A departure from Carey's Kushieline universe, this book is a dystopian story of genetic engineering, epidemic, rebellion and dogged determination. The writing is excellent, the plotting tight. I found most of the characters believable, if not fully-fleshed out in all cases. I don't know what I was expecting from this book, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. Carey's foray out of high fantasy into science fiction is an unqualified success.