As a native Pittsburgher, I'm kind of bored to death (undeath har har) of the whole zombie thing. It's shoved down our throats from the moment we're born and if zombies weren't just so fucking cool I would have used The Walking Dead as fireplace kindling (no hate for The Walking Dead, that's some seriously awesome writing and art right there). 
 This was the first zombie book I have been able to get into SINCE The Walking Dead. Mira Grant (or, as the case may be, Seanan McGuire) straddles the line between YA and adult fiction with absolute grace. She didn't shy away from feelings or tropes that all young adults experience but, as the characters are in their early 20s, she gave them all the cynicism they deserved as well (i.e., just because something is a cliche doesn't mean it doesn't actually happen but that doesn't mean we don't realise it's a cliche all the while). She also wrote about journalism and politics in a really captivating way, and touched on some bigger issues like the role of media and fear mongering and that really grabbed me. 
 Four stars only because I did this one as an audiobook and the two readers, while excellent at capturing the two main characters, also had to portray fellow journalists from around the world and my GOD did their accents suck. It really honestly took me out of the story at some points. But I liked them so much as the Masons I can forgive them for that.