So, this book reminded me of The Knife of Never Letting Go in a lot of ways. (Except it was way better, to be honest.) 
 There's the sheltered city, the post-apocalyptic world just beyond the gate and a young main character who sort of gets thrust into the world because of circumstance. 
 It doesn't feel forced though, not often. Benny, at the very least, has a mentor in his older brother, Tom. Which I appreciated. Because let me tell you how I feel about a 15 year old's ability to navigate this kind of reality alone. Spoiler alert: I teach middle school--there's not much faith there. 
 And, okay, I maybe have a tiny fictional crush on Tom. What of it? 
 But beyond that, there's clearly a lot going on here. This world is rich and layered. And some of those layers get peeled back and we get to peer into the secrets. And some of them not. There's this whole feeling (view spoiler)[even before the jet thing (hide spoiler)] that something else, something bigger is happening out there. Just beyond our sight. 
 And there's all this built up history. Like Mountainside and its weird hang-ups and superstitions. The monks and their whole worldview. Hell, even Tom's outlook in and of itself is complex. As it should be. 
 And Benny is a reasonable narrator. The book has its moments--for the better and worse--but overall I kept turning the pages. Books I can't put down, even after major chapter or section breaks, are good ones as far as I'm concerned. 
 So yeah. If you're looking for a teenage zombie novel, you should probably read this. And if you're not, you should anyway. Because it's so much more than just a teenage zombie novel. It's Benny's coming of age story. His story of death, grief and loss. His story about ethics and morals and the reshaping of his worldview. 
 It's worth the read.