Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Summary 

     Grasshopper Jungle tells the story of Austin Szerba and how he is dealing with his sexual orientation.  He has thoughts and feelings for his best friend Robbie Brees and his girlfriend Shann Collins.  The book is narrated by Austin during an economic recession in his hometown of Ealing, Iowa.  While skateboarding in an alley near the Ealing Mall; Austin and Robbie are attached by a gang and have their skateboards stolen and their shoes thrown on the roof of a nearby store before they are beaten up.  While retrieving their shoes; they also encounter some mysterious objects which lead them to sneak inside the store.  While inside the store, the boys encounter other unique; one of which is a vial that contained a Plague Strain which is stolen by one of the bullies that had just beat up the boys.  The vial is shattered and its contents begin to infect and take control of its victims. 

     While at a bar; Robbie and Austin watch in horror as one of the vials first victims begins to shed his human skin, and turns into a giant praying mantis.  The two along with Shann discover a bunker that revealed several secrets that the town had been hiding.  The rest of the story focuses on their struggle to fight off the plague and try to bring things back to normal.  Unfortunately, the three teenagers were unsuccessful and the world has been taken over by the praying mantises.  

Commentary on Strength

     Grasshopper Jungle is an award winning young adult novel by Andrew Smith.  The story is a Science Fiction novel that deals with an apocalyptic world but also deals with themes of GLBT and abandonment.  It is apocalyptic dealing with the transformation of the world from being led and run by the human species to that of being run by the praying mantis.  Though the story is kind of creepy it also has some humor, seen when typical teenage drama is intertwined within the plot.  It is the winner of the 2014 Boston-Globe Horn Book Award for Fiction along with being named as a 2015 Michael L. Printz Honor Book. 

Readers also enjoyed Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner; Noggin by John Corey Whaley; Five, Six, Seven, Nate! by Tim Faderle; When I was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds; and  The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos

Additional books written by the author are Stand-Off; The Alex Crow; 100 Sideways Miles; Winger; and Passenger

Teachers can find resources for teaching this book at https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=37723 

Smith, A. (2015). Grasshopper jungle. London: Electric Monkey.

Book trailer for Grasshopper Jungle: