"Departures" is set in a world that makes itself out to be a utopia to the people within the domes, but in reality, it is a dystopia. But to the people within the Directorate, the world they live in is a utopia. Everything is peaceful and everyone is equal. There is no worry about death because everyone already knows their "departure" date, so they have plenty of time to prepare for it. But the veil slowly gets dropped for both sisters, and they realize that the Directorate isn't as benevolent as it claims to be. I did find the switching viewpoints between Evie and Gracelynn to be engaging. You never get bored with one POV because it's constantly shifting. I also enjoyed the switching, because you get to see what it's like on the inside of the Quad and the outside world throughout the entire story.

Spoiler

I found myself wanting to read more just to see if Evie or Gracelynn ever get to see each other again. I did find the ending to be a bit weak, however. It feels like the author realized suddenly she could make this story into a series, so the ending had to be changed so it could be open-ended. Though I'm not going to lie, I would be interested in reading another book set in this world. This novel fully focuses on the Directorate and the Camp, so you don't know anything about the larger world except some small mentions. I would love to see more about how the world views the Directorate just a bit more.

Spoiler

Hopefully Departures takes off enough for the author to get the green light to make another book within this world!