this is a new slant on the old dystopia. 
 so, north america has been consumed by a second ice age, and all that's left is this one island off the coast, reinforced by heaps of garbage that is gradually crumbling into the sea. whatever survivors were able to escape from the cold remains of the mainland struggle for survival under a system that is blatantly unfair and led by some egomaniacal lunatic who ignores the suffering and makes wild promises and plans that cannot be fulfilled. however, there is still an elite class enjoying their vast wealth who can afford luxuries such as meat and strawberries while the majority suffer and sweat and eat jellyfish. 
 ariel would not last one day here. 
 this is a different kind of "after" novel than world made by hand, where the land is still arable and the citizens simply revert to a pre-industrial society and the struggle is re-learning everything that was lost when technology made everything easier. this book describes a far more unstable landmass where the fallacy is to still cling to the old ways of doing things in an unforgiving environment that cannot sustain itself, instead of figuring out how to best adapt to the new environment, so there is a constant sense of approaching doom that makes the situation that much more intense. 
 and yet, life goes on... 
 darcy was born on the island, so she has no means of comparison, but she recognizes the reality of her situation, and the kinds of things she has to do to survive, and when her mother goes missing, she sets out to find her because without her, she has nothing. 
 a lot of this reminded me of the room - where a mother takes a horrible place to raise a child and tries to salvage the situation by making herself her child's whole world. which is probably therapeutic for a while, but when that center is removed - what does the child have left? in this case - a whole lot of terror ahead of her and a dangerous journey where she will learn all sorts of secrets and truths and become involved in a revolution, all before she turns eighteen. 
 this is not YA fiction, but it could probably be enjoyed by that audience. it is dark enough to be titillating to those kids who feed on the misfortunes of their literary friends. many bad things happen to poor darcy and the people she encounters along the way, but it seems plausible to the situation, it is never just violence for violence's sake. 
 i feel like the author intends to write a follow-up to this book, which i will gladly read. this one was a fun diversion but not the most compelling dystopian novel i have read. i feel like there was not enough character development; as sheltered as darcy was in so many ways, she seemed psychologically precocious in a way that didn't ring true. but it's definitely worth checking out and a good addition to the stack of post-event fiction out there. keep writing them, and i will keep reading them...