YA Weekend: The Well’s End by Seth Fishman

The Well’s End by Seth Fishman

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Series: Book 1 of The Well’s End

Publisher: Putnam Young Readers (February 25, 2014)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars 

I had trouble categorizing The Well’s End, which should already tell you that this is quite a unique piece of YA fiction. Part science fiction and fantasy but also a bit of mystery and thriller, the book is a fast-paced adventure that sets itself apart with an imaginative scenario and memorable characters.

The book follows Mia, whose fall down a well when she was four years old made her a local celebrity. Twelve years later she is still known to everyone in town and at the exclusive Westbrook Academy where she goes to school as “Baby Mia”. The experience left her with a fear of water and tight dark spaces, which only led to my increased admiration for her as I watched her fight through many frightening situations in the course of this story.

Mia had even joined the swim team and become its star. On the eve of a big meet though, a sudden emergency causes Westbrook to go into lock-down, the cause of it being a deadly virus that speeds up the aging process in its victims so that those infected die within hours. It feels a bit wrong of me to say this but, NICE! A story about a killer virus and quarantine in a YA novel that isn’t related to zombies for once!

Once the news breaks about the virus, that’s when the plot really takes off. Seth Fishman nails the atmosphere of Westbrook and makes the social aspects of the school very believable (when I was a teen I spent a couple years overseas stuck in a high end international school and a lot of the different cliques and students’ attitudes there were actually a lot like what I saw in this book). Some of the best scenes were at the beginning of the novel where the students first learn that they are not allowed to leave the campus, resulting in the utter chaos you would expect from the reactions of privileged kids used to getting their own way. It was frightening, it was intense, and it was brilliant.

The book only had a couple weaknesses, one being the uneven pacing of the story. It slows a little after Mia and friends escape the school grounds and start heading towards the Fenton Electronics Company located in “the Cave”, a front for where her father works. There’s a burst of excitement again when the teens hit up the aqueduct and run into all sorts of trouble there, but it calms down again once they find the Cave and realize it’s not what they thought it was at all. The explanation for the virus situation felt a little drawn out and there was also a sudden shift in perspective here that might jar some readers. There were also a few interactions between the characters that felt awkward, especially the one between Mia and the new kid Brayden. Their relationship felt too fast and too sudden, though as the story progressed, I started to understand why it might have been that way.

The big reveal about the Cave was a real game changer though, ratcheting the excitement up a few notches. As the pieces of this puzzle fell into place, all the strange things that had baffled me finally made a lot more sense. Here we tread further into fantasy territory, and with the secret nature of the Cave still mostly unknown, the stage is set for all kinds of possibilities.

In the end, this debut by Seth Fishman did not disappoint. I found out he is the literary agent of a couple of my favorite authors, so he definitely knows a good story. His first book was indeed a promising start to a new series though be aware that the ending is very abrupt, leaving things open for an inevitable sequel. There’s no question I’ll pick it up though; I’m invested in the story and these characters and I’m eager for answers.