Wow. Just... wow.

The first book in this series was a good, solid dystopian, but this?! This was on a whole different level.

The cast of characters was more diverse, in every way, and the characterisation was excellent; I felt like I related to every character on some level, and there were some nice cameos from the previous book. The relationships between the characters were also excellent; I particularly liked the friendships between Jack and Ed and between Brooke, Aleisha and Courtney, and the plot felt much more character-driven. The attachments I felt towards the characters meant that every death (and there were so, so many) felt so significant, to the point of once actually crying.

The writing was brilliantly engaging (I basically read the whole thing in one sitting, and it's not short!) and the humanisation of the adult "sickos" was also brilliantly touching. An all-round brilliant dystopian YA, and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.