I'd love to say this is kind of The Road mixed with Blindness but those are huge shoes to fill and this doesn't hold up to that sort of literary pedigree. There are still echos of both those plots (more the former than the latter. She even calls the kids "Boy" and "Girl."). Apocalyptic psychological horror without clear answers of what's happening in any time period we jump to: this book is so in my wheelhouse that I have to give it 5 stars, even though it's not going to be winning any literary awards. But this grabbed me and didn't let go. I had dreams that this book wormed its way into. 
 There's something out there. Something you'll never know--or won't know for long. Seeing whatever it is is causing people to lose their minds, to violently kill themselves, and others when possible. It's been years since Malorie has opened her eyes outside. It's been more than four years since her children were born. She has taught them everything she can think of to ensure survival, and now that Boy can identify nearly any sound from any source, it's time to get moving to the only safe place that might still be standing. It's more than 20 miles downriver. They only have a rowboat. There are the creatures. There are wild animals. There are, against all odds, other people. And Malorie, Boy, and Girl can't risk seeing anything that might come at them.