This is an original, engrossing, surreal and at times horribly graphic, post-apocalyptic novel. The plot moves at a rapid pace, carrying the characters through at a break-neck pace. It is, essentially, a roadtrip-style tale, but it is a road trip through an America devastated by a reckoning - all that is unnatural and artificial has been eliminated, wiped clean by purging fire. Only the natural, and in some cases, the supernatural, remains. Of the humans, few survived and the scene in which Jackie's friends are burned to death is horrifying. Of those that survived the reckoning, not so many survived the aftermath as they struggle to survive in a world that they no longer understand.

Jackie is one of the lucky ones - saved by the fire for her eco-friendly ways (and for other possible reasons known only to Mother Earth herself, perhaps she had good genes?), taught survival techniques by a hermit and accompanied by the infuriating Xander. She walks from New England or somewhere around there, and back to Oregon, where she hopes her mother and best friend will have survived.

The world Holly has created is wonderfully surreal, from floating bubbles that contain trees, to flowers that change colour with your emotions. The addition of Kitten and the chimeras felt a little OTT, but hey, it appears that anything goes. Jackie made an engaging and sassy narrator and although Xander got rather grating at times, it was fun to see him ammend the raw edges of his personality.

If that author's notes are to be believed, this book was penned with environmentally friendly ink on leaves, which may explain its duration (short), although not its presence in ebook format. Whilst it also indicates that she lives a non-tech-life and believes in integration with nature, and despite the themes of the book, it never felt like it was preaching the eco-conscious message. Although, I have to say, there is a part of me that wishes the reckoning purge were true and that Mother Nature did have the power to bring back what was lost.

It would have been nice if it were longer, as this is a world I would have liked to explore in greater depth. The plot is simplistic, but entertaining and definitely filled with surprises.