Acquisitions

The Plague Legacy #1

by Christine Haggerty

In a dystopian world decimated by a bio-engineered plague, military scouts are acquisitioning a new supply of exports—slaves.

With his family dead, sixteen-year-old Cameron Landry is a reluctant survivor, haunted by nightmares and bound by promises. When he and his worst enemy are both selected for shipment to a civilization called Salvation, Cam suddenly has nowhere to run. Devon is a mutant, stronger and faster, and his hatred for Cam grows with each passing day. As Cam makes friends, and finds a surprising ally in Devon’s twin sister, Tara, he learns a secret that could change everything.

But Devon is on the hunt, and Cam is running out of places to hide.

The Plague Legacy is a dystopian thriller series set in a future that has reversed the world to earlier versions of civilization.

On a character level, this story focuses on Cameron Landry, an orphan who is dealing with the loss of his family, most recently his revered older brother. As Cam tries to forge new friendships and navigate the awkwardness of his first experiences with teen romance, he is also running from the aggressive mutant bully Devon Miller. Against a background of burned homes and a rusting ship, Cam has to find the strength within himself to survive.

Cam and his friends are on different sides of the mutant and immune societal divide—even though they are teenage orphans who are largely left to govern themselves, they live in a post-apocalyptic society that has taught them to believe that there are distinct differences in the categories of human beings.

In this dystopian novel, Cam forges a tentative relationship with an adult mentor, a Regulator who might not be what he seems. Officer Smith escorts Cam and his friends across the ocean to their new home—Salvation, where they are destined to be sold as slaves. Mutants for the glory of the arena, immunes for the dirty work.

Some of the themes that are introduced in this book are dealing with the guilt of grief and loss, basic human survival, defining friendships, young adult romance, and emerging leadership. These themes will be further developed in the future dystopian novels of this series.

Even though this is post-apocalyptic fiction, much of the premise for Acquisitions is realistic. The book’s context is based on historic events and situations, the first of which is the Children’s Crusade during which the Pope shipped plague orphans out of Europe under the guise that they were going to the Holy Land as righteous soldiers. As this action adventure series develops, the context in future books also includes the culture of the great Roman Empire and the gladiators as well as the King Arthur structure of the german comitatus. This setting lends the book the flavor of both science fiction and fantasy.

Altogether, The Plague Legacy: Acquisitions is a thrilling read for teens and adults alike, packed with action, adventure and dynamic characters who will move into your heart. Be part of this impressive new series as it takes its place among the best in young adult dystopian fiction.

About the Author
Christine Nielson Haggerty grew up in rural Utah with three brothers, a sister, several chickens, a goat, and an outhouse. She always loved the escape of science fiction and fantasy and the art of writing, and her passion is to craft stories of strength and survival.

Christine taught high school language arts for several years, encouraging perfection of the language in her young adult students. Now she appreciates her background in classic literature and history as she draws on the past to write about the present and the future.

Her favorite genres to write are young adult dystopian fiction and young adult urban fantasy.

Genres: Dystopia

230 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 6, 2013

Reviews

[E.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know Christine and had the chance to be a Beta reader for this particular novel. The first time I read it I thought, "This is a good story." When I read the final draft I sat back on my heels and said "Wow. Crap. Now I have to wait for the next one."

Acquisitions takes place in our future. A virus has decimated the world and the the survivors are put into two categories, Mutants and Immunes. The story follows a teen-age boy who learns that he doesn't fit into either category. As a No-Code he has to fight for his survival more than the others. No-codes aren't suppose to exist and therefore they are killed ASAP.

This book is an apocalyptic sci-fi. There is potential for dystopic, but at this point it is really more about the survivors trying to clean up the mess. I think it would be great for any teenager who is into Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent or any of those type of books. Christine brings the characters to life and makes you care about them. We aren't just cheering for Cam we are cheering for all the characters. We don't want them just to survive but we want to see them actually get a chance at a life without violence or fear. There isn't anything in the books that I would consider inappropriate language, physical, or violence wise. All-in-all it is a well written book and I am ready to pound the door to get the next one as soon as I can.

