People seem to either love or hate this book, and I wanted to see which side of the fence I'm going to be on. Well, my rating shows it pretty clearly. Honestly, I didn't expect that. Not in the beginning, anyway. I started out being very apprehensive and wary, expecting to quit any moment, after I've laughed at all the ridiculous things, and to be honest, there were some to be found. And see where it got me? Somewhere along the way I got so emotionally involved that I couldn't put the book down. 
 The story opened with a creepy prologue from the point of view of some psychotic serial killer. The dude was so seriously whacked in the head that I didn't know how much of his twisted narration I can take. Mercifully, he appeared only three times in the story. I was curious to know what part he played in the story, and got my answers by the end of the book. 
 The main narrator of the story is our heroine Evie Greene, a 16 year old beauty, cheerleader, popular at school and dating a football player. Well, you know, that pretty package is sold in almost every YA book. Then Evie gets this freaky guy as her history project partner, and I thought, "Oh wait! Haven't I read about that in Nevermore earlier this month?". But because of the apocalypse Evie and Jackson never got to work on any school assignment together, and then the plot veered so far away from the abovementioned Nevermore that I can assure you the books have nothing in common. 
 Now back to the heroine. I had a difficult relationship with Evie. In the beginning I didn't like her, and had many problems with her for the better part of the book. At times I got really frustrated and wanted to shake some sense into her. But I guess this was the author's intention: to make her character not quite likable and then let her grow up and change throughout the story. Sometimes I felt like I was losing hope with Evie, but then she would have a moment or a revelation that made me change my mind. She is not a strong and kick-ass chick in this book, so I see why some people couldn't relate to her. But I personally don't expect every female protagonist to kick ass, so it was not a problem for me. 
 Now moving on to Jackson. Where do I even begin? I almost hated him from the start, and despite all the descriptions of his good looks, I just imagined this guy as an uncouth bum who crawled out of a swamp. Quite literally, too, since he comes from a bayou land called "the Basin". He was rude, snide, volatile, obnoxious, horny and so many other things that I wondered how on earth was I going to tolerate him as a love interest. I had so much sympathy for Evie. I even hated his Cajun accent. 
 Well, guess what? Upon finishing the book I was completely smitten. That was a neat trick on the author's part. I don't even know how it happened. Bit by bit I was given insight into his character that made me understand him better, let me see what was behind the facade, to appreciate all the small things that made the bigger picture. So, page by page, my opinion shifted in favour of Jack, to the point where he became my favorite character of this book. 
 You guys who love Jericho Barrons from the Darkfever series, please don't kill me for making this comparison (because I understand any such comparison is blasphemous, and this is YA), but do you remember how, when Mac asked him "Who are you, Barrons?" he would often reply "I'm the one who will never let you die"? Well, Jackson felt pretty much the same towards Evie, and very often reminded me of JZB on more than one level. 
 Other characters were interesting as well, some of them very funny too. In this book, with a very few exceptions, you can never label anyone as good or bad, and that is a thing I appreciate in my read. 
 The apocalypse was terrifying and once again made me question my faith in humanity, which is very scarce as it is. 
 I picked the next installment right upon finishing this one, and hope I won't be disappointed as well.