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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Oh, ho,ho!!! Am I glad I got this one! You do not want to miss this one even if you don't like apocalyptic or dystopian novels. This is one scary apocalypse! They, they are so damn scary. Demitria Lunetta knows how to write suspense and make you keep quiet while you're reading. I barely breathed! And then, the dystopian part of the novel, just as scary but in a "Everything will be okay," kind of way. Excellent mix, perfect story!
The characters of course make the story for me. Amy is what she believes to be the sole survivor of an alien invasion. She is all alone at home when they attack and they decimate the human population. But Amy finds Baby, a toddler when she finds her, while out on a scavenge run for food. They live a silent life for three years, Amy teaching her how to sign as they live together adapting ASL for their needs. Then one night, they are swimming in the lake and get "rescued."
There are other characters but Amy and Baby make up the first third of the book and remain prominent throughout the book. I'll leave you to discover the rest.
The setting plays a big role in this novel. There are several settings depending on which part of the novel you are reading. The start of the story is set in the suburbs of Chicago. That is where Amy survives with Baby. Everyone is dead. Houses are broken into but only by the aliens as they pursued their prey. There are no rotting bodies, just blood stains. Night is the only safe time to venture out. The decaying buildings and world along with encroaching wilderness is the setting for the first three years. After they are rescued, New Hope is the setting. A college campus/research facility. It is orderly, has strict rules and unbreachable borders that the aliens can't even approach. New Hope is safety and food and people and comfort and home. But Amy and Baby are ripped out of one world, one of fear and wildness and a type of freedom and thrown into a world of borders, constraint and containment.
The story is so compelling that despite being 400 pages I had to read it all in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down. Amy has been living as the sole provider and defender as more than an adult for the last three years. Then she gets to New Hope and is expected to fall into the role of a child, go to school, be taken care of, follow rules. It doesn't work for her. She has a hard time adjusting to this new ordered, structured way of life with rules and authority figures. And she doesn't like being separated from Baby even for a few minutes. I could understand her frustration with the adults that ran things not understanding her need to be herself and not fall back into "Before" patterns. Nothing should go back to the way things were "Before." There is a new reality. Kids can't be fed a diet of fairy tales and nursery rhymes. They have to be taught the truth. But I have a feeling we don't know the truth, yet.
If you love apocalyptic and dystopian novels, you will not want to miss this one. It is book one in the series and I will definitely be anxiously awaiting the next novel. I don't feel like it ended on a cliffhanger. It left on a decent place, but man do I have questions!!! Guess I'll be waiting!
The characters of course make the story for me. Amy is what she believes to be the sole survivor of an alien invasion. She is all alone at home when they attack and they decimate the human population. But Amy finds Baby, a toddler when she finds her, while out on a scavenge run for food. They live a silent life for three years, Amy teaching her how to sign as they live together adapting ASL for their needs. Then one night, they are swimming in the lake and get "rescued."
There are other characters but Amy and Baby make up the first third of the book and remain prominent throughout the book. I'll leave you to discover the rest.
The setting plays a big role in this novel. There are several settings depending on which part of the novel you are reading. The start of the story is set in the suburbs of Chicago. That is where Amy survives with Baby. Everyone is dead. Houses are broken into but only by the aliens as they pursued their prey. There are no rotting bodies, just blood stains. Night is the only safe time to venture out. The decaying buildings and world along with encroaching wilderness is the setting for the first three years. After they are rescued, New Hope is the setting. A college campus/research facility. It is orderly, has strict rules and unbreachable borders that the aliens can't even approach. New Hope is safety and food and people and comfort and home. But Amy and Baby are ripped out of one world, one of fear and wildness and a type of freedom and thrown into a world of borders, constraint and containment.
The story is so compelling that despite being 400 pages I had to read it all in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down. Amy has been living as the sole provider and defender as more than an adult for the last three years. Then she gets to New Hope and is expected to fall into the role of a child, go to school, be taken care of, follow rules. It doesn't work for her. She has a hard time adjusting to this new ordered, structured way of life with rules and authority figures. And she doesn't like being separated from Baby even for a few minutes. I could understand her frustration with the adults that ran things not understanding her need to be herself and not fall back into "Before" patterns. Nothing should go back to the way things were "Before." There is a new reality. Kids can't be fed a diet of fairy tales and nursery rhymes. They have to be taught the truth. But I have a feeling we don't know the truth, yet.
If you love apocalyptic and dystopian novels, you will not want to miss this one. It is book one in the series and I will definitely be anxiously awaiting the next novel. I don't feel like it ended on a cliffhanger. It left on a decent place, but man do I have questions!!! Guess I'll be waiting!
