Fallout by Todd Strasser

Plot:
Themes: Sexuality & Control

Character: Sparky
Scott is an eleven year old boy living in the perfect suburban neighborhood during
the height of the cold war. Scott is a usually well behaved kid, except for when he's
with Ronnie, his best friend.

Sparky (whose real name is Edward) is Scott's younger brother. Sparky is still young
enough that clings closely to his mother and father before and after the bomb goes
off. Sparky is the stereotypical annoying younger brother, always picking on Scott,
being nosy, and getting Scott into trouble.
Scott's mother

Scott's Father is a business man in the day, Scott's father doesn't like to take risks.
So when the threat of a nuclear bomb becomes real Scott's father wastes no time in
having a bomb shelter built even though his wife and he have yet to agree on it.

Theme: Sexuality
Sexuality is an underlying theme throughout the story. From being called queer to
looking for Playboys
the boys in this book are eager to talk about all things sex.

Questions to ponder:
During the time in the shelter, the people become more animal like wanting to kill
off two people so there are more rations to go around, one of whom is Scott's
mother. This begs two important questions.

- What behavior is "human"? (i.e. Would it be okay to kill two people so the rest can
survive or is that too wild and animal like?)
- Secondly, what determines the worth of a human life? (i.e. is Scotts mother worth
keeping alive? What is the point of living if the bomb has killed off everything else?)

Social Constructs
Fallout does a wonderful job of posing a third, yet equally interesting question. We
are ruled by social constructs. When exactly can/do we stop following those social
constructs?

For example, while in the shelter the survivors bathe, with it being such a small
space it's almost impossible to not see the person bathing. Survivors also have to
go to the bathroom in front of each other and eventually are wearing next to
nothing after using their clothing as rags. In all these cases the children and other
adults are exposed to nudity, however it has become acceptable. With these
examples when does it become okay to disregard our societal rules?

The plot is easy to follow but can become confusing at times. There are two stories,
one explaining what is happening between the members in the fallout shelter and
the other narrating the story before the bomb went off. Every other chapter has the
story from one side, almost as if trying to parallel the experience in the shelter with
the events that happened before. Sometimes it's difficult to understand where the
previous experiences fit in with the characters actions in the fallout shelter. Some of
the events that take place seem a bit mature for the ages of the characters in my
opinion.
The story is simple, the nuclear arms race has come to a head and there are only
two kinds of people left; those who think there will be a nuclear war and those who
don't. Scotty's dad is not one to take war lightly and opts to take precautions,
installing a fallout shelter underground and building a new addition on top. Many of
Scott's neighbors pick on his family saying they're paranoid but when the bomb
does go off, guess where everyone runs to. Janet, their African American maid joins
them as well but on the way down, Scott's mother falls and becomes unconscious.
Once a few close neighbors pry open the door from Scott's father and join them in
the shelter, Scott and Ronnie's fathers must lock all the others out.
Muffled screams and then a boom, silence. The adults already know what has
happened. Now all they can do is count the days and wait for the radiation to go
down. But with supplies for four people and ten people in the shelter, can they
make the supplies last long enough or will the survivors have a fallout?

Full summary:
Throughout most of the book Scott's mother actually unconcious in the shelter. From
what we hear of her in flashbacks we can assume she is very anxious about the war
and more than likely a stay at home mother. Mr. & Mrs. Shaw are Ronnie's parents.
Though their parenting techniques are questionable, they are one of the few groups
of people Scott's father lets in the shelter.

Ronnie is Scott's best friend even though he's always getting into trouble and
bringing Scott along for the ride.

Janet is the house cleaner and babysitter for Scott and Sparky. With a husband and
two kids outside the shelter, Janet's thoughts are somewhere else.

Mr. McGovern is Paula's father and neighbors to Scott. Paula's mother is left outside
of the shelter when the bomb goes off. Paula is the apple of the pubescent boys
eyes which only makes the time in the shelter weirder.

"Watch this ," Ronnie said, and crossed the street to where Paula was standing
behind her bike, talking to Linda. He went behind Paula, reached for the back of her
shirt, pulled something underneath, and then let go.
Even across the street you could hear the snapping sound" (116). "You could
always look at your father's Playboys", Ronnie said. I don't think my father has any,"
I said. "All father's have playboys," Ronnie insisted. "Look in his closet. If they're not
there, look in his dresser drawer under his shirts" (132). "Ronnie's grin grew
broader. "You don't know what queer means," he sang, like it was a line from a
song" (161). "Guess what I saw tonight?" Ronnie asked. "The moon and that Echo
satellite." "How about Paula's bedroom?" (246)

Control
Throughout the story there is a constant pull for control. Between the Russians and
the united states and Scott's father and Mr. McGovern someone has to be in charge.
"Dad gethers himself up. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. Over... my... dead...
body." "It won't be just your dead body- it will be everyone's," Mr. Mcgovern
continues, then turns to the Shaws. "Who gave him the right to make decisions for
all of us? Because it's his bomb shelter? I'm sorry, but I don't think that matters
anymore. We're all in this together now. Are you really comfortable putting your
lives in his hands? Letting him decide how much we eat and drink?" (166)

Gr 5-8-"Dad had a gun. Mom was letting us eat in the den. Could there be any
clearer signs that the end of the world was approaching?" During the Cuban Missile
Crisis, Scott's father builds a bomb shelter in their backyard. Most of the neighbors
ridicule the idea, but the day the bombs do go off, those same neighbors try
desperately to get into the shelter. A few of them do get in, along with Scott's
family, while the rest perish outside. The extra people, along with the lack of
supplies, make for cramped, uncomfortable conditions, and tempers flare. They
might be safe now, but what awaits them if they ever leave? The chapters alternate
between the current conditions in the shelter and the months leading up to the
bombs dropping. Before, Scott lives a normal sixth-grader's life, but in the back of
everyone's minds are the worries about the Russians and their nuclear missiles.
Scott's friend Ronny challenges him to some neighborhood mischief, justifying it
with, "We might not be here tomorrow." Eventually Scott and Ronny have a knock-
down fight, stopping only when Scott's father pulls them apart. At the end of the
story, the shelter's inhabitants leave to find what's left of their world. The
alternating chapters might be confusing at first, but it doesn't take long to get into
the rhythm. Enough background about the time period is woven into the story so
children unfamiliar with the Cuban Missile Crisis will have a basic knowledge of what
happened. A well-written, compelling story with an interesting twist on how history
might have turned out.-Diana Pierce, formerly at Leander High School, TX (c)
Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source,
Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Inspired by the summer of 1962 when his family built a bomb shelter, Strasser's
alternate-history novel about the Cuban missile crisis is a suspenseful, quietly
emotional account of the unthinkable: nuclear war. Eleven-year-old Scott is the only
kid on the block with a bomb shelter. Though the neighborhood kids tease, while
their parents act disdainful, when the sirens sound, they mob the shelter and force
their way in. After a furious struggle, during which Scott's mother is seriously
injured, the shelter is sealed with 10 people inside, 6 more than planned for and
with many more left outside. As time passes and the supplies dwindle, grief, guilt,
and fear turn the relationships among the adults ugly, even sparking talks of who
should be put out. Strasser nicely contrasts this oppressive life, where Scott
becomes aware of adult conflicts, with his innocence during the weeks leading up to
the bomb. The titular fallout isn't just the environmental aftermath of the nuclear
bomb but the survivors' emotional devastation, believably filtered through Scott's
sensitive but well-rendered child's perspective.--Hutley, Krista Copyright 2010
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