Book Review: American Rapture by C.J. Leede

The end of civilization is an inherently frightening topic, a fact that has been exploited time and time again across popular media to sometimes great effect. Having been used as the basis for stories so many times, it’s not easy to come up with a fresh angle on the idea, but in her sophomore novel author C.J. Leede has done just that, and the results are harrowing, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking.

Only days away from her 17th birthday, Sophie is beginning to notice that something feels off in her Wisconsin hometown. She lives with her strict religious parents and attends a rigid Catholic school, both of which do their best to shield her from anything to do with the secular world, and as such she knows next to nothing about the NARS-CoV viral outbreak that has been spreading across the United States, nor the more dangerous and deadly secondary infection it enables that the public have dubbed Sylvia, which causes the infected to become violently lustful, helping it to spread, before killing them with fever.

As people around her begin to become ill, Sophie tries to glean whatever information she can. On the phone with her twin, Noah, who was forcibly removed from his home and put in a facility by his parents 5 years prior when they discovered a gay magazine in his room, he urges her to try to learn what she can by whatever means necessary, which leads her to the local library, a place she reveres. The usual librarian isn’t present, but her son Ben is, who Sophie has been developing an unexpected crush on, and he helps to fill her in while also recommending she read a racy novel.

The following day, when Sophie returns home, she is shocked to find her parents in the full throes of the virus, engaged in acts her sheltered existence doesn’t allow her to fully understand. When they attack her, she manages to fight them off and steal her mother’s car, deciding to drive to the facility holding her brother. While she’s on the highway, the state enters lockdown and she becomes stuck in a traffic jam full of panicked people. Chaos ensues when various drivers begin showing symptoms and attacking one another, but a young police officer named Maro pulls her from the madness and then makes it his mission to try and get her to safety while she insists that she needs to get to Noah. At odds on their destination, but stuck in an increasingly perilous landscape, the pair have to learn to work together in order to survive, befriending additional survivors along the way.

The zombie holocaust road trip novel isn’t a new idea in and of itself, but Leede adds some truly unique twists to the formula, most notably the distressing attacks that the infected are compelled to carry out. In the wrong hands, the material could feel lurid and exploitative, so it is a relief to see that Leede handles it thoughtfully while not downplaying the horror of the situation. That being said, anyone who has been a victim of sexual violence should use their best judgment before reading this book, as parts could easily trigger a strong reaction in them.

There are some wonderful characters in here, that will truly endear themselves to readers and make it hard not to skip ahead to make sure they make it safely through each dangerous encounter. Told from Sophie’s perspective though, this is really her book, and watching her struggle to move beyond the repressive ideologies that have been so thoroughly ingrained into her psyche will put readers through the emotional wringer. There are moments of joy as she comes more and more into her own, discovering that many of the normal teenage emotions she is beginning to feel aren’t a sinful anomaly, and building a new family that seems willing to accept her for who she is instead of who they demand she be. But this is tempered by the constant reminder that she is only getting to experience true freedom for the first time as the world around her disintegrates.

A hate-filled preacher with a large social media following has inspired a group known as St. Michael’s Crusaders to begin attacking the government’s newly established vaccination centers and shelters, killing everyone they find inside, increasing the danger to Sophie and her group, and shining a light on the ways that people warp religion in an effort to control and punish those they deem unfit for society. It’s a stark reminder that no matter the horror we find ourselves in, the greatest threat will likely be other humans. But our characters never give up hope, finding examples of humanity’s goodness in the wreckage of society that can never truly be snuffed out.

Terrifying, touching, smart, empathetic, and hard to put down, American Rapture is a book that will stick with me for a long time. The parallels to our current society, even without the zombies, are truly chilling and will hopefully inspire at least some people to take a closer look at their treatment of others. But it’s the goodness of Sophie and her new friends that truly stands out, and the inevitable loss of some of them that will linger (even writing about it has me tearing up). This is an epic end-of-the-world saga that rivals The Stand and is easily my favorite book I’ve read this year. ★★★★★