I’m sorry I don’t remember the main character’s name
- the aliens are stereotypically aliens so... but idc
- You can predict the twist by the end (there are a lot of clues)
- Idk how I feel about the back and forth thing between ward and memories
- Part one was amazing, the survival part just seems natural (like she isn't a superhuman survivor, just incredibly lucky and able to future shit out) and the addition of baby and the progression of live for a day, then plan ahead a little then more and more until you've planned out an indefinite life was realistic and heartening to read about
- Really liked the explanation of how the girl figured out all the rules about how the aliens work
- But then she gets into new hope and then things start going south, it's obvious that it's going to be the classic dystopia thing, the villains are too black and white and everything just becomes generic and obvious and perhaps it's because the post apocalyptic phase of ya had passed and moved on to magic and kingdoms and fantasy, but the last two parts of the book were just bland for me
- In the ward seems like filler, a way to info dump about the girl's discoveries in flashbacks
- The ending really worked (not like in the "yay it isn't bad" way, no it's the "wait that's dumb" kind of worked) ... and it's kinda cheesy the way it leads into the next book
- Oh also the doctor does some real bad villain info dumping at the end too
- the aliens are stereotypically aliens so... but idc
- You can predict the twist by the end (there are a lot of clues)
- Idk how I feel about the back and forth thing between ward and memories
- Part one was amazing, the survival part just seems natural (like she isn't a superhuman survivor, just incredibly lucky and able to future shit out) and the addition of baby and the progression of live for a day, then plan ahead a little then more and more until you've planned out an indefinite life was realistic and heartening to read about
- Really liked the explanation of how the girl figured out all the rules about how the aliens work
- But then she gets into new hope and then things start going south, it's obvious that it's going to be the classic dystopia thing, the villains are too black and white and everything just becomes generic and obvious and perhaps it's because the post apocalyptic phase of ya had passed and moved on to magic and kingdoms and fantasy, but the last two parts of the book were just bland for me
- In the ward seems like filler, a way to info dump about the girl's discoveries in flashbacks
- The ending really worked (not like in the "yay it isn't bad" way, no it's the "wait that's dumb" kind of worked) ... and it's kinda cheesy the way it leads into the next book
- Oh also the doctor does some real bad villain info dumping at the end too
A fascinating story. I loved the first half so much.
Amy and her survival. Her instincts and her crazy house. Then she stumbles into baby and their life together. It was touching and horror filled but so fascinating too.
Then we hit about 1/2 way and it all got weird and kind of lost me. I was all good until she bumped into New Hope. Although it was interesting, the flashbacks were a huge distraction and, suddenly, I was thrown into a political nightmare and it was less about the people and their way of surviving and more about.....politics and....drama. It just seemed to lose focus and so did I.
It was good but I'm not sure I'll read book 2. Maybe if I eventually get around to it.
Amy and her survival. Her instincts and her crazy house. Then she stumbles into baby and their life together. It was touching and horror filled but so fascinating too.
Then we hit about 1/2 way and it all got weird and kind of lost me. I was all good until she bumped into New Hope. Although it was interesting, the flashbacks were a huge distraction and, suddenly, I was thrown into a political nightmare and it was less about the people and their way of surviving and more about.....politics and....drama. It just seemed to lose focus and so did I.
It was good but I'm not sure I'll read book 2. Maybe if I eventually get around to it.
I really liked this one. I thought it was a little bit predictable but I was also okay with that. I liked the set up and how things came to pass. But I definitely liked the writing style in the first section better than in the next two. However, this novel really stands out in my mind of YA post-apocalpytic narrative and I would recommend it if you are looking for another dystopian novel.
I thought the flashback/present writing style of section two and three was a little off putting. It didn't really help me connect to the story more -- it actually made me feel more disconnected from it because of the constant switching.
As well, I wasn't a huge fan of the fact that the Ward was shown with such negative connotations. I wrote a post about positive therapy depictions in YA Fiction on Aphonic Sarah which is run by the lovely Sarah so if you are looking for books that feature positive therapy depictions, this book is not for you.
However, I was enamoured with this book. I liked how everything played out and I was really curious as to what the "big reveal" would be (I was correct). I thought that the idea behind it was really solid and I think it was something that has been done but also added something new to the narrative. I was a big fan of how this. And I loved that Amy was really involved in what it meant morally and how far humans were willing to go to save humanity.
I thought the moral conflicts in this one re: killing and the women getting pregnant were super interesting but definitely not developed enough. I would have liked just a bit more time spent on them so that we could really get a feel for the end times in this. But I also think part of that is due to how those last two sections were written. We weren't given enough time in either narrative to really get centred in a specific storyline before being shifted to something else. Therefore, there wasn't enough time to really have these discussions.
