This is one of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. I am posting this now at 1 am because I could not sleep until I finished it and shared my thoughts. Louie and Katherine were so deliciously flawed and broken. They felt real. The pandemic that leaves them alone felt realistic as well. I know there were some hard scary parts of this book but it also felt really hopeful.
It was absolutely perfect. I will never get over this one.

This book is a fast paced dystopian read. The author pulled emotions from me that i didn’t know i could feel. This book is rather anxious making - but in a good way. It captivated me by the authors use of attention to detail and not leaving a single thing unexplored.

I received a copy to review from Netgalley, below is the blurb

"In a rural Michigan town, in a post-Covid world on the brink of a new disaster, Louie discovers an extraordinary ability-he can't die. Fortuitous, if not for the small catch that he doesn't want to live. While everyone else is desperately fighting to survive a global biotic crisis, Louie constantly seeks death only to be resurrected time and time again.
Louie is the town nothing. If life was a school yard pick, he would be the last one on the team. Immortality is a burden, a cruel twist of fate, even as he wonders why him and what he is meant to do. But everything changes when Louie meets Katherine, a smart New York City woman determined to survive in this post-apocalyptic world. Finally, Louie has a reason to live, which is good timing because with each death he becomes weaker.
It would be a love story if not for all the death and dying. Katherine and Louie aren't living in utopia. There are other survivors who have their own ideas about the future. Ones they're willing to kill for. Louie and Katherine must not only defend themselves and their resources from outsiders but fight against their own darker natures before Louie's strange gift fades away.
Amidst the chaos and despair, their story is one of hope, resilience, and redemption. Louie and Katherine, an unlikely modern-day Adam and Eve, will prove that even in the darkest of times, an ending can be a new beginning."

I really enjoyed this book, the 2 main characters Louie and Katherine are a bit quirky and are unusual in that they are not 'perfect' human specimens and both have their flaws. I liked how the story unravelled and how we can sort of relate to the normality of it following the covid experience. For example the fact that the roads are not blocked with cars trying to escape but are clear because everyone presumably was trying to isolate at home. Louie was my favourite character as he was not fazed by the lack of human company initially and actually thrived in the environment where he didn't have to interact with others. The one bit I found slightly bizarre was how Katherine's character appeared to change so dramatically once she found Louie. At times she seemed like a different character to the one she had been prior to meeting him, more laid back. Maybe this was because she had found him, but at times I found it weird. Overall a great book that I was invested in finishing and would recommend.

This book introduces a thought-provoking premise set in a post-Covid world where Louie discovers he cannot die, despite his lack of will to live. This unique twist sets the stage for an exploration of immortality, love, and survival.

The novel's greatest strength lies in its concept. The idea of an ordinary man grappling with immortality amidst global crisis is inherently intriguing.

McCarty's portrayal of the post-apocalyptic Michigan town and its survivors provides a gritty backdrop that adds depth to the narrative. The themes of resilience, human connection, and the struggle for meaning shine through, particularly in the interactions between Louie and Katherine.

However, the story falls short is in its character development and pacing. While Louie's internal conflict is central to the story, his characterization feels somewhat lacking in depth. Similarly, Katherine's character, though pivotal, could benefit from more nuanced development to make her motivations and decisions more compelling.

The pacing occasionally feels disjointed, with some scenes dragging while others rush through significant plot points. This inconsistency detracts from the overall impact of the narrative and makes it challenging to fully immerse oneself in the story.

Despite these drawbacks, McCarty's writing style is clear and accessible, effectively conveying the bleak atmosphere of the setting and the emotional turmoil of the characters. Dialogue, though occasionally stiff, serves its purpose in advancing the plot and revealing character dynamics.

This book presents a promising concept with moments of insight and emotional resonance. While the novel could benefit from deeper character exploration and more consistent pacing, it remains a worthwhile read for those interested in exploring themes of mortality, resilience, and the human spirit in the face of adversity

This postapocalyptic thriller with a huge heart stands out for its poignant take on suicidal tendencies, which is why I believe it to be destined for classic status in the future. A tense, yet tender-hearted tale of how the world could end and begin anew, CALL ME ADAM is a masterpiece.

2 Stars!

The world has made it through Covid, but is it ready for another pandemic. Jo McCarty takes on this topic in Call Me Adam in a dark and original way. I was not familiar with McCarty going into the book, but the premise was interesting and I was curious to see which direction it would go in.

