Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down. I thought I was going to read a few chapters before bed but ended up reading it all in one sitting (and staying up way too late). 

 

This book deals with some extremely dark themes and does not hold back its punches. 

 

The characterization is extremely well-done. The main character, Silas’, is extremely compelling and relatable. His pain, self-loathing, confusion, and anger radiate through every page. His older brother, George, is perhaps the most interesting character in the entire book. He is the “nice” side of medical eugenics. He is a “true believer” in the accepted medical theories of the time and the required “treatment” for Veil sickness. He genuinely thinks that he is helping Silas. But his complicity and later active participation in the horrors of Braxton’s show how kind words and gentle touches amount to nothing in the face of a system that demands violence to maintain. The other “villains” of the book are equally ambiguous on whether they actually believe what they are saying, if they truly think that their cruelty is for their “patients” benefit. Because it doesn’t matter if they are cynics or dupes, the pain that they inflict is real either way. 

 

Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.