This book brought out the patriotism from me since it is set so close to my home (located a few hours away and even mentions Ottawa on occasion). It's the first time this has happened in a book and it was a great experience ...even if it turned it into a dangerous and apocalyptic place. Somehow that made it better? Haha, don't ask how that works. 
 The writing style was impressive; the tone and voice were lovely -there were many insightful lines that would make any writer wish they thought of- but I was particularly impressed with the pacing. Every scene was important, intriguing, and could get quite intense. It's like the book has been filtered to all the good bits and it just made it so consumable. It progresses quickly without feeling like the rhythm is too fast or overwhelming. Normally I take review notes as I read but I was so immersed that I forgot! The chapters are short so it was really easy to justify reading "just one more" ... And the next thing you know you're reading ten instead. So addictive. 
 It was refreshing to see a multicultural cast and also have a gay character represented ...though I do wish Drew's character played a bigger role since searching YA glbt lists helped me find the book to begin with. However Kaelyn -the main character- was very likable and grew on me fast enough that I enjoyed the full ride. The vast amount of characters made it a little hard to emotionally invest in any of them, but they still felt fleshed out even if there was limited screen time for some. That being said, none of the deaths moved me to tears, but they served well to keep the plot edgy ...plus I was looking for action over angst, so it worked for me. 
 The ending wasn't exactly bad... but it felt a little anticlimactic and more like a hook for the next book in the series. My version has the preview of the first few chapters and I almost wish that was the real end instead. I'm trying to trick myself into treating it that way! Any-who, it seems to be worth continuing and I'll still be making recommendations.