about how the Outer States were dealing after the Declaration of Separation, because you know it isn't Paradise either.

There are SOOOO many questions I have: What's the story with Mr. Go and his past. What's the story with Fen?!?!?! I'm wildly imagining that she had something genetically done to her in utero or when young or something and thought she would be the missing link for Daniel, but of course, we know no cure is coming from Fen :( ;) I want to know about this sponsoring family, the Coopers. I want to find out Enola's dad. Find out more about La Bete. What ever happened to the virus??!?! What was under the rooftops? Oh well. *sigh* I want to see a movie of this...I want to see all the sets (especially Mr. Go's), just like the cover art.(less)

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Jan 31, 2013 Titus214 rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was provided by Netgalley in ebook form for a honest review.
This book was so unexpected. In a good way. I enjoy dystopians however sometimes they can be a little far fetched. This book however was so realistic and probable that it was creepy. I also like the fact that the characters are African American. Many dystopians are from a white point of view. Authors forget that an dystopian society would effect all races. Orleans is a story about a young woman name Fen who is living in a post...more

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Jun 17, 2013 Cam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-sci-fi

This was a slow starter for me; I put it down to finish off a series (the Expanse) and then came back and it got better! It's definitely YA, but the post-disaster scenario in a walled-off Gulf Coast New Orleans began to grow on me as the heroine, her ward, and her bumbling outsider make their way across a flooded, mostly abandoned Louisiana. Several hurricanes slowly wiped out most of the Gulf of Mexico, leaving a devastated population susceptible to a new disease called simply 'the Fever' that...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Krista Stevens rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, futuristic-ya-adult, survival, girls

The "New" in the former New Orleans has disappeared along with much of the land and the population after years of devastating hurricanes and a deadly epidemic of Delta Fever. A wall has been erected to keep the fever at bay from the rest of the U.S., so the inhabitants are left to create new societies and fend for themselves. Tribes are created from blood-types as the fever seems to spread less when people are grouped by O-Positive, O-Negative, AB, etc. However, when her leader's newborn baby be...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-mt-bookpile

Set in the proximate future, Orleans tells the story of a dystopian former New Orleans post-many Category 4+ hurricanes. The spread of Delta Fever now means that the population has divided not along racial lines but along blood lines, with only the Ursuline Sisters crossing those lines to help the dying. Everyone knows their bloodtype and stays within their tribe ("tribe is life"), although here are some who try to make it on their own. The Delta area was at first quarantined, then separated fro...more

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Jun 11, 2013 Abby rated it 5 of 5 stars

You know what? Screw it. I am giving this baby 5 stars. Why? It had everything that I do not like about a book...but yet this made me love it. Fen. Felt no real connection with her yet it worked. It kept me there and going. Her grammar and the way she talked..bothersome at first but it really fit and added to the feel of the story. Alternating point of views I usually can't stand but this..it really got me intrigued. No romance. WHAT NO WAY. Thank you. Finally a book with no romance yet it actua...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Wanda (Good Choice Reading) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, own, read-in-2013, reviewed, reviewed-2013

This book was so intense. It grabbed me the minute I opened it. When I first opened the ARC, a paper fell out so I started reading. It was a blurb about Hurricane Katrina and all the damage it did. What people went through. When I finished, I was flabbergasted. FEMA didn't come around to help residents as they promised and residents had to fend for themselves. When I finished, I felt such sadness. And to make matters even worse, the blurb I read was the author's actual experience with Hurricane...more This book was so intense. It grabbed me the minute I opened it. When I first opened the ARC, a paper fell out so I started reading. It was a blurb about Hurricane Katrina and all the damage it did. What people went through. When I finished, I was flabbergasted. FEMA didn't come around to help residents as they promised and residents had to fend for themselves. When I finished, I felt such sadness. And to make matters even worse, the blurb I read was the author's actual experience with Hurricane Katrina. The horror her and her mom went through. No wonder she was able to write such a great book.

