I preferred the first half of this book to the second. I actually thought it was going to be a solid three star book. Not great, but fine. It definitely lost steam in the second half. My main issue with this book is that it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. I feel like there is a kernel of a good idea here, but the execution is lacking. It feels like a very run-of-the-mill post-apocalyptic story. There isn’t enough depth to the characters or the world. There is never any reveal or twist to surprise the reader. It’s very simplistic.

The pacing was slow and I found myself very bored in the second half. If I hadn’t listened to this on audio I don’t think I would’ve finished this, and it’s only 270ish pages.

I was bored of Stephen as a main character. For someone who has grown up in this world, he seems very naive and helpless. I didn’t connect with him at all, and his inner conflict about being like his abusive grandfather did nothing for me.

There is also a romance that did absolutely nothing for me. Jenny is the epitome of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Their relationship happens with really no foundation. I just didn’t get their connection. Her character was very one-dimensional.

For people searching for a plague-induced apocalypse book, I highly recommend Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. This one, not so much.

I would normally DNF a book like this, but the first 1/3 of the book had enough promise and the book was short enough that I just pushed through with the audiobook.