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My SF&F Book Club read it last year. (Spoiler-free review below).
When thinking about the novel, I find myself separating the Voice from the Plot.
Rogers very accurately portrays the voice of a 16 year old girl. Of course, I didn't like teenage girls' self-absorbed melodrama even when I was one. But hats off to Rogers, it was done well.
As for the plot, I quite liked the overall concept, even if the science was... vague, to put it charitably. (My prion lecturer had a distinctive dramatic sigh whenever someone said something dumb. I kept hearing it as I read...). I thought the author considered well how society would react to an extinction event - everyone wouldn't react the same way. There'd be people who would be convinced everything would be OK, people who used it as an reason to break with society entirely, people who would demonise the afflicted, people who would view them as martyrs... in summary, People Are Weird.
Of course, what most readers will focus on is the main character's Moral Dilemma. It was an interesting take on a theme common in SF&F, I'd say.
If I was asked to recommend a dystopian/post-apocalyptic novel to someone, I'd give them Day of the Triffids. But if I was asked to give something to a Judy Blume fan (is she still popular? I'm getting old...) I'd pick this book and hope it lays a breadcrumb trail to SF&F.
Does this book "deserve" the Clarke Award? I dunno. I'm glad I read it, but I wouldn't choose it as a Desert Island Book.
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