This book blew my mind. 
 It's grim and disturbing and reminded me a lot of 1984 but I liked this a lot more than I liked 1984. It's alarmingly realistic, and the lack of 1984's more sci-fi elements is something that made this book even more disturbing than any other dystopian novels that I've read. This is the sort of book that is begging to be dissected in high school classrooms (side note: this book is definitely not for middle-grade readers). 
 This book is a page-turner, but one that takes time to digest - I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time. It's cruel and stomach-turning at times, and that is so startling contrasted by the childish voice of the narrator (any character who says "fricking" comes off as young to me) and the sweet bond that Standish and Hector share.