Katie is an Amish teen who is looking forward to spending her Rumspringa with her childhood friend, Elijah. In the book, Rumspringa is described as the time in every Amish teen's life when he or she is allowed to experience life as a normal, non-Amish teenager, after which they can choose which lifestyle they want to lead. Three weeks before Katie's Rumspringa, the people in her community learn of unexplainable things that are happening outside, caused by an epidemic that transforms people into blood-thirsty monsters (read: vampires). Because of a series of events that starts with the crash landing of an aircraft outside their community border and culminates in the disappearance of Elijah's two brothers, the community elders decide that no one from their community shall venture outside and vice versa. So, when Katie finds an injured young man named Alexander near the border, the elders refuse to bring him in. Katie, taking pity on him, manages to sneak him in and take care of him.
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Best part of story, including ending:
I loved the voice of the intelligent Katie, who tries to find her own place in a conservative society. The vampires are not portrayed as self-loathing creatures who yearn for a maiden's love to cure them of their affliction. They are proper, creepy monsters that rip through human flesh and drink their blood....
Best scene in story:
My favorite scene was when Katie went "Outside" to a convenience store and she escaped the attacking vampires. The way the scene is described made my blood run cold and filled my dreams with blood and gore and creatures that move in the dark. Maybe I am a masochist, but I loved that scene!
