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.

: Being "Vexed" requires surviving a process that killed most of an entire generation, framing immunity as a survivor's guilt.

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

: The "Wicked" are uniquely terrifying because they remain articulate and polite while committing atrocities.

The essay below examines the book's central themes of morality, isolation, and the blurred lines between safety and monstrosity.

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.

The world is divided into three groups: the , who live in isolated sanctuaries; the Vexed , who are immune but at a high cost; and the Wicked , who roam freely. This social stratification serves as the foundation for the novel's tension. In the sanctuary of Goldsport, the "True" believe their isolation equates to moral purity. However, as Astrid and Hank uncover the dark history of their town, it becomes clear that the measures taken to ensure survival—such as the lethal "vexing" process for infants—are as morally compromising as the virus itself.