The Consequences

by Avis M. Adams

Olivia Jensen survived the Novel Hepatitis A Virus that devastated her community but is grief-stricken when she learns that her entire family has died. She ventures into the post-apocalyptic world left by storms and disease, searching for solitude to grieve and come to terms with her emotions. Unfortunately, Brian, the boy who has had a crush on her since the second grade, offers his help out of concern for her health. Is he hoping a relationship will blossom? Fat chance.

Olivia, still weak from her recovery, must accept Brian’s help to get to the stables and check on her horse. When she is given a chance to help a little girl who will die without medicine, she joins forces with Brian. Together they travel on horseback through snowstorms to a mountain town in search of a doctor who has developed medicine. In a world with no existing infrastructure, Olivia's community relies on her success. Can they find the doctor and bring her back with them before they freeze in the blizzards?

231 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2024

About the author

Avis M. Adams lives in Oregon and has had several YA novels released by The Wild Rose Press, as well as a romance novella, Her collection of poetry was released in 2019. She teaches English at Green River College, and belongs to the Flamingos Revised Critique Group, and is an active member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association and Willamette Writers. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where she writes, hikes, kayaks, gardens, and spends as much time as she can with her granddaughter.

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this post apocalyptic story! A different type of virus which tips the world on its head & society into a downward spiral. I liked the characters & the overall energy in this book, good pace & tension when needed, good ideas, well written, kept me up late reading, so that is always a good sign! A good read & I do recommend for all that like this genre.

[Cyndi L. Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a twisting YA tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. The Consequences is the second book in The Off the Grid Series and picks up about eighteen months after book one, The Incident, ends. But in this book Adams expertly zeros in on different characters and how their lives are affected by the aftermath of the storm of the century. A storm that has taken out the power grid and tainted most of the drinking water causing an outbreak of hepatitis. You don’t need to read the first book to get completely pulled in by the second. I had expected pages and pages of teenage angst (and okay, I’ll say it…whining) but nope! These teenagers have had to grow up fast and take on responsibilities most adults would struggle to handle. Some kids in this rural Washington area have gone rogue and decided it’s easier to pillage than to pull together which has made them an added threat to the community. But Adams shows us that there’s always a reason why people do what they do and motivations can run much deeper than the actions on the surface. Olivia and Brian become our heroes on horseback as they fight their way through snow, attacks, and injury to help bring medicine to those dying in their little town. Everyone has lost someone they loved dearly and know there is no going back to what they had before. Playstations, refrigerators, TV, cell phones, and so many more things are now gone, and Adams does an outstanding job of showing how this can make or break a community. For horse lovers, I’ll add that you will get a big dose of horseback riding and soft nuzzles. For romantics, don’t worry, even during a disaster and pandemic, young love (and just a bit of that angst) will always be there. Go out and get your copy of The Consequences, you won’t be disappointed.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughts: As several states deal with the aftereffects of Hurricane Helene and the COVID outbreak over the last few years, this book rang a little too true. In this one, the storms called Elprimo have devastated the US, as has a virulent disease that no one expected. Thousands dead, no electricity, no running water, towns devastated by both and cut off from everything because of storm damage.

Olivia and her friend, Brian, go to check on her horse, Shadow, at a nearby farm, but when they get there, Olivia discovers that Shadow has died. Given no chance to grieve, the elderly farmer sends them to a nearby farm to get hay for the remaining horses. Along the way, they find an abandoned 4-year-old girl, and thieves who steal their bikes, then accost them for the horses they’re riding. At the hay farm, they’re tasked with going to a nearby town for medicine for the family. They have to make their way through treacherous roads, a blizzard, and more, then get back home before more people die. I loved the dog with the rips. And how much they depend on the horse not just for transportation, but heart as well.

The two of them learn what it is to depend on each other for their lives and what desperate people are capable of. And that they are stronger than they thought. This is a story about friendship, survival, and strength of character.

Recommended.

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced or solicited by anyone.

[Terry Segan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This YA novel follows a young teen, Olivia, as she struggles to survive in the dystopian reality which is now her world. Adams’ first novel, The Incident, introduces the devastating storms that destroyed all modern conveniences we take for granted like running water and power. Olivia battles the heavy weight of loss after her beloved parents and grandfather were taken by the ensuing virus following the storms of book one. While her desire to help those in need is strong, she’s dragged down by remnants of the disease she managed to survive herself but hasn’t quite overcome. Accompanied by Brian, a teen whose puppy love for her is obvious by his every action, Olivia tries to ignore the blossoming new feelings she sees in a guy she internally refers to as a dork. What begins as a simple trek to check on her sick horse, turns into a journey filled with bad guys, horrible weather, and impossible situations. As a sweet bonus, the author sprinkles the landscape with prominent characters from the first book. While this story is part of a trilogy, it can be read as a standalone. I can’t wait to read the final saga!

