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harleyrae's review
This book was just not for me. I think the 2 books in one thing really hindered my reading experience. Every time I got interested in one book that chapter would end and the next would begin. If they were 2 completely separate books I probably would have enjoyed this much more. That being said neither story really held my interest. They were just words on a page. I did not care for this at all.
fai_aka's review
3.0
3.6 stars
I've never read a story-within-a-story kind of book before so it's a pretty good first time experience; like reading two novels back and forth at the same time. Although it did felt kind of a bummer sometimes when something gets interesting in Lizzie's world, but then the chapter ends and I suddenly got thrown back into Darcy's world.
It's also fun to be able to know about what happens in an author's career and their dilemmas
But the progress of the story is quite slow and gets boring sometimes.
I've never read a story-within-a-story kind of book before so it's a pretty good first time experience; like reading two novels back and forth at the same time. Although it did felt kind of a bummer sometimes when something gets interesting in Lizzie's world, but then the chapter ends and I suddenly got thrown back into Darcy's world.
It's also fun to be able to know about what happens in an author's career and their dilemmas
But the progress of the story is quite slow and gets boring sometimes.
panprincess's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
kaleysmomma's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
sparkly_eevee's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
fictionaddictions_amanda's review
4.0
No spoilers and I do not summarize the plot in my reviews.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I found the alternating chapters very creative and interesting. This book is like no other book I have read in the past. This book is a book within a book; meaning that there is a realistic story about a young writer, which chapters are alternated with the story that the young writer has written and is getting published. I enjoyed reading about Darcy and the real issues that writers face in the publishing world. It has really opened my eyes to the pressures and obstacles writers face. I am looking forward to reading more of Scott Westerfeld in the future.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I found the alternating chapters very creative and interesting. This book is like no other book I have read in the past. This book is a book within a book; meaning that there is a realistic story about a young writer, which chapters are alternated with the story that the young writer has written and is getting published. I enjoyed reading about Darcy and the real issues that writers face in the publishing world. It has really opened my eyes to the pressures and obstacles writers face. I am looking forward to reading more of Scott Westerfeld in the future.
ambeesbookishpages's review
4.0
This review and more can be found at The Book Bratz
The story follows Darcy Patel, an eighteen year old high school graduate who just signed a three hundred thousand dollar book deal for Afterworlds and an untitled sequel. She wrote Afterworlds in the month of November, two thousand words a day. Now, most bloggers and writers know what that means. Though NaNoWriMo wasn't specifically mentioned in the novel it isn't hard to put two and two together. She moves too New York, leases a beautiful apartment and meets many famous YA authors. Eventually there is a bit of romance involved with one of the authors, Imogen Gray.
Though I wasn't a huge fan of how fast Darcy dove into a relationship with Imogen I wasn't unhappy about it. I liked that Westerfeld used a female love interested rather than a male. I find that it isn't used much in YA writing.
One thing I didn't like was at times the character would be really mature, and other times really naive or immature. Like there was no in between, they didn't sound eighteen or twenty five. Though some of the dialogue was entertaining and bought up good points.
I also enjoyed seeing how the publishing aspect worked, the rewrites, edits, the having to change something. My favorite part is when Darcy is signing ARC copies of Afterworlds at BEA. It shows that she made it, her novel was going to be published.
Of course though, Darcy's experiences and Afterworlds was written by Westerfeld, she isn't a real person, but a fictional character. I don't think enough reviews mentioned that. We all referred (I will admit it, I have too) to Darcy as a real person.
The story is told in alternate chapters, so another story is told. Afterworlds is about seventeen year old Lizzie who is planning to fly home to Dan Diego when terrorist attack the airport in which she is departing from. In the mist of the attack she is told to "play dead" and accidentally slips into the Afterworld where she meets Yamaraj, who is a guide of the dead. When she returns home from the hospital, after the attack she learns that her house in inhabited by the ghost of eleven year old Mindy, her mother's best friend as a child, who was abducted while on a trip, murdered, then buried in her own backyard. Lizzie takes is upon herself to seek revenge for the young girl.
I liked Afterworlds, I can't say I loved it though. There were a lot of things I was confused about. One being Lizzie after the attack. She was a bit shaken up, but most people after something at traumatic as that would be a bit jumpy at things. I just felt like she didn't have much of a reaction.
Lizzie acted extremely stupid sometimes, she would jump into situations with out thinking it through. Then when she tells her mother that she just needs space, her mother just goes a long with it like "Hey my daughter isn't traveling to the underworld and trying to solve a murder." Or how her mother lets her off extremely easy about taking a break before going to college. My parents would skin me alive.It just annoyed me.
I liked the idea though, the whole Afterworld, the river, and the idea that ghosts are memories that would fade overtime. It was interesting and kept my attention. I mean, I did finish a six hundred page book in under twenty four hours.
My biggest questions though: What is the title of Untitled Patel going to be called? What is it going to be about? That isn't answered when the story switches back to Darcy, so it leaves me questioning, is Westerfeld going to writing a sequel to Afterworlds?
