Dayna Lorentz's No Safety In Numbers

The elements Dayna Lorentz, used in her book, No Safety In Numbers, were point of view, setting, and dramatic irony. The first, point of view, is told from the 3rd person multiple. This is odd, and not commonly used, however in this story it makes since to tell the story of multiple teens viewpoint, as each finds out more and more and adapts to this changing environment. As shown in this quote from page 149, “The girl was white as death. All Lexi had wanted was to get out of the store. She owed ginger something.” However Lexi was just one of the characters Lorentz chose to go deeper into. This achieved a suspenseful mood and made you feel like you were inside with each of them. Lorentz was smart to do this, it was one of the best ways to achieve emotional attachment. Overall this lead the reader to be engaged, like it was actually happening. It was a refreshing change of pace from books that do not let you fully engage, but force you to look in through a peephole.
Setting is the most important aspect of this novel, as they are trapped in the mall as a biological weapon was set off, and have been locked inside. Lorentz does a great job growing the panic in a realistic way. She does not just have people do things people would not do, she was extremely detailed. From the cover up to the panic as they realized they were going to die in a mall. This is shown perfectly in the quote below from page 210, “The announcement had transformed the mall. Whereas before, the mall-walkers had seemed dazed and confused, now they seemed crazed and focused: Every single one of them wanted out.” This shows the real fear that she managed to achieve with her writing. I believe she did this to mirror the societal reaction you would see today, as setting is not just a location it is also a set of feelings. This gave the book a feeling that it could actually be playing out on a newscast at the local