I've heard great things about this book from YA twitter, and the cover has entranced me ever since I first saw it -- blossoms creeping out from between a girl unwound like a ribbon -- so getting the chance to read a bit was fantastic.
The depiction of girls weathering an outbreak of a mysterious illness in a tiny, isolated 6-12 school both rang familiar (I went to a very small women's college) and sets up a bleak, compelling backstory. Rather than fighting monsters from a barricaded position like in many zombie survival stories, the girls are becoming "the monsters", subject to grotesque changes that flare up and can kill them. Abandoned by the mainland, all they can do is deal with it and form alliances with each other, leading to both a violent and deeply caring general feeling to the relationships from the very beginning.
It also presents us with interesting thoughts about womanhood (or personhood) as these changes begin at puberty -- I'm curious to see if that goes anywhere or if I'm reading too far into it.
I'm incredibly intrigued, and hope to be able to pick this one up when it comes out!
The depiction of girls weathering an outbreak of a mysterious illness in a tiny, isolated 6-12 school both rang familiar (I went to a very small women's college) and sets up a bleak, compelling backstory. Rather than fighting monsters from a barricaded position like in many zombie survival stories, the girls are becoming "the monsters", subject to grotesque changes that flare up and can kill them. Abandoned by the mainland, all they can do is deal with it and form alliances with each other, leading to both a violent and deeply caring general feeling to the relationships from the very beginning.
It also presents us with interesting thoughts about womanhood (or personhood) as these changes begin at puberty -- I'm curious to see if that goes anywhere or if I'm reading too far into it.
I'm incredibly intrigued, and hope to be able to pick this one up when it comes out!