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Summary: Z for Zachariah - Review
Review: Ann and Mr. Loomis are the only two characters in the book. They both live in a valley and are the only two people alive on the planet (that they know of) because of a nuclear war, causing radioactivity. Ann is a smart, hard working, and very dedicated 16 year old girl. Mr. Loomis is a smart chemist from Cornell College in New York, who has beat the radioactivity and got to the valley by wearing a "safe suit".He is also very sly. At first they both work together in the valley and hope to keep it alive and prosper, until Mr. Loomis changes his mind. A good part of this book is when Mr. Loomis is very sick and Ann is taking care of him. Because of his fever, he has nightmares and thinks they are real. He talks out loud and gives Ann alot of information about himself and his past. At one point he hallucinates and sees a person from his past. When he goes to shoot at him, he actually shoots through a window. I recommend this book to anyone because it is very interesting and keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. Even if you are not a big science fiction fan (like me), it is still very good and is hard to put down!
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Summary: Excellent Book
Review: I read this book in the 9th grade, and my wife and I just read it again after finding it in a box in my parents attic (26 years laters). My main reason for writing this review is to first, highly recommend it to others. It's an easy read and can be completed in no time, for those who don't like a long novel.Secondly, I'd like to comment on the review by J. R. Fredsall from Sydney, Australia, listed below. This is not a scientific novel, or a classroom science book. It is a fictional novel like many, many others. If every novel were to be 100% factual, non-fiction would not exist, and the mind would have no way to escape the world we live in. Thank goodness authors don't take Fredsall's views for granted and write all their books based on scientific facts. There is a place for scientific facts to be presented, and fiction is not one of them. And as far as Fredsall's view on the book containing anti-male events; my statements above can answer that as well. Get the book and enjoy it!
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Summary: All Alone
Review: Z for Zachariah - All alone. 4 stars Z for Zachariah is a good book to read as every chapter is interesting it is good for young or old. It is written by Robert C. O'Brien and he did a good job of this book. This book is set in a small valley town in the United States where a nuclear holocaust affects the world but this small little town. Everything outside of this town if dead and hardly anything left of it. The book is a diary style written by Ann Burden from May 20th to August 8th. Ann and John Loomis are the people on earth as far as they know. When Ann realised that everyone and nearly everything had gone she decided not to sulk or cry, but to not eat all the food get all the water she can and to save all the tin food as well. One day when Ann was in her house she realised that there was someone else alive in a radio-active suite. She studies him in a cave and then realises he is sick and goes and helps him. She cooks for him makes baths for him o be clean and helps him to live and survive. He is not the nicest person but they do get along. They have to set aside there differences and try to survive this nuclear holocaust and get all the food, water and anything that can help and rash in it out for basically there whole lives. This book is fantastic and I advise anyone to read it as it is interesting and ha a good story line to it. You will have to read to find out what happens to Ann Burden and the last man on earth - John Loomis. Josh-Australia Year 9
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Summary: Z for Zachariah not a bad book
Review: I have read most of the negative reviews on this book and I think that the most popular comment was "unrealistic". I have studied human nature in school so I knew that this situation is possible. This book was supposed to be disturbing! It is supposed to make you realize how cruel human nature could be. Shakespeare said that "security is morals greatest enemy" so if you don't like to know what the world is really like than don't read these kind of books! This book may also require some maturity so don't read it if you can't handle it. Anyway, here is my review... This is a story about human nature. It takes place after a nuclear war that has left Ann Burden alone in her safe valley. She thinks she is the last person on earth until a man arrives. Several things happen which dramatically change the relationship between Ann and the stranger. This book seems to be showing the harsh side of human nature, but I think it is very realistic. I though about what I would do in the same situation and I can't honestly say that I would have made a better, more humane, decisions. I'm not sure that this is the best book in the genre, but is worth reading to help you understand life better and make better decisions later on. Read this book for a different perspective on life. Thanx 4 reading this!
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Summary: The Real Problem ...
