Warning: There may be some mild spoilers in this review, but nothing you wouldn't have guessed on your own. 
 I ate this book up on New Year's Day and finished thinking it was definitely worthy of 4 stars. Yes, it's another YA dystopian book but this one was memorable for some reason. And I'm interested in reading further along in the series, which, these days, I've been pretty indifferent to in regards to other YA dystopians. 
 However, as I usually do when I finish a book, I began reading through some other reviewers' reviews about this book and felt very conflicted. I realize I run the risk of being called insensitive and whatnot but here goes... 
 This book has many vague references to rape (and some not so vague) which are casually glossed over as a background to the story and particular characters' development. As a reader, I tend to go into these dystopian books with a blank slate. I am a mindless reader just looking to absorb something different. I strongly feel you can't go into a book about an alternate society and assume all of the characters (who are raised in this alternate society) are going to think and feel as you do. (Now if I was reading a contemporary story, I would expect something else.) Keeping that in mind, I really was not surprised there was rape in this book. 
 In the book, we have the Underground society organized by separate enclaves and then the Topside society which is not organized and is run by gangs. Rape in the enclaves is a matter of survival of the human race. The inhabitants are born and bred (literally) and are understanding of their contribution to the human race. They don't know any different. In fact, I'm not even sure; is it still rape? This is the closest we are to a civilized society in the first book. Rape Topside, on the otherhand, is occurring in an uncivilized society. I wasn't that surprised at all. 
 However, I think the major concern from most readers was how the main character treated the rape and the victim. The protag, Deuce, explicitly states (or thinks to herself) at one point, while reflecting on the victim, Tegan, while she slept, that she didn't understand why she didn't fight to her death while she was being raped. Of course, I think this is no reflection on the part of the author about how she feels about rape victims, nor is it mine, but rather, a display of just how twisted one's world views can be when they are sheltered and raised in an entirely differnt society than ours. Deuce was raised and trained in her position as a Huntress which essentially gave her the job description of "kill everything looking to harm you or your people." Every day, she left, risking her life, hunting to provide food while killing numerous "Freaks" that threatened her community. She was trained to fight to the death, no matter what. At some point in the novel, she comes to the realization that true strength is not just a physical attribute but also something of the mind. Tegan represented this mental strength that Deuce had been lacking when she first came out of the bubble she had been living in. The further along we get in the story, the more Deuce is beginning to understand and recognize feelings that we are accustomed to in our society. Love, both platonic and romantic, affection, anger, sadness, grief - things and emotions not based on what the society in which she was raised told her was right and wrong. 
 "There were different kinds of strength. I knew that now. It didn't always come from a knife or a willingness to fight. Sometimes it came from endurance, where the well ran deep and quiet. Sometimes it came from compassion and forgiveness." 
 Another aspect of discontent, in which I agree with other reviewers, is the setup of the villian (and leader of the group that raped Tegan) as a possible love interest. (view spoiler)[ I can almost understand him joining the pack to get out of the city. Afterall, his whole life has been the epitome of survival of the fittest. He realized, at some point, that he had to stick by these kids to survive. (hide spoiler)] But I'm not quite sure it was necessary. I'm still trying to make up my mind about this addition (thinking mostly it was unfavorable) but I feel I can't get the full picture until I move on to the next book. The book ended pretty much where I thought it may, but we are left wondering what is to become of the relationships between all four main characters.