The fact that I'm considering going to sleep soon- which, as I write this it's only 7:15pm- and having thoughts that I cannot, for the life of me, seem to string together in a cohesive manner, is a pretty good sign that I shouldn't write a review. I should just slap some stars on it and hit the sack because my brain is absolute mush (funny, considering the context of this story) but I can't. It's too beautiful a story to say nothing; so let me try. 
 Let's get straight to the elephant in the room. Zombies. This book has zombies in it. Yup, zombies. I said it. That was how I was recommended this book by a fellow co-worker, that 'it's a good zombie book.' And as much as he and I seem to have similar reading tastes, little did he know I don't get all that jazzed up about zombies. In fact, that was the worst thing he could have said. That or 'hey, I read this great western or YA romance.' Say those and I'm out like kraut (which is ironic because I currently have homemade sauerkraut fermenting on my kitchen counter...love that shit!). However, since this was the first time he made a recommendation I hadn't read and because I work at a library, I ran upstairs, grabbed it off the shelf, and gave it a good gander. And... while it really could use a better cover, it had me at one single blurb. That blub was from Joss Whedon. Drop the mic. Enough said. 
 So I read it ... because Whedon told me so and one does not simply refuse the lord commander of all things storytelling ... and I loved it. But back to the zombies. Note that above I said this is a book with 'zombies in it,' not 'this is a book about zombies.' Two completely different things. Carey clearly understands the downsides of trying to appease a certain audience by writing to fit a genre's criteria or writing for a certain age group. No, he knows that you just write a damn good story and let all else follow. Let marketing do their job after yours is done. He understands that just writing a story without said parameters yields a more original, out of the box story. Whereas writing to a specific audience or genre in mind makes the story more likely to be 'like all the others,' a copy, a 'haven't I heard this before?' because it's trying too hard to fit in somewhere than to just be what it needs to be. 
 Because he did that it resulted in an altogether chillingly beautiful tale. For a book involving the undead it was filled with so much humanity and heart. Even in the most subtle ways, like how instead of calling them zombies (a rather foreign word that makes them seem very otherworldly and untouchable) he calls them 'hungries' - hitting in on a very human thing we do. We get hungry. It's our nature. Even in that simple choice of word he makes you feel. He brings a realness to the reality these characters are in, shows us what fear can make us feel and especially what love can make us do. It's exquisite, beginning to end and really comes full circle in many ways. Highly recommend! 
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 *If you're at all curious and are too a huge Whedon fan, here is his full blurb for the book: 
 "The story of Melanie and the people around her is so thoughtfully crafted, so heartfelt, remorseless and painfully human, that it takes the potentially tired trope of the zombie apocalypse and makes it as fresh as it is terrifying. The story spirals towards a conclusion so surprising, so warm and yet so chilling, that it takes a moment to realize it's been earned since the first page, and even before. It left me sighing with envious joy, like I'd been simultaneously offered flowers and beaten at chess. A jewel."--Joss Whedon 
 **Also if you do read it, then, and only then, watch the trailer for the soon to be released British film adaptation of it. It looks awesome! 
 ***After all of that, why not 5 stars? Honestly, I don't know. It could still be my detest for zombies getting in the way of my judgement or the slowness of the midsection of the book (though necessary). I don't know. That's just where I'm at. Really though, those stars are just a guide. The review, the thoughts, are the real telling part of how someone felt. 
 ****Well, it's now 8:15. It took me one hour to write this daggone thing but that's how much I felt something needed to be said about it. Now, off to bed.