The Eleventh Plague is a 2011 postapocalyptic YA novel by Jeff Hirsch. Its protagonist, 15-year-old Stephen Quinn, lives in the postapocalyptic aftermath of a third world war that left America’s population devastated by a flu-like plague. Stephen lives as a salvager in the remnants of the old world, but the loss of his grandfather and father forces him to find shelter with a seemingly idyllic group of survivors; however, a prank threatens the lives and safety of everyone in the settlement. While this novel was Hirsch’s debut, he has since written several other YA books, most of which, like The Eleventh Plague, are speculative fiction in postapocalyptic settings. The Eleventh Plague was a USA Today bestseller and focuses heavily on themes of Individualism Versus Communalism as Survival Strategies, The Lingering Effects of Abuse, and Tradition Versus Toxic Nostalgia in American Culture, particularly as these topics affect children.

This guide uses the 2012 Scholastic paperback edition.

Content Warning: This novel features racism and racial slurs toward Chinese people, as well as violence, abuse, and enslavement.

Plot Summary

Stephen Quinn lives in a collapsed America that has been devastated by a third world war and a subsequent plague that killed millions—events collectively known as the “Collapse.” The book opens with Stephen watching as his father buries his abusive grandfather. Stephen and his father then continue heading south to sell salvage for supplies. During a run-in with enslavers, however, Stephen’s father decides to save the people they have enslaved. Stephen and his father escape the enslavers, but as they run into the wilderness, Stephen’s father tumbles into a river 30 feet below. Stephen jumps in and hauls him to the riverbank, but his father is unconscious. Suddenly, Stephen sees several men walking on the ridge above. He shoots at them, grazing one of the men in the leg, and then realizes one of the attackers is a boy his own age.

The attackers are people from Settler’s Landing, a hidden settlement. They include Marcus, his son Jackson, a man named Sam, and a cruel, self-important teenager named Will Henry. The settlers offer Stephen the choice to come with them and get his father medical care, which he reluctantly accepts.

Settler’s Landing appears not to have experienced the Collapse, to Stephen’s bewilderment. Marcus’s wife, Violet, gives Stephen’s father the best care she can. Stephen joins the village for their Thanksgiving feast, where he witnesses a Chinese American girl, Jenny, being attacked by some of the other teens. Stephen learns that Jenny is Marcus and Violet’s adopted child but that few people like or trust her.

The next day, Stephen refuses to go to school with the other children and works in the field with the adults. He learns that the area was once a gated, wealthy community with a golf course but that everyone except the Henrys died from the plague. The Henrys still function as if they own the land. Stephen eventually wanders to the school where he meets Jenny outside, who is drawing rather than going to class.

That night, Stephen steals medicine and medical tools and buries them under a tree outside of town to use for salvage later. The next morning, Violet convinces him to go to school with Jackson. The other students laugh at his clothing, and Will Henry bullies him, but Jackson and his friends defend him. Then Jenny unexpectedly arrives at school and passes Stephen a note telling him she saw what he stole. Upset, Stephen storms out of school and gets into a fight with Will, forcing the teacher, Mr. Tuttle, to intervene. Jackson and Derrick pester Stephen to play baseball with them, but Stephen pushes Derrick to the ground.

Stephen skips school the next day but can’t find Jenny. Instead, he reluctantly plays baseball on Derrick’s team, bonding with the other teens afterward when he learns that all of them have suffered from the Collapse.

At school the next day, Stephen confronts Jenny about the note, but she taunts him; Will and his followers then approach and attack them. Mr. Tuttle gives Jenny and Stephen detention, but once Jenny leaves, Mr. Tuttle gives Stephen textbooks so he can further his education.

When Stephen returns to Violet and Marcus’s house, he runs into Caleb Henry, the patriarch of the Henry family. He overhears Violet and Marcus discussing trying to prevent the Henrys from expelling Stephen out of Settler’s Landing and decides to leave on his own. He admits to stealing their supplies, asks them to take care of his still-comatose father, and runs into the woods. He finds Jenny in a barn in the woods; she patches his wounds up and they discuss their alienation in the town. Deciding to make the Henrys pay for their suffering, they run to the Henry plantation and use dynamite to release the animals, causing chaos. To provide cover for Jenny’s escape, Stephen stands up and shouts, “Fort Leonard forever” (167), referencing a nearby settlement that the Landing residents fear wants to attack them. The two teens run back to the barn and kiss.

Stephen wakes up in the barn the next morning to find Jenny drawing him. She asks if she can go with him and his father when they leave, as she wants to see the outside world; he agrees but decides to get the textbooks from the Landing. When he returns, he sees Caleb preaching to the entire community about the dangers of outsiders and learns from Marcus that Settler’s Landing has already attacked Fort Leonard in retaliation for the latter’s “attack,” killing two guards. War is imminent.

Stephen returns to the barn and finds it burning. He narrowly rescues Jenny and some of their supplies from the flames; they take shelter in a nearby abandoned casino. After Jenny has fallen asleep, Violet finds Stephen and tells him his father has died.

Refusing help from anyone, Stephen buries his father in the frozen earth. Jenny drags him back to the hotel and builds a fire to prevent them from freezing to death while Stephen slips into despair. She eventually convinces him to return to the Landing, but on their way back, they see mercenaries and enslavers. They learn from Marcus and Violet that Caleb hired the mercenaries to attack Fort Leonard. Horrified, they convince Marcus to persuade the people in the Landing to fight back against the enslavers to save Fort Leonard.

Stephen and Jenny disturb the mercenary camp with grenades, but when they return, they find most of the Landing on fire and the settlers engaged in a huge fight against the mercenaries. Stephen, Jackson, and Jenny divert attention using the animals on the Henry estate, but Stephen is nearly killed by the same enslaver whose actions led to his father’s coma and death; Jackson shoots him to save Stephen’s life. After the fighting stops, Stephen and the other teens save the younger children from the burning school.

The settlers from Fort Leonard approach in the aftermath of the battle, and Stephen, Jackson, and Jenny narrowly convince the Landing residents to put down their guns and choose peace. They help each other put out the fire and survive.

Several months later, Stephen spends his weekends tutoring the younger children about literature while Jenny uses her new horse to explore the area west of Settler’s Landing. She decides to go over the mountains, and Stephen initially decides to go with her, but she encourages him to choose what he really wants and needs. He decides to stay and make Settler’s Landing his home, joining Jackson to play a game of baseball.