Faye Kellerman & Aliza Kellerman
Prism
HarperCollins (CA: 15th June 2009; US: 23rd June 2009; AU: 1st October 2009)
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On the road for a school excursion to the Carlsbad Caverns, one teacher and three teens in their van crash. The teens manage to escape, and seek shelter in a small cave when it begins to rain. But inside, they fall into nothingness…but awaken in their beds as if the whole thing never happened. In fact, their school trip is still a week away. But the world isn’t the same now: there’s no medical care. If someone gets sick or badly injured, it’s pretty much a death sentence. Kaida Hutchenson doesn’t want her new friend Joy to die, and so she must track down some forbidden research whilst also pay a spill dealer for something that could save Joy’s life. But now all of their lives are at risk of being murdered.
If you’ve never read a parallel universe novel before, here’s a great place to start. The characters may be cardboard cut-outs, but the social conscience is a winner, and this could be an ideal wake-up call for teens to stand up and start caring for their own health, and the well-being of others. Though a bit dragging in parts, it’s a killer premise.