I must admit that this book's beginning had me slightly worried. We’re thrown into a post-apocalyptic setting where a recent super-flu has possibly wiped out 70-80% of the global population. Already, I felt the anxiety of reading about a large-scale pandemic creep up on me, but for me, the feeling wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t keep reading. What didn’t entirely work for me at the start was Andrew’s tendency to fall back on very untimely and cringeworthy jokes that I didn’t find funny, plus, the overload of pop culture references that I barely grasped. But I’m glad to say that this paid off.

As Andrew and Jamie begin their journey south along the east coast of America toward Alexandria, not only does the action kick off but the characters experience so much growth as they work through their past trauma, deal with surviving a pandemic after witnessing the deaths of everyone they love, and find ways to stay alive in the dangerous world that’s left behind. It’s always interesting to see how people cope in the aftermath of world-ending tragedies in dystopian novels. I think Brown does a great job illustrating their experiences throughout their journey. Admittedly, while I found both character POVs and voices meshed too much in the early chapters, I’m happy to say their voices and arcs do become stronger and I came to love both characters very much by the end. There’s a lot to unpack in their stories and the more I tried to fathom what it would possibly be like in their shoes, how they carry their trauma and the weight of death surrounding them, the more I understood why they acted the way they do.

Another thing that I think Brown illustrates well is the nature of humans and the power of hope. Unfortunately for the remaining humans, racism, homophobia and ultra-conservative right-wing nationalists still exist in post-apocalyptic America and as much as people have commented in reviews about how they think that’s a poor thread for a queer dystopian story, I don’t think it’s at all unrealistic; especially given the current state of affairs over the pond. As Jamie says at one point (summarized): "The meek don’t inherit the land and all the evils that survived are working double time to retain their power over the people." Everything horrifying that happens to Andrew and Jamie stems from people’s desperation—a lot of people latched on to communities they believe can give them what they want and need for survival. While that in no way justifies their heinous actions, it makes sense in the narrative because as we always see, the nasty find a way to survive and thrive.

But their story also speaks to the power of hope. Despite all the bad things they endure, Jamie and Andrew never give up hope of finding something good; even if it’s just finding that a person has survived or encountering people who aren’t ready to shoot them or take advantage of their situation. I loved that even against such a desolate backdrop of a world gone to hell, our characters maintain a sense of optimism, even when it’s so hard to feel hope. And in the end, all that’s left is them. Andrew’s physical attraction to Jamie might have been immediate but their love blooms naturally through friendship and I guess a bit of dependence as they fight to simply survive. Their romance was tentative and sweet and provided an additional thread of positivity to their story that was needed to make it much less bleak and made me appreciate it even more.

Although this was fairly slow-paced and there were some parts that I felt could’ve been condensed, overall, I highly enjoyed this read! I wasn’t sure what I’d think of it after that rocky beginning but it made me think and feel so much and I’m looking forward to seeing where Andrew’s and Jamie’s story goes next bceause this isn’t the end for them!