So, first, the bad news: a few years from now, an apocalyptic event will happen which will wipe out the majority of people and animals. And hey, that sucks, but not everyone died in it, and the people that survived spread back across the land and formed a new society amongst the ruins of our society. These people, who would come to be known as the First Families, divided themselves into tribes based on the worship of certain animal gods whom they believed spared them from what they called The Crash: the tribe of the bear, the tribe of the deer, the tribe of the housecat, and so on. Our story takes place thousands of years after The Crash, and focuses on ten years in the life of Vanessa Polk, from the obscure and much-ridiculed tribe of the snail. As she grows up and moves from her small agrarian village to the biggest city in the country, she will learn how to navigate sexism, homophobia, tribalism, a viral epidemic, murder and falling in love, all in her own snaily way. And you get to watch, which is kind of creepy when you come to think about it. Eh, you’re alright. Anyway, if you’ve ever wondered what life would be like in a very-post-apocalyptic world for a woman who worships snails, 1) that’s frighteningly specific, and 2) this is the book for you.