Covid had come and gone and everyone thought they would be safe from anything like that in their lifetimes. They did not know how wrong they were, for Covid turned out to be the opening act. When a super flu sweeps through the world, there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. Almost everyone is killed quickly. There is no time for masks or vaccines. One wave takes out most of the population and leaves the rest getting sicker by the day. There are a select few that are immune and left to try to pick up the pieces. The reason for their immunity, however, is what makes things so interesting.

Louie lives in a rural Michigan town. You could call it living, but he would probably not agree, for Louie has been trying to end his life for years. There is only one problem: he cannot die. Katherine works for a major newspaper in New York. The two first cross paths when Katherine is clearing out her office and answers the phone. Louie had decided to call the paper and speak to a reporter about how the pandemic was being downplayed and instead made a connection with Katherine. As the world falls apart, the two continue to dream of each other, feeling as if meeting is their destiny, until one day Katherine sets out to find Louie and see if her dreams can be a reality. When the two meet, a chain reaction of events sets off that differentiates the survivors from the victims of the pandemic and the secret behind those the flu could not kill that just might save the world.

Call Me Adam captured my attention from the opening page, and I thought McCarty creates an interesting world. In a post-pandemic world, the worst thing that could happen was for another pandemic to go on a rampage. Covid could not kill humanity, but the super flu could, and McCarty does a very good job of building the tension in the beginning of the story and crafting a post-apocalyptic world that felt a little too real. I was caught up in the story and even the strange diversion into Louie's life were distracting but did not derail the story. I was caught up in the story waiting to see what would happen next as Katherine navigated New York after almost everyone had died and struggled with her emotions as well. Louie's story was smaller but also less interesting although it served as a juxtaposition to what the world was like in the city as well as in a rural area. There was less action in the novel than I expected, but this did not detract from the story at first as the emotional tension was high. I did feel that the story lost some steam as it progressed and the initial tension and atmosphere was not maintained throughout, but the story was very well crafted and interesting so that it would have merited a 4-star rating.

My issue with the novel, and the reason it was downgraded from a 4-star review, is the way in which it deals with suicide. The way Louie deals with life, death, and suicide is frustrating at best and offensive at worst. This may not have been the way it was intended, and the author does have a justification for Louie's behavior, but it did not work for me at all. I found myself skipping parts of the book because I could just not deal with it anymore. It may not have the same effect on other readers, but I found it detrimental to the story as well and just a very poor choice in storytelling that borders on poor taste. Louie is supposed to be one of the heroes of the novel but he is an exceptionally selfish character who actually victimizes those around him, including Katherine, through his own callous actions. In what was an otherwise very good story, Louie as a central character just completely sabotages the narrative and makes this a book I would recommend skipping. I actually started writing this review with the intenion of giving the book 3 stars, but I just cannot do that after thinking about it a little more. With Louie and the callous disregard he has not only for his own life but for the lives of those around him, not to mention a total disdain for anything but himself, featured as a central "hero" of the story, the book turns to a total fail. If anything, he would have been better cast as an apocalyptic villain a la Randall Flag in Stephen King's The Stand. Both characters have the same level of humanity and total disregard for anything but themselves. Other readers may not read it this way, but Call Me Adam is not a novel that I can recommend.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Crazy Pages Publishing for this review copy. Call Me Adam is available now.

I really enjoyed this book. It deals with a lot of hard hitting topics, death, grief, lost, metal health all in a post-apocalyptic world. These are defiantly subjects that should be explored more and I applaud Jo McCarty for taking them head on.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

#CallMeAdam #NetGalley
Post-apocalyptic fiction is one of the most wide-ranging genres, as the end of the world has preoccupied many a creative mind ever since the dawn of human speech, thought and writing. Jo McCarty succeeds in breathing fresh air into the genre with the story of Louie, a man who has been trying to end his life since a personal tragedy wrecked his life. The catch? He cannot. Louie cannot die, no matter how much he tries to, and this gives his story so much heft. He and his love interest, Katherine, are, as other reviewers have pointed out, akin to a modern-day Adam and Eve, seeking to survive and build a future in a world where life and death are no longer as clearly delineated as we know them to be. This postapocalyptic thriller with a huge heart stands out for its poignant take on suicidal tendencies, which is why I believe it to be destined for classic status in the future. A tense, yet tender-hearted tale of how the world could end and begin anew, CALL ME ADAM is a masterpiece. Solid ten out of five!

Yes!! All of the stars!!!!! I absolutely loved this book!!! Couldn’t put it down!!!!!! I highly recommend this book!!