Incredible story about the secret power of women in the face of horrible circumstances. I love a food court intrigue. 

I really enjoyed this book, a lot more than I expected I would if I'm being honest. Although I never really liked the characters and didn't think the main love interests had much chemistry (the B-plot love interest was definitely more interesting), but I enjoyed the story a lot more than I expected.   

This was a super intense read, especially if you, like me, come from a religious background. Some elements of the plot were definitely not as well set up as other parts, but Lev's character and how he slowly took ahold of everyone's lives were so well depicted and believable.  If you are a fan of cult-based thrillers, I would definitely read this one.

Although it is classed as YA, I don't think it is really a YA book. The main character is an adult (she's 19) and there are definitely more adult themes addressed in this book than I find in most YA.  

I decided to read this book based on how much I loved Autonomous and Future of Another Timeline. One of the main aspects I liked about both of those books was the careful logical extrapolation of different scientific technologies. I expected there to be more of that in this book and there definitely was not. The broader ethical, societal, and moral implications of the research Newitz describes are basically completely ignored. There is way too much adulation of scientists and not enough consideration of any aspect of the humanities which, in my opinion, will be much more crucial to any ability humanity will have to survive. 

This is something that Newitz tacitly references many times, though. While she is inspired and impressed by the records of people who have survived in the past, she completely ignores the fact that the only way we know about these survivals are because of treasured histories and archeological records--something that is firmly in the province of the humanities. This book could've been so much better and more in-depth if there was fuller consideration of all the dozens of aspects that would have to interact for humanity to survive any mass extinction. 

Also, I found the exclusive focus on humanity surviving a little pointless. Humanity can't survive without hundreds if not thousands of other species also surviving. Technology can't replace absolutely everything in our world to make sure humanity survives. What purpose would there even in surviving if everything else is gone after all?