I absolutely fell head over heels for Karen Thomas Walker’s style of writing, her utterly mesmerising prose. I genuinely think she could write out a shopping list and I’d be hanging off every word. The first book so far this year that I’ve sat and just devoured in a single sitting.

The story itself is such a fantastic example of literary fiction. The premise, a sleeping sickness that first strikes a dorm of college teens and then slowly engulfs a fictional Californian town has the potential to read like a dodgy Syfy channel flick but it is just executed so perfectly. It’s such a thought provoking, speculative look at human behaviour under intense pressure, of selfishness and selflessness, ethics and morality and the lengths we will go to for unconditional love. Despite the narrative being divided between several sets of characters, I found myself so deeply invested in even the most minor members of the cast.

I know that some reviewers will take issue with the ambiguous ending that raises far more questions than it answers and it IS frustrating but, at the same time, fits the overall tone of the novel just perfectly. A 5 ⭐️ read for me.

A huge, huge thank you to Scribner for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!