How We Became Wicked By Alexander Yates Pdf May 2026

The novel How We Became Wicked by Alexander Yates is a haunting dystopian exploration of humanity’s survival in the face of an insect-borne plague that turns the infected into politely murderous "wickeds".

: The use of insects (Singers) as vectors grounds the horror in a plausible, if amplified, biological reality. Reviews - How We Became Wicked | The StoryGraph How We Became Wicked by Alexander Yates Pdf

Ultimately, the novel’s title is a rhetorical question aimed at the reader. Is wickedness found in the virus-driven violence of the infected, or in the cold, calculated survivalism of the "True"? By the final act, Yates suggests that the most terrifying form of wickedness is not the one that asks for your skin with a smile, but the one that allows you to turn a blind eye to others' suffering in order to stay safe. The novel How We Became Wicked by Alexander

: The "Wicked" are uniquely terrifying because they remain articulate and polite while committing atrocities. Is wickedness found in the virus-driven violence of

In Alexander Yates’s How We Became Wicked , the apocalypse arrives not with a bang, but with the buzzing of "Singers"—mosquito-like insects that carry a virus of pure malevolence. Through the eyes of three teenagers—Astrid, Hank, and Natalie—the novel deconstructs the traditional zombie narrative by introducing the "Wicked": infected individuals who retain their intelligence and manners while harboring a singular, obsessive desire to maim others. By placing this horror against a backdrop of crumbling societal structures, Yates argues that "wickedness" is not merely a biological infection but a potential inherent in all human choices.