Like zombies? Tired of the typical zombie book? Want something slightly different? Then you'll probably want to check out this book before the hype (which is already pretty big) goes huge when the movie adaptation comes out. 
 Mary has never known life without the Unconsecrated. She's always lived within her village & followed the rules put forth by the oppressive Sisterhood. Mary has hopes & dreams of oceans & true love, but knows that her future will more than likely be filled with a loveless marriage & the dirt of her hometown. When her mother falls prey to the Unconsecrated & her brother forces her to join the Sisterhood, Mary feels like all is lost. When she discovers that a stranger has been hidden away, Mary dreams of escape. Unfortunately for her, nothing is ever easy in these post-apocalyptic days & she may find that her oceanic dreams of escape come with a heavy price. 
 If you're not a fan of the typical zombie books, this book is a refreshing change from the books that start with the outbreak & work towards the unsure future. The story starts well after the zombie outbreak & shows how some survive & what the price of living might be. Bleakness is very well portrayed in this book & readers will be intrigued by how differently people react to such tragedies in their life. 
 However, where the book falls short is in the description. Apart from a few descriptions of buildings, most of the descriptions are of people's physical attributes, which might make some readers long for just a little more. While there's not a lot of different ways to describe chain fences & the undead, it would have been nice to see just a little more in the book- even if it is just to describe Mary's view of the drab, bland world she's been raised in. 
 The bottom line is that this is one of the better zombie books that have come out over the years, but for most this will be a library borrow rather than a "must buy". I liked the book & plan to read the next one in the series, but this just didn't strike me as much as it did others. Still, it is worth checking out & if you have a supernatural loving friend, this will be a safe bet as far as gifts go.