This book's first half could have been cut out entirely. There was no need for this book to be 400 pages long. A lot of the plot was just holding me back from the good stuff. I enjoyed the plot element of jumping from the future to the present, and back, but I didn't need all of the side quests described in full. There was also a lot of weird, intimate language used to describe children which made me uncomfy. I don't know why we needed details about a little girl's dress riding up, describing her underwear and explaining how it was wet with pee. That was very weird. It's possible to include children in horror and describing bad things happening to them without fetishizing them. That being said, the ending ROCKED, and the writing was strong overall. It was also very scary!