Just when I thought I was completely done with COVID-related novels, American Rapture comes along and makes a fool of me. 

 

Before I start, I just need y’all to know I stayed away from reviews and posts about this book before I read it because I wanted to go in blind. I didn’t even read the synopsis before I requested the early digital copy. I just knew I missed Leede’s Maeve Fly and regretted it so I was going to read her next novel no matter what it was titled or what it was about. 

 

That’s all a long-winded way to say that I honestly think going in blind was the right call and it might be for you too (though, if you’re a sensitive reader there is some material in this book that could be triggering and you might want to look into that before reading). 

 

American Rapture wasn’t simply an excellent read: it was the type of book I couldn’t bring myself to put down or look away from. From the intriguing opening to the (in my opinion) perfect ending, this book not only engaging me on a cerebral and emotional level but it absolutely swept me up into the drama, horror, and debris of this apocalyptic and disease-ridden hellscape with Sophie and crew on their calamitous road trip through the upper midwest. 

 

The writing is so strong and tight in this book it feels like a visceral pull to just sink in and let the rest of the world fade away as you get to know the cast in this book so intimately through the eyes of Sophie, our protagonist. Sophie may be a human on Earth, but for all intents and purposes she might as well be an alien because of how little she knows about humanity and other humans besides the people she went to church with all of her life. In this sense, she’s a fish out of water: the reader’s insight into the found family she forms, the revelator of all of the exposition for the story, the oracle for the insider information on the side of the antagonists, and the ultimate authority on herself. 

 

It’s a mind-blowing book and I enjoyed every page. 

 

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. 

 

File Under: 5 Star Review/Body Horror/Found Family/Horror/LGBTQ Horror/LGBTQ Sci Fi/Sci Fi