During-The-Event by Roger Wall

Title: During-The-Event
Author: Roger Wall
Genre: Young-Adult
Series: N/A

Paperback, 200 pages
Publication: May 15, 2019 by University of Alaska Press

Source: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

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For D.E., only two certainties exist: his grandfather is dead and life will never be the same.

In the near future, climate change has ravaged the United States, leading the government to overcorrect through culls and relocation. Those who survive the mandated destruction are herded into “habitable production zones,” trading their freedom for illusions of security. The few who escape learn quickly that the key to survival is to stay hidden in the corners of the country. For seventeen years, During-the-Event, or D.E., has lived free in a pastoral life with his grandfather in North Dakota. But when death reaches their outpost. D.E. is forced on a journey that will change his life—and reveal surprises about his past.

During-The-Event takes places in a post-apocalyptic ravaged America where climate change wiped out more than half the population, while those that are left are indentured or in hiding. D.E and his grandfather, Otis are in the later camp; hiding in the obscured nooks of North Dakota.

Unlike many of the mainstream Young Adult Dystopian on the market today, During-The-Event doesn’t involve characters pitted against one another, a rebellion, or a deadly virus or A.I tech threatening humanity. Instead the novel focuses on a handful of characters and the protagonist, D.E.’s personal growth. It’s all about looking inwards; self-discovery and reflection.

During-The-Event is a short book, approximately 200 pages. Wall wasted no time setting up the world and introducing readers to the characters, and their beliefs and actions. Our protagonist, During-The-Event A.K.A D.E grew up in the aftermath of the climate change, he never met or knew his parents, and was raised solely by his grandfather. Everything D.E. knew was predicated off what was told by his grandfather. Due to a life-changing circumstance earlier in the novel, D.E is left to fend for himself as he journeys across the U.S. and discovers life outside the butte for the first time and how it challenges the beliefs ingrained in him his entire life.

D. E. is only seventeen-years-old and has many skills to help him survive the rough terrain of the U.S. but outside of that D.E. doesn’t know much else. Especially interacting with strangers/society. Wall pens a story of growing up and getting out into the real world, which I’m sure resonates with all of us in some way. Readers follow alongside D.E. as he navigates the world, finds himself and learns to adapt to his new reality all while dealing with foreign emotions such as loneliness and loss.

During-The-Event is a well-written coming of age story. D.E. is as pure as it comes, unaffected by the world and having little to no interaction besides his family. I enjoyed reading his experiences through a new lens and seeing how he reacts to all his ‘firsts’. I highly recommend checking out During-The-Event if you’re looking for a more introspective character driven story, a story with substance without all the loud and unnecessary noise.