Wow. Just... wow. This was a great book and I'm so glad I read it, but it was BRUTAL! I was not surprised to learn that the author is a journalist who has spent time reporting in war-torn countries. I had to make sure to have uplifting things happening outside my reading so it didn't put me in a depressed mood. There were a lot of gruesome descriptions of violence and death.

Year of Wonders is about so much more than battling the sickness of the plague in a small village that quarantined to keep it from spreading outside its walls. It's about how it affected the people psychologically, how it caused them to turn on each other, and also brought moments of wonder.