[J. Barneck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked Acquisitions, especially the world and the characters. It earned all 4-1/2 stars (but rounded to 5 here on GoodReads). I almost got bored reading the scene on the train, but then the book moved on just in time. Acquisitions kept me up a little bit, making me give up sleep to read it (but not all night). Haggerty didn’t hold back in her story. The characters and the world are believable, and yes, there are actually characters that die.

Book Details

Acquisitions by Christine Haggerty is a 380 page dystopian novel published by Fox Hollow Publications in December of 2013. This is book 1 of a series called The Plague Legacy.

The novel’s premise

An apocalyptic disease has brought the world to its knees. Cameron Landry becomes and acquisition, chosen to go to Salvation. Unfortunately, Devon, who looks normal but is a mutant who despises Cameron, is going too.

Editing Quality

Standard

Only one obvious editing issue: a missing space between two words.

Imagination and Uniqueness

This world is well-imagined. I enjoyed the setting, which starts out somewhere in the remains of the western United States. The plague is very well-described through Cameron’s memories. He lost both his parents and his brother to the plague.

Characters

I really liked Cameron Landry (Cam) at the start of the book. He is a likeable character who sticks up to bullies such as Devon.

There is a hint of romance brewing between Cam and Devon’s Sister, Tara.

The mutants are done well but simply. Her imagination is so good yet so easy. The plague created the mutants, but other than a single mark, faster healing, and a little more strength, mutants are otherwise normal.

The adults are few and far between, but they are the leaders. They are pretty enigmatic, and there is plenty of mystery to the adults. Some have been to Salvation and there is an air of awe about those who have gone there and come back.

eBook Quality (the formatting)

Standard

The eBook had a single issue with formatting in the first chapter. I actually worked with Fox Hollow Publishing to help them fix it, so hopefully, you won’t see that issue yourself. Other than that, it was pretty standard quality. It lacked a few extra features that come with high quality eBooks but overall, the eBook has nothing to distract you.

About the Author

Christine Nielson Haggerty grew up in rural Utah with three brothers, a sister, several chickens, a goat, and an outhouse. She always loved the escape of science fiction and fantasy and the art of writing, and her passion is to craft stories of strength and survival.

Christine taught high school language arts for several years, encouraging perfection of the language in her young adult students. Now she appreciates her background in classic literature and history as she draws on the past to write about the present and the future.

[Nancy (The Avid Reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.

Cameron Landry lives in a dystopian world that was destroyed by a man made virus. Cam has lost his whole family to this virus, his father, mother and older brother. And now after losing everyone he ever knew or love Cam is now alone living in the stalls with the other orphans. Cam is only sixteen years old but tries his best to watch out for everyone else especially the younger children who can't look out for themselves. Cam has this great big heart and will run away and hide from danger to save not only himself but the person that wants him dead and will not stop hunting him until one of them dies.

In this new world of Cam's the people have been divided into two different categories, Mutants and Immunes. Mutants are considered to be on a higher level than Immunes. Mutants are stronger and faster than Immunes. But what most people don't know is that Cam is a No-Code. He is not supposed to be alive or even exist and is to be shot on the spot. Anyone who knows or finds out that he is a No-Code is also to be killed as well, and with Cam being a No-Code, he just maybe the cure to the virus.

But Cam is having a hard time just trying to stay alive and finding enough places to hide until he can make it across the ocean to Salvation. In Salvation all the Immunes will be slaves and all the Mutants will be trained to fight and put in the arena to fight against each other and to play games like Live or Die.

I have enjoyed following Cam, Tara, Jake, Alex, Mayla and all of the other characters on their journey across the ocean to their new world. The cliffhanger at the end of the book was so amazing it has left me wanting more which is what a good book does. I want to read the next book in the series now. If you have not read it then you are missing out on a very fantastic story, a story that you will regret not reading if you don't read it.

