You know before I read this thing, I had no IDEA I even WANTED a weird Romeo and Juliet inspired book that reads like a cross between The Host and The Terminal movie with zombies, but it actually works really well! 
 Rather than go for the gory angle of "zombie lore" this one was more of a thoughtful commentary, which -- surprisingly, considering how thick it's caked on -- really doesn't feel like it's hitting you over the head with it's ideals. 
 I think what I got out of it the most -- what really touched me -- was the idea that these zombies had working minds but were trapped inside themselves; they couldn't emote, they could barely speak, and they were illiterate, yet deep deep down they still had feelings and thoughts. As somebody with Asperger's syndrome, I've often had trouble emoting what I'm feeling onto my facial expression, leading people to think I'm stupid, slow, or just totally lack empathy. But nothing could be further from the truth! And reading about these Zombies, especially our lead character, R, with similar struggles, just so trapped inside themselves, was seriously moving. 
 In general, I liked most of the characters and the pacing and think the events and plot of the book did them all justice. I almost didn't expect to like Julie, because a lot of reviewers complained about her, but I didn't find her annoying at all; I'd actually say that after R and maybe M (who's pretty awesome), she's my favorite character, closely followed by Nora. 
 The only thing about the characters/pacing that bothered me was the over-use of Perry. His arc made a lot of sense and was a catalyst for almost every important thing that happened in this novel, so I'm not saying it didn't have its place, but I felt he overstayed his welcome in various dream sequences and "I'm still sort of alive in R's mind" bits. Maybe these wouldn't have been so tiresome if we didn't have SOOOO many of his memories as well. Or if the book was longer so we had other stuff to balance it out. That said, I DO think Marion does a great job of writing mashups of dreams and memories. Very few writers can pull this off well, so I felt that deserved a mention, even if I got sick of Perry chewing up the scenery constantly. 
 Seriously, though, why does everyone pick on Julie for "being annoying and whining", when Perry is much worse? 
 This was a great read; highly recommended.