Discover Well-Read Black Girl Books and the projects reshaping publishing →

Book Summary and Reviews of Blackout by Robison Wells

Blackout by Robison Wells

Blackout

by Robison Wells

  • Critics' Consensus (3):
  • Readers' Rating (3):
  • Published:
  • Oct 2013, 432 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

Laura and Alec are highly trained teenage terrorists. Jack and Aubrey are small-town high school students. There was no reason for their paths to ever cross.

But now a mysterious virus is spreading throughout America, infecting teenagers with impossible superpowers - and all teens are being rounded up, dragged to government testing facilities, and drafted into the army to fight terrorism. Suddenly, Jack, Laura, Aubrey, and Alec find their lives intertwined in a complex web of deception, loyalty, and catastrophic danger - where one wrong choice could trigger an explosion that ends it all.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. There is no shortage of white-knuckle action or eyebrow-raising violence - fans of Wells's earlier work won't be disappointed. Ages 13–up." - Publishers Weekly

"While the end brings the immediate episode to a conclusion of sorts, more and bigger conflicts loom. In a world where terrorism is an increasing threat, this fast-paced book brings it home." - Kirkus

"Blackout is a thrilling combination of Wells' trademark twists and terror. Fantastic!" - Ally Condie, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Matched

This information about Blackout was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Jessie King

have a nice day
I love this book so much :):):):):):):)

Anshul Gowda

AMAZING! I WANT MORE!
Blackout by Robinson Wells left me awe struck. I didn't know what to think or say after I finished this book. The book was just so complicated that it made perfect sense. I like how it tied together problems that teenagers might face on a normal day, and also problems that the world faces on a day to day basis. This book inspired me to look into how terrorist cells work and the thinking behind them. If you have a heart, that is beating, you should consider reading this book.

diona

black out
Nice. A good book

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Robison Wells

Robison Wells is the author of the YA science-fiction thrillers Variant and Feedback. Variant was a Publishers Weekly Best Book and a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Robison lives in the Rocky Mountains in a house not too far from elk pastures. His wife, Erin, is a better person than he will ever be, and their three kids cause mischief and/or joy.

More Author Information

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Blackout, try these:

  • In Our Midst jacket

    In Our Midst

    by Nancy Jensen

    Published 2025

    About this book

    Drawing upon a long-suppressed episode in American history, when thousands of German immigrants were rounded up and interned following the attack on Pearl Harbor, In Our Midst tells the story of one family's fight to cling to the ideals of freedom and opportunity that brought them to America.

  • A Peculiar Combination jacket

    A Peculiar Combination

    by Ashley Weaver

    Published 2022

    About this book

    The first in the Electra McDonnell series from Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver, set in England during World War II, A Peculiar Combination is a delightful mystery filled with spies, murder, romance, and the author's signature wit.

  • The Standardization of Demoralization Procedures jacket

    The Standardization of Demoralization Procedures

    by Jennifer Hofmann

    Published 2020

    About this book

    An audacious debut that combines spycraft, betrayals, and reversals to show that sometimes it's the secret that destroys you.

We have 10 read-alikes for Blackout, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    When No One Else Will
    by Amanda Skenandore
    1940s Chicago nurse risks everything at an illegal women’s clinic during a high-profile trial of courage and sisterhood.
  • Book Jacket
    A Pair of Aces
    by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
    Two women on opposite sides of the law team up to bring down gangster Lucky Luciano in this gripping novel.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    The Jellyfish Problem
    by Tessa Yang
    A marine biologist rescues a Maine island menaced by a giant glowing jellyfish in this inventive debut.
  • Book Jacket
    Summer's Never Over
    by Darby Bozeman
    A woman revisits a Southern summer camp where a counselor's death may not have been an accident.
  • Book Jacket
    Feast
    by Catherine Kurtz
    In 19th-century France, a girl with a magical taste becomes a duc’s poison taster amid nobility and danger.
  • Book Jacket
    The Reimagining of Thornwood House
    by Jaleigh Johnson
    A witch and her ward discover a magical walking house and find the true meaning of home.
Who Said...

Finishing second in the Olympics gets you silver. Finishing second in politics gets you oblivion.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

Q S, S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.