Review: I'm surprised that so many of the reviewers say this book is okay, but slow. I don't find it terribly slow; I just find it extremely aggravating. I last read this book as a kid, probably fifteen years ago. It popped into my mind, so I went out and got a new copy. Boy, it really doesn't hold up very well. The problem isn't the valley, which is hard to believe but just like a Bruce Willis movie, it's decent if you suspend your disbelief. The problem for me was the weak, ineffective lead character. I simply cannot believe her character arc. This guy comes into her valley, gets sick, and she saves his life. He then - in the span of about ten pages - completely goes berserk, and tries to take over the valley. But the girl does nothing. True, she's only 16 and the guy is bigger than her. But she knows the valley, she has a gun. But her attitude is so submissive: "I wonder what I did that made him try to rape me", "I wonder what I did to make him lock up all the food and not give me the keys". Besides being a condescending view of the woman character, it makes for frustrating reading. It's impossible to feel sympathy for her, which ruins the story. I guess the ending is supposed to be effective. It bothered me when I read it as a kid, and it bothers me now. That skin-crawling, what-kind-of-a-loser-is-this-guy kind of bothering. The story simply would have been better if she had stood up for herself at the end. I don't need some bullets-and-octane showdown, but for her just to give up like that is inexcusable. I remember reading as a child that O'Brien died before this book was finished, and his wife finished it for him. There is no mention of that in this edition; it would be nice to know who to blame.
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Summary: Z for Zachariah
Review: Listened to this book on tape. I thought it was the most fantastic story I had ever heard. Felt the author's imagination was outstanding. I am a senior citizen and use these novels to fall asleep - this is one that would not let me sleep!
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Summary: GRRRRRRRRRRRREAT
Review: Robert C. O'Brien's book, Z is for Zachariah, is very interesting. The setting of this story plays a major role in the plot. The setting's function is one of isolation and the struggle for survival. The point of view of Z for Zachariah is first-person, journal style. The mood of this story is one of suspense. The protagonist of this story, Ann Burden, is a very unique character. Her entire family is killed in a devastating nuclear war, and she is left to believe that she is the last person on earth. Ann, at the age of 15, is a kind, cautious individual who dreams of one day becoming a teacher. Ann is also a very lonely person. When an unexpected man arrives in her valley, however, she becomes very frightened. When Ann is forced to take care of the man who becomes very sick and to provide for them both, she becomes a hard worker and a caring person. The problems that face Ann do not have a negative physical or mental effect one her. The antagonist, Mr. Loomis, first arrives in the valley wearing the earth's only existing "safe-suit." This suit which protects the body from any type of radiation, was created, along with other devices that stop radiation, by Mr. Loomis and two other scientists, Dr. Kylmer and Edward. Just after the nuclear war, Mr. Loomis and Edward have an argument. Edward wishes to find his family among the rubble insisting that they are alive. Knowing that Edward's family was dead, Mr. Loomis disagreed with this idea. After Edward refused to stay in the lab with him, Mr. Loomis shot Edward three times. When finished repairing the suit, Mr. Loomis ventured out to seek any existing life. This event changed his perspective towards everything. In the beginning of this story, Mr. Loomis is somewhat of a mysterious character because he becomes ill with radiation poisoning and is unable to speak to Ann. In fact he is barely concious. He received this radiation poisoning from swimming in a creek he thought was radiation free. Mr. Loomis has phases of many personalities. He becomes a very aggressive person, and then seems to lighten up near the end of the story. As one might see, Mr. Loomis is an extremely strange character who adds excitement to the story. When Mr. Loomis become physically better, he begins to act more violently toward her. Mr. Loomis becomes very aggressive and even attempts to take advantage of her in her sleep, thus causing Ann to flee. Mr. Loomis's hostile behavior is eventually countered with an equally hostile act from Ann. The secondary conflict of this story is also external, being the struggle for future survival. Although the two characters have plenty of food from the abandoned store and many gardens surrounding the house, these sources are not in unlimited supply. They must grow more in the gardens and find a source of power because they do not know of any other place to get these necessities. Ths turning point of this story occurs when Mr. Loomis tries to rape Ann. Mr. Loomis starts acting strongly after he recovers physically from the radiation sickness and is able to walk around. He starts to control Ann and acts aggressively towards her which eventually leads up to the attempted rape, thus causing Ann to flee from her house. After Ann leaves, a very interesting chain of events occurs that leads up to the climax. First, Mr. Loomis locks the store, halting Ann's supply of unnatural