I liked the bond that Amy formed with Baby and that she was so willing to protect her. I also liked that this didn't mean she wasn't able to bond with Adam -- even though we only got limited screentime with him. I think it was really great that she was able to still connect with people even though she was so isolated from the world.
I thought that there were a lot of kickass females in this one but it still felt like no one really got the screentime they deserved. I would have liked more scenes with Amy and Kay. I thought Kay was a great mentor for Amy and it was really great to have them interact in a way that we didn't really get to see with Amy and her Mother. I think there were a lot of dynamics that could have been explored in this one that didn't really get their time to shine because of the writing style.
Overall, I really recommend this one. I enjoyed my reading of it and think that this adds to the narrative of post-apocalyptic YA novels. If you are looking for something a little different that has a lot of action but also has you questioning everything you learn along the way, this one is for you.
Read this as part of Summer Series Challenge hosted by Amanda @ Brains Books Brawn!
Books and Ladders | Queen of the Bookshelves | Books Are My Fandom | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
I thought the flashback/present writing style of section two and three was a little off putting. It didn't really help me connect to the story more -- it actually made me feel more disconnected from it because of the constant switching.
As well, I wasn't a huge fan of the fact that the Ward was shown with such negative connotations. I wrote a post about positive therapy depictions in YA Fiction on Aphonic Sarah which is run by the lovely Sarah so if you are looking for books that feature positive therapy depictions, this book is not for you.
However, I was enamoured with this book. I liked how everything played out and I was really curious as to what the "big reveal" would be (I was correct). I thought that the idea behind it was really solid and I think it was something that has been done but also added something new to the narrative. I was a big fan of how this
Spoiler
could be plausible in the future. This *could* happen if we aren't careful with biological warfareI thought the moral conflicts in this one re: killing and the women getting pregnant were super interesting but definitely not developed enough. I would have liked just a bit more time spent on them so that we could really get a feel for the end times in this. But I also think part of that is due to how those last two sections were written. We weren't given enough time in either narrative to really get centred in a specific storyline before being shifted to something else. Therefore, there wasn't enough time to really have these discussions.
I liked the bond that Amy formed with Baby and that she was so willing to protect her. I also liked that this didn't mean she wasn't able to bond with Adam -- even though we only got limited screentime with him. I think it was really great that she was able to still connect with people even though she was so isolated from the world.
I thought that there were a lot of kickass females in this one but it still felt like no one really got the screentime they deserved. I would have liked more scenes with Amy and Kay. I thought Kay was a great mentor for Amy and it was really great to have them interact in a way that we didn't really get to see with Amy and her Mother. I think there were a lot of dynamics that could have been explored in this one that didn't really get their time to shine because of the writing style.
Overall, I really recommend this one. I enjoyed my reading of it and think that this adds to the narrative of post-apocalyptic YA novels. If you are looking for something a little different that has a lot of action but also has you questioning everything you learn along the way, this one is for you.
Read this as part of Summer Series Challenge hosted by Amanda @ Brains Books Brawn!
Books and Ladders | Queen of the Bookshelves | Books Are My Fandom | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
Le début de ce livre me fait vraiment penser au film "Sans un bruit" puisque les protagonistes du bouquin doivent être totalement silencieux afin d'échapper et survivre aux créatures à l'ouïe particulièrement développée, et honnêtement, il y a des chances que ceux qui ont aimé le film apprécient cette duologie.
Mais pas d'inquiétude, le roman prend un tournant différent (en même temps, il n'y a strictement aucun lien avec le format cinéma) puisqu'on est sur deux adolescentes comme personnages, avec l'intervention de protagonistes bien différents au fil de l'histoire. On part alors sur quelque chose de plus grand que l'héroïne, avec de l'action et des révélations.
Bon, concernant ces dernières, elles ne sont pas toujours hyper originales mais elles correspondent totalement au genre et à l'histoire du roman. C'est entraînant et on a envie de savoir ce qu'il va se passer pour Amy, pour Baby, mais aussi l'origine de ses créatures, ce que va découvrir la protagoniste.
Sans qu'il y ait eu un attachement important pour les personnages, j'ai apprécié les suivre. Plus particulièrement Amy, puisque nous suivons l'histoire de son point de vue. Elle se bat pour la seule famille qui lui reste, tout en gardant le pragmatisme nécessaire à la survie. C'était une héroïne que j'ai apprécié suivre, qui peut parfois se montrer sèche avec les gens, mais qui ce qui est en accord avec le fait qu'elle ait dû survivre pendant trois ans par ses propres moyens, sans pouvoir accorder sa confiance, tout en gardant, comme dit plus haut, un certain pragmatisme. C'était une personnalité qui était totalement cohérente avec l'univers développé, ce que j'ai apprécié.
