Ok, I will admit I wasn’t sure what to expect from a sapphic zombie love story. I was prepared to struggle, but very quickly into this one and I was entranced. The story is told from two narrators Mara a 17 year old girl who was turned by a “Tick” but is part of the new trials on a medication that pushes the Tick back and lets the human be in charge again. The other narrator is Rory, a girl who has had to grow up far too fast as she has protected and cared for her family. Before the world ended Mara and Rory were neighbors, friends, and had stolen their first kiss right before everything fell apart. Mara is sent to live with her godparents, Rory’s parents, because her own were dead. Mara isn’t sure about going, but she doesn’t want to stop getting the daily injections that keep her in charge.. Rory is disgusted to hear that the Altered (the medicated and re-humanized Ticks) are being brought to the island especially Mara. Not everyone on the island was ok taking the group of 15 Altered in, so they are all struggling to find their footing and figure out this new world order. Among all the mixed feelings and fighting Mara and Rory have to (re)discover how they truly feel about each other.