[Carl Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Consequences, Avis M. Adams's non-stop sequel to The Incident, OLIVIA is forced into one decision after another and must accept the outcomes. Olivia discovers that the decisions we make have consequences. Plans are made, then they must be changed. A simple day trip on her bike to see her beloved horse at Mr. G.’s farm turns into a cross-country trek with her friend Brian. She set out to retrieve medicine for her community.
On her journey to retrieve the medicine, she encounters horse thieves, loses Brian, and gets snowbound in a cabin. Brian finds her, he gets injured, and one of the horse thieves shows up at the cabin with a gunshot wound.
Choices. She could stay to care for the two injured young men without training and a poorly stocked first-aid kit. She could try to return home, where the options are slightly better, or brave deeper into the mountains to find the doctor and medicine and maybe save some lives. Consequences.
This may be book two, but it reads as a stand-alone book.

[Robin Ginther-Venneri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping
Robin’s Review
5 Star Rating

This post-apocalyptic novel delivers a gripping story set in the aftermath of devastating storms 🌪️ and a deadly virus 🦠. Society has collapsed, with no electricity ⚡, running water 🚱, and towns isolated by storm damage. Olivia and her friend Brian navigate this harsh reality, searching for supplies and facing dangerous challenges, including thieves 🏴‍☠️ and a treacherous blizzard ❄️. Along the way, they rescue a 4-year-old girl 👧 and must rely on their horses 🐎—and each other—for survival.

The novel explores themes of friendship 🤝, survival, and inner strength 💪, with well-paced tension and compelling characters. A loyal, zoomie dog 🐕 adds heart to the story, capturing both YA and adult readers. Highly recommended for fans of post-apocalyptic fiction.

[Mrs LIR Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very tangible apocalyptic story of survival. Olivia is a teen who is weakened by the virus that has killed her family and a lot of her community. She tries to see her beloved horse and is followed by the boy she calls Dork (Brian) who has been infatuated with her for years.

This is their story of trying to help out their community, how they survive those that have gone rogue, and the bad weather and the remnants of the virus and the massive storms.

The main characters are likable and the awaking of the romance as they depend on each other is clean.

The descriptions of no longer having cellphones, radio, music and medications as well as clean water are excellent. A very realistic catastrophic event novel.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[J.L. Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olivia Jensen survived a virus that destroyed her community and killed her family after storms ravaged the planet. Still weak from the illness herself, she and her childhood friend, Brian, set out to check on her beloved horse, but end up embarking on a perilous journey to find medicine for a little girl. Although this sequel to The Incident introduces a new cast of characters, familiar faces dot the landscape of snowy rural Washington as Olivia and Brian, along with their horses and a dog companion, brave the elements while hiding from desperate survivors. Adams’ builds a vivid post-apocalyptic landscape but keeps her main characters center stage as they fight for survival while learning to rely on each other in an icy world that feels crushingly isolating.

[Susie Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still weak from a deadly virus that wiped out her community and grieving for her lost family and life as she knew it, Olivia Jensen sets out to check on her horse. Olivia and her childhood friend Brian, who has a crush on her, stare death in the face as they make a perilous journey wrought with danger at every turn they fight for survival while trying to save the life of a little girl.
Avis M. Adams is a YA author with the chops to write a gritty, graphic post-apocalyptic tale and still manage to create believable teenage characters with equal amounts of angst and audacity. The Consequences is a story of survival, young love, loss, trust, and the inner strength one must summon to face adversity created by both human fallibility and fate.

[Sandra Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sequel to The Incident finds another set of teens facing peril, now in a post-apocalyptic world rife with disease, scarcity, and loads of major challenges. The drama doesn’t stop as Olivia and Brian struggle to trust each other in facing one obstacle after another. Their reluctant romantic interest, along with trusty horses and a zoomie dog companion, will capture YA readers’ attention throughout the harrowing, snowy adventure.

[Molly Gloss · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Consequences was a bit of a slow read for me because with each crisis Olivia meets I had to put the book down and catch my breath before diving with her into the next one! On horseback much of the way, crossing a post-apocalyptic Northwest landscape, she and her companion Brian struggle through blizzards, fight off attacks, illness and injury, in an epic quest to recover the medicine their community needs to survive. It’s a wild ride! Buckle up!

[Corinne LaBalme · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping story that works both as a YA and an adult read as deeply damaged characters make decisions as logically as possible when facing a terrfying new reality. Highly recommended!