[Megan Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haggerty is a strong writer with mature prose, which means a lot in this day and age. She has talent for description, and built a sympathetic protagonist—but the failure here is a lack of world-building to justify the dystopian setting. There was too much focus on rivalry and a boring love triangle at the expense of the legitimate obstacles of a post-apocalyptic world. Chapters introduce new settings as the featureless militarized Regulators and their orphan Acquisitions head for the city of Salvation, but the only real tension arises from the constant head-butting of protagonist Cam and his inexplicably homicidal bully, Devon—who repeatedly finds Cam alone, inflicts some wound and then is interrupted before he can do any real damage. The group made it across a ravaged America in just over a week, and was only once accosted by feral dogs. Orphanages, disease, starvation and destroyed cities are not enough to sell the horror of dystopia—I can find worse on the news. The book became stale before it was halfway over, and the resolution of the rivalry at the book’s end only left me wondering: Why did that take so long? Thus, the setting seems to have been chosen for its trendy appeal rather than its necessity to the plot. Understandably, this book is setting up a (hopefully) bigger story, but that’s not really an excuse for repetition here.

Review first published in SLUG Magazine July 2014 Issue
http://www.slugmag.com/articles/7894/...

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book for free through the First Reads giveaway.

The basis of the story is that there was a plague that left two groups of humans standing: mutants and immunes. Immunes are treated as second-class citizens, while mutants are seemingly glorified, although you later find out even mutants are not fully in control of their lives. The main character of this novel is Cam. He is a sympathetic figure (he has lost his entire family), who is supposedly an immune, but turns out to be a no-code. Evidently being a no-code is a rare, dangerous, and important, but it is not yet clear why.

This book was okay. Not great, not bad. It felt unfinished. It read like a series, but not in a good way. One of my must-haves for a dystopian novel is world-building, and I think this story sorely lacks that. I did not feel any sense of the horror of the plague. In my opinion the author spent too much time on the (boring) budding love triangle between Cam, Myla, and Tara at the expense of other things. Perhaps the second installment will offer more in terms of developing the scope of the world and Cam's character. His most compelling side by far is that of surrogate big brother, and I hope the author chooses to emphasize that in this series going forward. I will likely read the next one.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Acquisitions, here you have a dystopian society where a lot of children survive the bio-engineered plague by either becoming a mutant or an immune. Those adults that remain are often mutants unless they managed to escape the plague or fled to Salvation a place across the sea.

Cam Landry, the main character, is the sole survivor of his family and was taken to The Stalls by Regulators when they discovered him and his older brother (who was on his death bed) living in their home after their patents had already died. It is in The Stalls that Cam meets his nemesis Devon and his twin Tara. Devon harbours some resentment toward Cam though we don't quite know why. Eventually Cam, Devon, Tara and Jake are taken from the Stalls and begin the journey to Salvation.

I found parts of this story very slow and I found myself trying to figure out what roles various characters are meant to play. There is a hint of a love triangle between Cam, Tara and Myra but I don't think that aspect of the story was at all necessary. I would like to read the next book in this series to see how it all unfolds.

I did get the book as part of a first-reads giveaway.

[Rhonda Tolley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway for an honest review :) From the time I picked it up and read the first sentence I was hooked. The plot will keep you on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what happens between Cam and Tara, Devon and Jake. The descriptions throughout the entire book put you into that certain environment, from the horses to the ocean and, unfortunately, the body odor lol. You get to see how humanity is lost when all comforts and luxuries are gone and how cruel the world can be. Its the classical survival of the fittest. Devon, being a mutant, is arrogant, cruel and one of the villains that you kill in your mind a hundred times over. Cam is the underdog that it seems everyone wants a piece of. Throughout the book he tries to protect those weaker than him, while trying to be honorable and keeping the promises that he has made. He's lost and doesn't know who to trust during this adventure. He's haunted by the past and those he loved that he's lost. Anyways..instead of describing the whole book, I definitely recommend you to read it. I can't wait to find out what happens next :)!!

[Christian Büttner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full disclosure, received this book as part of a giveaway.

