"The themes here are heady, the book is brutally violent, and, as with her previous novel, Maeve Fly, Leede doesn’t pull a single punch. It’s also touching, and funny, and sad."
—Emily C. Hughes, Vulture
"Though it’s a horrific premise...Leede never allows the story to descend into titillation or exploitation... American Rapture is both a taboo-shredding nightmare and a sex-positive coming-of-age story."
—Neil McRobert, Esquire
“A blistering, feverish ride through a uniquely American apocalypse. Leede crafts a deeply compelling descent through an unraveling heartland. Sure to rattle the cages of our Puritanical nightmare country.”
—Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents
“A riveting, sprawling, staggeringly brilliant novel about the horrors of shame and repression and sexual violence and moral panics. American Rapture is a riotous scream and an emotional ode to anyone who has ever hidden their true self under their mattress. Blood-soaked, heart-wrenching, grim and glorious. Leede is a singular talent.”
—Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Black Sheep
“A bold, fiercely sharp, and deeply unsettling reimagining of the zombie apocalypse genre, which Leede crafts with equal parts anger and unwavering empathy.”
—Chuck Tingle, USA Today bestselling author of Camp Damascus
“An adrenaline rush of a novel... Seamlessly slips thought-provoking themes in alongside the novel's high-octane propulsion.”
—Shelf Awareness, STARRED review
“Leede combines an end-of-the-world story with a new twist on zombies. Those who loved Leede’s style in her debut, Maeve Fly, will enjoy this grimly complicated story.”
—Library Journal
"Full of action, gore, and heartbreak, this book will appease postapocalyptic-fiction fans looking for a fresh title to scratch the horror itch."
—Booklist
"With a heart as innocent as that of its heroine, American Rapture is a brave book, a daring book, and most of all, a timely book. It's terrifying because it's true. Kudos to CJ Leede."
—Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor
“Leede masterfully eases readers into a taut horror plot in her standout sophomore outing...plenty of page-turning suspense, and this proves hard to put down.”
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
"In Leede's wholly possible American Armageddon, closed minds, cheese curds, and right-wing radio threaten to burn the whole shining city upon a hill to the ground. Cinematic, visceral, reflective, and palpable, American Rapture keeps you staying up late, hand on page ready to turn before you’re done with the one you’re on, and thinking about it for days on end when you finish. Bravo."
—Ted Van Alst, co-editor of national bestseller Never Whistle at Night
“American Rapture has its finger on the bloody, fevered pulse, fearlessly addressing notions of love, sex, faith, redemption, individuality. You won’t read anything else like it.”
—Keith Rosson, author of Fever House
"A masterful, apocalyptic fever dream. Leede has the singular ability to make your skin crawl while you're bawling your eyes out. Americana horror at its finest."
—Liz Kerin, author of Night's Edge
“Forget the zombies you know! Leede’s American Rapture is a brutally fresh take on the apocalypse genre. Leede blends heart and horror, taking readers on an utterly bonkers and horrific ride. Buckle up.”
—Jimmy Juliano, author of Dead Eleven
“American Rapture is frantic and tender, frightening and thoughtful, an ode to discovery, acceptance and unconditional love, and a scathing indictment of the close-minded and bigoted.”
—BookReporter
"Leede plunges readers deep into an all-too-real apocalyptic nightmare."
—This Is Horror
08/01/2024
Sophie leads a life strictly regulated by her parents and the Catholic Church, both of which try to keep her as far as possible from the secular world and its sinful temptations. As a result, she is unaware of a virus tearing across the United States that causes those who contract it to suffer flu-like symptoms before they succumb to a vicious, feral lust. She takes off with strangers, who become her found family, to attempt to find her brother while avoiding both the illness and the violence that has engulfed the country. In this book, Leede combines an end-of-the-world story with a new twist on zombies. Sophie is thrust into a ferociously brutal world she was ill-prepared to manage even before the pandemic, but she navigates loss and her growing awareness of the religious trauma she has endured while learning to challenge the truths she's been afraid to question. Featuring younger people fighting for survival, as in Alden Bell's The Reapers Are the Angels, this novel shares the kind of violent zombie apocalypse presented in Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt. VERDICT Those who loved Leede's style in her debut, Maeve Fly, will enjoy this grimly complicated story.—Lila Denning
