Anastasia

Educational, fun to read, and by the end of it I found myself genuinely invested in the story. The writing itself is compelling, and although I was intitially confused by the author's inclusion of personal details in the narrative, by the end it did make sense. I thought the author approached a sensitive topic with great care, and wrote with a lot of respect about the people involved in the story.

This is a thoughtful, emotional book that I think does a pretty good job of thinking both practically and romantically about an apocalypse-style scenario. The people living post-apocalypse kill people and hunt for their dinner, but they also play music and put on Shakespeare.

I love the way the characters' stories intersect. It feels very satisfying, as a reader, to have two characters you don't expect to meet to finally meet. I found the flashbacks interesting and well-balanced with the post-apocalypse plot. Well, what little plot there is. This book is very much character-driven, rather than action-driven, which I think is totally fine but you should be prepared for before you read it. If you are looking for fast-paced action adventure, don't read this book.

To me, someone who reads mostly fantasy, this felt very literary. I think it's a great book for someone who mostly reads genre fiction but would like to make the foray into literature. It does an excellent job bridging the gap.