This is incredibly depressing, probably because it's not far off from what our world could look like in the coming decades. The apocalyptic, survivalist themes reminded me of The Last of Us but, you know, with fewer fungi. As callous as this sounds, the novel starts off slow but becomes more engaging after a certain character dies and the world starts to deteriorate further.

Despite its terrifying realism, there is a healthy dose of magical realism. While I wish the manifestation of Wanda's "light pirate" ability had been explained more, I do understand its purpose based on the end of the novel. (Speaking of the end of the novel, it's...kind of...a happy ending.)