designed is your typical “the world kinda ended” dystopian novel - but rather than the world fighting an active threat, we see the lasting ramifications and the attempt to deal with them. after a virus struck the population, leaving the elderly and children dead - and the middle aged unable to conceive, technology is now king of making life more advanced, and trying to fix the conception issue
SPOILERS
mireya has lived on a military base her entire life, and slowly notices her friends “changes”. heath, a delivery man comments on the change of her eye color, propmting her to leave to explore the city and find him again. i quite enjoyed the world building of designed, the people in the city, even with all this technology, felt dejected and disattached - adding to the dispair of the subsequent end of the world. reya has a solid amount of character development from the start of the book to the end, with heaths (multiple) confessions adding to the emotional feel of her situation. also, daniel (heaths younger brother) adds the perfect balence of emotional reprive and hope for the future
with mireya’s memories wiped once again, i am intrigued to see where this story will pick up, and how the events of the first book will impact the second. for fans of divergent and the hunger games, this book perfectly fills the void of emotionally complex characters, world building, and dystopian storytelling we all know and love.