In Orleans, in this world, people live in tribes. But not your typical tribes. These tribes are made of blood types. A, B, AB, O positives & negatives. And these tribes are lethal. They'll scalp you for your blood, especially if you're an O-Negative blood type. O-Negative is a universal blood type where in this world has strong resistance to the Delta Fever. So tribes in Orleans are very scandalous and very brutal. Survival and leadership is their only goal.

Can you imagine being a teenage girl, in a world where you fear for your safety because of the blood you carry? Well that's what Fen's life is like. Fen is an amazing protagonist. She's strong and very level headed. She doesn't let situations get the best of her. With a baby strapped on to her chest, she travels through Orleans in search of what's best for the baby. Through out her travels she comes across Daniel. A scientist who is at the verge of a breakthrough to find the cure for Delta Fever. Together they travel through the different areas of Orleans and wade through their brutal waters. Their goals are different but surviving is what brings them together.

Orleans is a very brutal place, I wouldn't survive it at all. This story sucked me in and wouldn't release me until I finished it. Orleans is definitely a 5 stars read. I'm not sure if it has a sequel but the way it ended, it left me wanting more. Orleans is a definite Good Choice for Reading!

http://www.goodchoicereading.com/2013...(less)

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Feb 12, 2013 Melody rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: alamw13

I got this book free at ALA.

What we have here is that rarest of creatures, the stand-alone dystopian YA book. Oh, sure, there's room for a sequel, but there doesn't need to be one. It was lovely to reach the end and not have to cry, "Curse you, cliffhanging author, I can't believe you left me hanging here!" And even more lovely, this was a good book with a fresh and well-made world.

Orleans used to be New Orleans, before all the hurricanes. And before the Fever. Now, there's a wall between the...more

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Mar 23, 2013 TheBookSmugglers rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-of-2013, apocalypse-dystopia-keepers, young-adult, politics

Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers

Trigger Warning: Rape

Review:

Words like "gritty" and "powerful" are thrown around so frequently, especially in describing the new wave of post-apocalyptic and dystopian fare, that they've lost their significance. But, at the risk of sounding cliche, I will say it because if ever a title deserved these words, it is this book: Orleans is gritty. It is real. And it is powerful.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall, killing 971 people. Over the next fifte...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Evie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, arc, best-thing-ever, favorites, freaking-awesome, heart-breaking, loved-it, mind-blowing, post-apocalyptic, pure-awesomeness, penguin-young-readers, thought-provoking, ya

Orleans is, hands down, the best book I've read this year thus far. I find myself at loss for words to describe just how much I loved it. In fact, I am still processing what I've just read, and the more I think about, the more amazed I become.

The post-apocalyptic setting is absolutely stunning. The prose is so unique and intriguing - it elevates the story and puts you right in the middle of the disease-ridden environment. The premise is very original, there's no cheesy romance, the characters a...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Christianne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Draft BAYA Review

One of the more scary dystopians I've read because it seems quite likely that the Gulf Coast could be destroyed by successive hurricanes. Made to feel more real because of the " government documents" at the beginning of the book detailing the closing of the gulf coast region due to destruction and the rise of the highly contagious delta fever. There are some really exciting and harrowing moments; and an open ending.I liked the main character--no nonsense survivor who will strive...more

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May 02, 2013 Claire Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: depressing-or-just-plain-sad, disability, dystopian, fast-paced, futurific, looking-forward-in-13, poc-author, poc-diverse-cast, poc-mc, sci-fi, speculative-fiction, strong-worldbuilding, ya

This is really four and a half stars, with the half coming up for some quibbles that just bothered me a bit: I couldn't tell exactly what year it was and how far after the closure of New Orleans, for example. and (view spoiler)...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Rain Maiden rated it 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this dystopian story set in a futuristic New Orleans. After years of catastrophic hurricanes, Orleans has turned into a hostile land where people are hunted for their blood, Delta Fever runs rampant and the government has built a wall around the area. The story follows Fen and her journey to get her tribe leader's baby over the Wall.

This was a fast paced story that had a lot of action to keep me satisfied. What I love most about Orleans was the rich setting. I felt like I was there bre...more

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