J'ai aimé voir comment les personnages faisaient afin de pouvoir survivre face aux événements, voir comment les habitudes changent pour pouvoir s'adapter à un nouvel environnement. Mais aussi de voir que quand on a pris de telles habitudes, il peut se révéler difficile de s'en défaire.
En bref, un roman que j'ai aimé découvrir et lire, avec une héroïne que j'ai apprécié suivre. Il n'est pas sans rappeler le pitch du film "Sans un bruit", et je lirais certainement le deuxième et dernier tome dans peu de temps.
Mais pas d'inquiétude, le roman prend un tournant différent (en même temps, il n'y a strictement aucun lien avec le format cinéma) puisqu'on est sur deux adolescentes comme personnages, avec l'intervention de protagonistes bien différents au fil de l'histoire. On part alors sur quelque chose de plus grand que l'héroïne, avec de l'action et des révélations.
Bon, concernant ces dernières, elles ne sont pas toujours hyper originales mais elles correspondent totalement au genre et à l'histoire du roman. C'est entraînant et on a envie de savoir ce qu'il va se passer pour Amy, pour Baby, mais aussi l'origine de ses créatures, ce que va découvrir la protagoniste.
Sans qu'il y ait eu un attachement important pour les personnages, j'ai apprécié les suivre. Plus particulièrement Amy, puisque nous suivons l'histoire de son point de vue. Elle se bat pour la seule famille qui lui reste, tout en gardant le pragmatisme nécessaire à la survie. C'était une héroïne que j'ai apprécié suivre, qui peut parfois se montrer sèche avec les gens, mais qui ce qui est en accord avec le fait qu'elle ait dû survivre pendant trois ans par ses propres moyens, sans pouvoir accorder sa confiance, tout en gardant, comme dit plus haut, un certain pragmatisme. C'était une personnalité qui était totalement cohérente avec l'univers développé, ce que j'ai apprécié.
J'ai aimé voir comment les personnages faisaient afin de pouvoir survivre face aux événements, voir comment les habitudes changent pour pouvoir s'adapter à un nouvel environnement. Mais aussi de voir que quand on a pris de telles habitudes, il peut se révéler difficile de s'en défaire.
En bref, un roman que j'ai aimé découvrir et lire, avec une héroïne que j'ai apprécié suivre. Il n'est pas sans rappeler le pitch du film "Sans un bruit", et je lirais certainement le deuxième et dernier tome dans peu de temps.
OK, but way too predictable. Like Them, I saw every twist in the plot far ahead of the words. The heroine, Amy, didn't stand out for anything.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
After my week of being in a book slump I finally found a book that sounded really interesting. Normally I pretty much stick to Romance books but I was kind of sick of those so I picked up a Young Adult book. Which I don't do often, but this book had been laying around on my bookshelf unread. The blurb really sounded interesting, and I am known to love books in the dystopian/post-apocalyptic setting. I especially wanted to read this book because I knew romance would NOT play a major role in it.
Amy is a 16 year old girl who sees her whole world changing in a split second. She is all alone but thanks to her father and mother is pretty protected in her home. She was really strong for her age, she learned to survive and take care of herself. And when she discovers Baby, she takes her with her to protect her as well. Amy and Baby were such an awesome team. I really loved their relationship, and how they had each other's backs. But of course you can't stay safe forever. Thankfully they are saved at the right moment. But is this new place they are taken really "safe"? What are people hiding and don't want the general population to know? You will have to read to find out.
I was sucked in from the start and I really loved the original plot the author came up with. My favorite characters were of course Amy and Baby. I can't wait to read what will happen in the next book!
Let me first say that this is definitely a young adult book. It took me just a few hours to read and the print is quite large in this advanced reader's edition. (Thank you Amazon Vine!) Regardless of its category, I couldn't put this book down! The first third of the book is the story you expect to read about a young girl surviving in spite of the odds against her. Amy is resilient, determined, and very, very smart. These characteristics suit her very well out in the world of After. Unfortunately, when "rescue" comes along those same traits make life more than a little difficult and the years she's spent just trying to survive make her unable, and somewhat unwilling, to relax and go back to some kind of civilization. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style change about halfway through the book. I flipped page after page trying to figure out what had happened and how things had gone so wrong. There are some lovely twists and turns here that keep the reader on their toes. Amy and Baby are fantastic characters and their bond is very well written and believable. As mentioned earlier, this is a young adult novel so it was a very quick read and it's lacking in some depth compared to the five star young adult books and adult novels I've read of the same genre but it's still a great read in it's own right. I'll happily continue on to the next book and see where Amy's journey continues!