thank you to putnam’s sons books for young readers and penguinteen for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

this was my perfect zombie story. i’m not typically one that gears towards most zombie/post-apocalyptic stories since it veers so heavily into the horror or the gore elements. but this niche of quiet dystopia is right where i strive. don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of violence on the page, a lot of close calls and on page action. but the majority story follows the rehabilitation after the apocalypse has happened and how quickly it can stray.

it’s focused on survival. on rebuilding connections. and it’s a beautiful story at that. rory and mara’s story is so damn compelling. i could feel the tension, i could feel their yearning and their overwhelming urge to not only survive but hopefully thrive. and, god, just put some sapphics in the same room getting their second chance at love (and life) and oh boy will they pine!! and i eat it all UP. i mean, genuinely, their love story might be one of the best ones out here.

i really don’t want to give too much of the plot away for this story since it’s one that i think is best going in fairly blind and just experiencing what the hardships these girls go through. so let me just leave y’all with this. if brooke decides to make this into a series, where we can explore more of this world, of this post-zombie existence, i would be the FIRST in line to read it up. i think this world has so much potential to share more stories, more regions, hell, even just more of mara and rory’s story is plenty!! i truly see (and hope) this world extending much further.

this is easily one of my top books of the year, i have no doubt. it’s just so damn beautiful and heart wrenching.