food. This act leads Ann back to the house to discuss the distribution of food in the garden. When she arrives, Ann stays a good distance away, in case Mr. Loomis tries anything. All fo a sudden she hears two cracks and feels a sharp pain in her right leg. Mr. Loomis had shot her with a .22 rifle. As Ann hides out in the hills surrounding the valley, she has virtually nothing to eat but berries. In the mean while, Mr. Loomis, knowing that he had hit Ann, and knowing that he was still not in top physical condition, trains her dog, Faro, to hunt her down. Ann becomes frightened and must devise a plan. She decides to steal the radioactive shielded wagon, which contains the safe-suit, and other important goods, and leave the valley. This plan becomes the climax of the story. To start her plan, she writes Mr. Loomis a note that reads, "I am tired of hiding. If you will come to the south end of the valley, I will meet you at the flat rock where the road curves. Come on foot, and leave your gun on the porch. I will be watching you-I will not hurt an unarmed man." Mr. Loomis finds this note and obeys. While he is walking to the south end of the valley, Ann steals the wagon and heads toward the deadness beyond the valley. When she reaches the boundary between the deadness and the valley, she waits for Mr. Loomis. When he arrives he is driving the tractor and carrying his gun. He notices Ann with the safe-suit and becomes very angry. Mr. Loomis and Ann discuss what happened in the valley since Mr. Loomis had arrived. Ann tells him that she knows that he killed Edward and that if he must kill her then to go right ahead and do it... The title of this story got its name from a book Ann read in bible school. The book described the letters of the alphabet by using characters in the bible. A is for Adam. Ann knowing that Adam was supposed to be the first person on earth, she thought that Z is for Zachariah would be the last person on earth.
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Summary: thrilling
Review: Somebody in my science class reccommended this book to me. It sounded pretty intersting, so i checked it out from the library. i started reading it and i really liked it. But the cover really scared me. Ann Burden is a 15 year old, trying to survive on her own after a nuclear bomb that never touched the valley that she lives in. Her family went to see what happened, and the radiation from the nuclear fire killed them. so she is all alone, living in her house with the farm animals. She thinks she is the only left in the world. Until one day, a scientist named John Loomis comes to her valley, wearing a "safe suit" that helped him survive. He becomes sick, and Ann helps him recover. But his behaior is very odd, and Ann runs away to her cave the Mr. Loomis doesn't know about. He becomes more and more dangerous as the days go by. He even tries to rape Ann. This is a great book, and i reccomend it to everyone over the age of 12.
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Summary: Z for Zachariah
Review: I am 12 years old, and I read this book for my English class. I found this book to be very high-paced and it has a great narrative hook. It's not for kids 11 and under, however. It makes you think, alot. If your and English teacher, I highly reccommend this book as a class-read. I read it in 2 days.
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Summary: Weapons of Mass Destruction?
Review: Z FOR Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien is a chilling account of the United States after an atomic bomb attack. Anne Burden and her family lives in an isolated valley that has managed to escape the radiation fallout due to its unusual geographical wayout. Everything is brown and dead beyond the valley. However, everyone but Anne leaves the valley to see if anyone else survived in neighboring towns. They never return. It has been a year and Anne believes she may be the last person alive on earth. One day she sees a thin line of smoke on the horizon from a campfire. She is afraid and hides. As she watches from a cave on the hillside, she sees a man wearing a helmet and a green suit with an oxygen tank attached to the back come into her valley. Anne realizes it is a radiation suit and the man has come through intense radiation areas and survived. After the man becomes sick Anne shows herself and nurses him back to health. She imagines they can re-populate the earth, but soon realizes Mr. Loomis, who was a nuclear chemist before the bombing, is carrying a horrible secret and it involves the radiation suit. When she realizes this she knows she is not safe and must act in order to survive. The book, written in 1974, dates itself by talking about phonographs and records, instead of cassettes and CD's and two kinds of gasoline-high test and regular. However, the basic premise of the story is very up to date. The war lasts one week and Anne describes the great mushroom pillar of smoke from the A-bomb and the radiation that kills everything outside the valley. The book also talks about the enemy using nerve gas and bacteria weapons at the end of the 7 day war. The book describes things and events very similar to ones we witnessed on T.V. and read about in newspapers during the recent confrontation with Iraq, as well as present tensions with Korea over nuclear weapons. Both high school students and middle grade students should be able to handle the contents of the book.
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