[ARC Review] The Temps by Andrew DeYoung

The Temps by Andrew DeYoung was a whirlwind of a ride that was at times terrifying, introspective, and eye-opening. 

When Jacob reported to his first day as a temp at Delphi Enterprises, he was expecting to be bored with a job that his college degree clearly made him overqualified for. But then, while all the regular employees are at a company-wide meeting, a yellow, toxic gas is let loose and kills everyone it touches. With only the temps remaining, Jacob and the others must come face to face with their new reality: they're stuck inside, the food is running out, most of the world is gone, and the company they worked for may very well be the cause of the apocalypse. 

The Temps was definitely an adventure. As Jacob, Swati, Dominic, and Lauren watch their world fall apart around them - and then subsequently reform as a microcosm within the Delphi building - there is more tension, socio-political commentary, and violence than I was expecting when I started reading this book. DeYoung wove the story together so well, though, and these temps and their reactions to each new dilemma came across as so real and believable. The situation every character in this book faced was downright terrifying to think about, and I can't imagine being able to survive a similar situation. 

Each character was unique, and I thoroughly enjoyed how DeYoung crafted each player in the game to bring different skills and perspective to their new world. Even secondary/minor characters had a roll to play, and who originally came across as a minor character didn't always stay that way. 

DeYoung's apocalyptic event in The Temps definitely raised some questions regarding life in our digital age. After the gas destroyed life as they knew it, the characters all had to reevaluate what they knew and what their purpose was. For Jacob, especially, these questions were a lot; what do we do with ourselves when our self-worth has been determined by a college degree that no longer has any meaning? Other survivors had to similarly figure out their new place in the world. It's a scary prospect, especially on top of everything else that these characters had to deal with. 

Once I got to DeYoung's big reveal towards the end, I found The Temps impossible to put down; I absolutely needed to know how the whole story was going to resolve. I did think things were a bit anticlimactic (the fact that things got less violent as the apocalypse got worse seemed a bit backwards to me), but I feel that DeYoung left the ending so Lauren, Dominic, and Swati's stories could be considered resolved or they could easily carry on in a sequel set in this new, post-apocalyptic world that they are helping to rebuild. Overall, The Temps was a thrilling, often-intense read. 

If you have a chance to listen to the audiobook, Paul Heitsch does a wonderful job bringing multiple characters to life. With several points of view to narrate, Heitsch clearly differentiates between characters, and infuses everyone with just the right amount of shock, horror, despair, and hope. Heitsch put his acting skills to great use, and it came through in a fantastic audiobook performance. 

A huge thank you to Keylight Books for sending me a review copy of The Temps, as well as Dreamscape Media for providing an ALC via NetGalley.

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Release date: 3/29/22
Format: eARC/ALC
eARC provided via the publisher; ALC provided via NetGalley