Review Detail

Amy was home alone, watching TV, having a day very similar to many other days. Except this was the day that They attacked. Creatures who are devouring anyone They find and the best way to stay alive is to stay silent and stay inside. Amy ventures out only when necessary and on one of these trips she finds a toddler she names “Baby”. Together they stay in Amy’s protected house for years. Then, miraculously, they’re saved and taken to New Hope, a safe shelter from Them. But Amy’s not convinced it’s the sanctuary everyone says it is and she refuses to let New Hope take Baby away from her.

I was in the mood for a creepy read and this one seemed to be a good choice after looking through my shelves. It looked creepy but also different, definitely what I was in the mood to read because I ended up really enjoying it.

Amy was a character I could relate to quite easily. She was young, a bit spoiled, not someone most people would expect to be able to survive on her own, especially not in the world in this book. She was lucky that the house she lived in was protected but in order to survive, she had to learn how to avoid Them, how to safely scavenge for food, how to defend her home, herself, and Baby. She had to become hardened but she still had her soft moments, rescuing Baby was proof of that. She had really good instinct so when she felt something was off about New Hope, I went with her.

The book was mainly two parts. Amy, and then Baby, surviving in their house by themselves, relying on themselves, doing whatever was necessary. The second part was them in New Hope, trying to adjust to a society again, learning how to feel safe and to trust more than just each other. Both parts were interesting since they offered different challenges but the second part with New Hope edged out the beginning for my favourite. It was fascinating to see people trying to fit back into society after surviving on their own for so long and how maybe it wasn’t possible for everyone to adjust.

There were some surprising twists in the plot and some twists that I thought were a little predictable. The overall storytelling was very strong. I had a nice sense of the world, both Amy’s house and New Hope, and what was happening the whole time. The writing was dark and gritty and really fit the whole plot well.

This was definitely right the choice to fit my need for a dark, creepy read mood.