Flight of the Destined is the second installment in the Claiming Destination series written by Colleen A. Parkinson. However, one should not expect a mere continuation of the previous (Book One) events surrounding the world’s apparent demise due to the outbreak of a most unfortunate, zombie-inducing plague. That narrative was nail-biting and gruesome enough, but it now seems relatively tame when compared to the grim (an understatement) and gory (also an understatement) occurrences that subsequently arise in Book Two. In other words, the world really has gone to hell, and the demons are proliferating, maybe even winning. The most certain fact is that they are feasting. Even the sweetest little kids enjoy snacking on those bloody tidbits left over from the adults’ ravenous gorgings. But all may not be lost.

Wrapped inside the littered remains of humanity’s lost dignity (yet another understatement), Colleen A. Parkinson lets a little spark of hope flit its way through the dismay and despair suffusing the Flight of the Destined. Her name is Isa. She is one of those “sweet little kids” previously mentioned, and yes, she does love her “finger-food” snacks. Readers cannot help but fasten all their hopes on this engaging but unstable little urchin, fearing all the while that their unintentional allegiance will be ultimately betrayed. No spoiler alerts here, but even the continuing adventures of Book One’s main characters—Natalie and Coltan—with their Christian faith as a supposedly protective shield, support the reader’s waning optimism, as does the spunky little girl with her disarmingly sweet voice and questionable table manners.