I would give this book 3.5 stars. It was a good read and I enjoyed, but my main issue was that our felt incomplete. Felt more like the first half of a book. Admittedly it's 270 pages, an maybe I've grown accustomed to GRRM style 800 page monstrosities, but it seemed like we never got to the main action. Perhaps or could have been condensed slightly and have bee made into the first half of a book.

However, I liked the premise, despite slowly becoming bored of postapocalyptic dystopian YA fiction. Particularly since the event was in recent times with some people having a limited memory of before And because the event/fallout itself was relevant to characters and plot not just a setting.

The characters are oddly frustrating at points, hard to pin it down, but they irritate me. This does no mean they are ppoorly written or lack solid motivation, just that they are odd.

I look forward to reading the next one, add our will hopefully answer a few questions left open and get to the real action

[Brittania · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read a lot of dystopian novels lately and it was refreshing to read one that’s different and isn’t about zombies. But I wondered where Haggerty came up with the idea for her story as it did make me think of gladiators.
“This book is a dystopian version of the Roman gladiators, the Black Plague and the Children's Crusade,” said Haggerty. “I received my degree in Secondary Education with a major in English and a minor in History from Utah State University Uintah Basin. Most of the idea came from studying major events in history and creating a mash-up of those.”
“Acquisitions” is a book that keeps you guessing to begin with then starts to give you answers as you get further along. Which I appreciated because I don’t enjoy being left guessing.
It also invests you in the characters. I am very curious to find out what happens with Cam and his friends, as well as how that affects the world they live in.

[Johnny Worthen · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE PLAGUE LEGACY: ACQUISITIONS is an excellent young-adult dystopian vision of a world after an engineered plague. Exploring the themes of lost family and current friends, survival among divisions, authority and chaos, and always loyalty, ACQUISITIONS tells an intimate story about a unique boy bridging the gaps of culture and continent in a dark future. It is a road trip across the wilderness of post-apocalyptic America. With well drawn characters, flowing prose, and clean action, one can find echoes of The Hunger Games, Lord of Flies and The Road in Haggerty's story. All in all a great debut from a new author. I look forward to the series continuing.

[Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book twice. Both times I was impressed by the quality of Christine's work.
Her characters aren't flat. They leave imprints in the mind, keeping you in the dark about their actions even though it is written in 3rd person limited.
Through the main character's actions and personality. You'll come to like him as the story progresses, then, sooner or later, you'll find yourself completely absorbed in this work.
This book is a great read to keep you on the edge of your seat. If you're in need of something to read. Try this out!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christine masterfully paints a very ugly picture of the terrors of biological warfare. If you love Dystopian, Acquisitions hits home on all the right places. Filled with hopelessness, and desolation, this YA novel(boys,ages 15-20) walks you through the real life horror of an existence surrounded by death and social distrust. The story is reminiscent of Lord of the Flies, mixed with The Stand, and The Hunger Games.

[Tim Harker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acquisitions is a gripping post-apocalyptic story of plague survivors, classified as either immune or mutants. It is similar in framework to the Hunger Games but its faster moving and has a much more believable love triangle. I wish Ms. Haggerty's story arc had been consolidated to one book instead of the intended series, as I am now thoroughly engaged with the main characters. Besides the slightly cliffhanger of an ending, I loved this quick and engrossing read!

[Lehua Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, and Legend, ACQUISITIONS tells the story of a teen trying to survive in a future no one predicted. Cam is a different kind of plague survivor--not blessed with mutant advantages, but not quite human, either. Alone in the world and swept up in slave raid, Cam will need every friend he can make to stay alive in this dog eat dog world.

[Pamela LaFlamme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome...and more awesome and a ton of awesomeness. Of all the dystopian books I have read this is by far my favorite! Christine writes dynamic and engaging characters. She has the perfect blend of descriptive and action based writing and has definitely left me salivating for the next book in the series. Highly recommend!!

[Dan Smyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written (but for one minor oddity...sentences like "'Get me out of here,' Micah blinked."), interesting, sets up a nice situation too. Decent characterization. Pacing lagged in a few points, and the ending was really way too fast. Going to read the next one though, as this is a debut novel and it really showed a lot of potential.