This second installment (READ DESPERATE TIMES FIRST) wasn't stellar....it was just OK.  I did not like it as much as the first book, and this one was only OK because I read the first one and the second picks up well from the first book.  Someone picking it up randomly would be totally lost.

Nothing has changed in the larger world, and everyone is still pretty much on their own, and snowed in for the most part. The majority of the book was rants about gun control, conservative v. liberal political views, and clashes between the lake house group and the hippie commune 10 miles away that they clash ideals with.  Lots of wishy washy whining between Jimmy and Julie from the first book, and then a surprise visitor sets them on edge again.

The groups haven't seen the National Guard, but they are still a nebulous threat. There are only a few people left at the lake house, as the hippie commune seemed to make most of them happier for a time.

There are major clashes (battles) at the lake house, some good guys die, some anti-gun folks were converted to the other side, and some of the major characters are wounded.  There are major clashes at the hippie commune, some good guys die, some pro-gun folks were converted to the other side, and things look mysterious there when Jimmy and Ken Dahlgren go back to take revenge on someone.

It really is a good base story (the series, not just this book), I just think the author could have done so much more with the good characters and PA scenario he created, as the possibilities are endless, and to basically turn it into a push pull between a boy and a girl and an extended gun control rant* makes it fall flat.

*I have to say that, since the author makes the case for both pro-guns and anti-guns, the case for war and the case for peace, and the case for liberals and the case for conservatives, I'm not really sure where he stands (I stand somewhere in the middle of all of it) but I respect the fact that he presented both sides.
This second installment (READ DESPERATE TIMES FIRST) wasn't stellar.... it was just OK. I did not like it as much as the first book, and this one was only OK because I read the first one and the second picks up well from the first book. Someone picking it up randomly would be totally lost. Nothing has changed in the larger world, and everyone is still pretty much on their own, and snowed in for the most part. The majority of the book was rants about gun control, conservative v. liberal political views, and clashes between the lake house group and the hippie commune 10 miles away that they clash ideals with. Lots of wishy washy whining between Jimmy and Julie from the first book, and then a surprise visitor sets them on edge again. The groups haven't seen the National Guard, but they are still a nebulous threat. There are only a few people left at the lake house, as the hippie commune seemed to make most of them happier for a time. There are major clashes (battles) at the lake house, some good guys die, some anti-gun folks were converted to the other side, and some of the major characters are wounded. There are major clashes at the hippie commune, some good guys die, some pro-gun folks were converted to the other side, and things look mysterious there when Jimmy and Ken Dahlgren go back to take revenge on someone. It really is a good base story (the series, not just this book), I just think the author could have done so much more with the good characters and PA scenario he created, as the possibilities are endless, and to basically turn it into a push pull between a boy and a girl and an extended gun control rant* makes it fall flat. *I have to say that, since the author makes the case for both pro-guns and anti-guns, the case for war and the case for peace, and the case for liberals and the case for conservatives, I'm not really sure where he stands (I stand somewhere in the middle of all of it) but I respect the fact that he presented both sides.