I would have been shocked if I didn't love this book. Hand me a speculative fiction book by a woman any day and I'm ready to roll. This book lived completely up to my expectations in terms of I totally loved it, but I hadn't too much idea of what it was going to be about, so there were unexpected components there. It's this post-apocalyptic story that unfolds fairly quietly, the characters are not trying to figure out what's happening and save the world, they're just trying to survive with honestly not that many challenges. The way Ma has envisioned the fevered they don't pose any danger to the survivors, the challenge is simply the complete collapse of all societal infrastructure. I loved this quieter story, half delving into Candace's backstory and half the survivors slow progress towards their safehouse destination.

I had so many thoughts while reading this novel. The main one was about the fragile line between society and its absence, our consumerist lives contrasted against the speed to which it can all crumble to nothing. I also found the depiction of the survivors' collective to be a touch point for thinking about this microcosm of how society acts, treat and mistreat each other under trying circumstances. And all the toxic masculinity! Ma does not pull any punches with depicting the worst of the survival leader trope figure. Everything about the road to the facility felt like so accurately the worst of humanity.