i have learned nothing from horror movies. i have fallen victim to the most elementary trap. never, ever think you are out of danger. never say things like "phew, i'm glad that didn't happen etc etc" i have said this. 
 (view spoiler)[ so all the shit i said in my review for feed about how refreshing it was to have a relationship like george and shaun's, where they were so very close for a brother and sister, and NEARLY dangerously close but how glad i was that that line was never crossed and how it made me feel like some cynical old biddy with a dirty mind to even have had the thought cross my mind. well. harrumph. you think once a character has been KILLED OFF, you will see the end of that particular danger. but no. and yeah yeah they are not ACTUALLY related, but shaun constantly refers to her as "my sister." as though he is reminding us. as though he is sticking it to us when really he is sticking it to... oh, dear. (hide spoiler)] 
 so the lesson to be learned is - you are never out of the woods. 
 however - despite THAT THING I DISCUSSED IN THE SPOILER, this book was more fun than the first one.the stakes were higher, there was a good mixture of dramatic and action-y sequences, and it really moved the characters further into their situation, rather than succumbing to the bloated, "filler-feeling middle novel of a trilogy" syndrome. 
 although the ending... yes, it is a "cliffhanger," and at first, i was like "yyyyyayyyyyy!" and then i stopped to think about it, and i was more like "hey, wait a second, no." because up until that point, the book had been very respectful, i thought. this may surprise you, but i am no virologist. and for the most part, when this book starts talking all smart about science, i just bat my eyes and look all cute and assume the author has done their research. and i have to admit that what she's imagined here, as a potential danger - sounds convincing. i am on board. also on board with miniaturizing bulldogs to be the size of cats. emphatically on board with that, by the way.less so with what happens in the epilogue and first chapter teaser for book three. unless there is as much convincing science-y sounding detail to satisfy all my "waaaaaait"s, i will remain disappointed by the turn. but also unreasonably elated, because (view spoiler)[i missed george. real-george, not shaun-head george (hide spoiler)] 
 but overall, i really liked this book. the action was genuinely gripping, and i like the secondary characters a lot. shaun is kind of a tool, unnecessarily antagonistic over very natural human responses to situations, very one-note, (view spoiler)[hey, shaun, do you miss george?? i miss her, too. she was less adolescent. why don't you go punch something? (hide spoiler)] but i thought this was a solid follow-up, and i am definitely going to read the next one, and even go so far as to track down the (shudder) online stories that people are telling me about. 
 and this book marks the end of "zombie month 2011". or "zombie three weeks 2011," which is less catchy.