This definitely felt like the first book in a trilogy. I know it's only two books but I believe that's because Butler died before writing the third book. I feel like this story is incomplete, because it is. I also still feel like the concept of hyperempathy has not been very thoroughly explored in this book, and that I'm not sold on whether it's even relevant to the story. Like does anything about this story fundamentally change if you do away with hyperempathy? Not so much. Lauren doesn't have as hard a time protecting herself and others, but that's about it. Again, maybe it will have further implications in the next book. Lastly, I didn't really feel like this book had a climax. There were a series of equally upsetting violent events, but these started around the one third or halfway mark and then kind of just continued intermittently throughout the book. Again, maybe this is because this is only the first part in an otherwise more elaborate story, but the pacing of this book as a standalone read felt strange to me.
I'm not sure how I feel about Lauren setting out to deliberately form a religious community. Like girl, you are 18. You may be wise and observant but who are you to think that you know what these and other folks should believe or how they should live? I like the themes of inevitable change and doing what is required to adapt and survive, but I'm not sure about the religiosity of the book's plot, or what Butler is trying to say by having these themes so closely associated or wrapped up in religious practice and thought.
I do feel like, by the end of the book, we had a really rich and diverse cast of characters and I'd like to read the second book to hopefully spend more time with these people and maybe see more about them learning to live with one another while they try to survive and form their community.
The plot is sort of meandering, and the diary format did not help. It felt like things happened, other things are happening, terrible deaths/violence/people, boom new community established. That being said, Butler's straightforward writing deceives many of the larger themes in this book, particularly that of the founding of a new religion. I find myself holding onto hope in the current difficult times after reading this book and sort of repeating the mantra "God is Change" (I'm not even remotely religious lol) but it feels helpful somehow. Hyperempathy part is sort of just... there. There's no clear mechanism explained - at some point, it's even implied that if the person can mask their pain, the sharer won't feel it. So... somehow it's in the body language or facial expression? Would the sharer still feel pain if they close their eyes lol? Like if you don't know pain is happening, can you still feel it? Still not sure how it works, and how that makes Lauren different from others.