RATING: ★★★★
The story follows Darcy Patel, an eighteen year old high school graduate who just signed a three hundred thousand dollar book deal for Afterworlds and an untitled sequel. She wrote Afterworlds in the month of November, two thousand words a day. Now, most bloggers and writers know what that means. Though NaNoWriMo wasn't specifically mentioned in the novel it isn't hard to put two and two together. She moves too New York, leases a beautiful apartment and meets many famous YA authors. Eventually there is a bit of romance involved with one of the authors, Imogen Gray.
Though I wasn't a huge fan of how fast Darcy dove into a relationship with Imogen I wasn't unhappy about it. I liked that Westerfeld used a female love interested rather than a male. I find that it isn't used much in YA writing.
One thing I didn't like was at times the character would be really mature, and other times really naive or immature. Like there was no in between, they didn't sound eighteen or twenty five. Though some of the dialogue was entertaining and bought up good points.
I also enjoyed seeing how the publishing aspect worked, the rewrites, edits, the having to change something. My favorite part is when Darcy is signing ARC copies of Afterworlds at BEA. It shows that she made it, her novel was going to be published.
Of course though, Darcy's experiences and Afterworlds was written by Westerfeld, she isn't a real person, but a fictional character. I don't think enough reviews mentioned that. We all referred (I will admit it, I have too) to Darcy as a real person.
The story is told in alternate chapters, so another story is told. Afterworlds is about seventeen year old Lizzie who is planning to fly home to Dan Diego when terrorist attack the airport in which she is departing from. In the mist of the attack she is told to "play dead" and accidentally slips into the Afterworld where she meets Yamaraj, who is a guide of the dead. When she returns home from the hospital, after the attack she learns that her house in inhabited by the ghost of eleven year old Mindy, her mother's best friend as a child, who was abducted while on a trip, murdered, then buried in her own backyard. Lizzie takes is upon herself to seek revenge for the young girl.
I liked Afterworlds, I can't say I loved it though. There were a lot of things I was confused about. One being Lizzie after the attack. She was a bit shaken up, but most people after something at traumatic as that would be a bit jumpy at things. I just felt like she didn't have much of a reaction.
Lizzie acted extremely stupid sometimes, she would jump into situations with out thinking it through. Then when she tells her mother that she just needs space, her mother just goes a long with it like "Hey my daughter isn't traveling to the underworld and trying to solve a murder." Or how her mother lets her off extremely easy about taking a break before going to college. My parents would skin me alive.It just annoyed me.
I liked the idea though, the whole Afterworld, the river, and the idea that ghosts are memories that would fade overtime. It was interesting and kept my attention. I mean, I did finish a six hundred page book in under twenty four hours.
My biggest questions though: What is the title of Untitled Patel going to be called? What is it going to be about? That isn't answered when the story switches back to Darcy, so it leaves me questioning, is Westerfeld going to writing a sequel to Afterworlds?
RATING: ★★★★
isabella1018's review
4.0
I didn't think this book was going to be so unique. I've never read a book like it.
I love how every chapter it switches: from in real life writer Darcy to in a book Lizzie. So
Smart.
Lizzie is such a relatable character and Yama is awesome.
SUCH a great book so read it.
I love how every chapter it switches: from in real life writer Darcy to in a book Lizzie. So
Smart.
Lizzie is such a relatable character and Yama is awesome.
SUCH a great book so read it.
kambmoore's review
4.0
This was a really great book, and I am glad that I got the chance to read it. I loved Darcy's story, and how she grew so much; from an eighteen-year-old girl scared shitless about her book and daring herself to become more adult, to a courageous woman, writing freely. Her story inspired me so much, that now I am FINALLY going to start editing my book that I wrote last November!
I struggled more with Lizzie's story, and, honestly, could have done without it altogether. Her storyline, while gripping at times, lagged in some parts and felt kind of choppy. The characters were great and all, but they weren't as fleshed out as they could have been, in my eyes. Honestly, the book could have used another 100 pages or so to really flesh the story out and give it a new meaning. And towards the end, Lizzie's story felt really rushed, like the ending was the most important part and the book HAD to get there in a certain amount of time--that is, three chapters.
About that ending....I had a little trouble with it: there was this whole build-up to the epic ending in Darcy's chapters, and how she has spent so much time trying to figure out how the book would end...and for it to end like THAT? I'll talk about it more under the spoilers bar.
All in all, I loved this book and found it both an educational journey and a literary journey. I got to find out the inner workings of publishing--something I've been meaning to do--and I felt connected to Darcy's storyline more than anything else, because I am in the same boat...just without the whole $300,000 publishing contract for two books and moving out to New York and being eighteen...anyway, you get the picture! Solid 4/5 stars from me!
SPOILERS: PROCEED ONLY IF YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED ON THE ENDING OF DARCY'S AFTERWORLDS
Okay, the ending of Darcy's Afterworlds kind of felt redundant to me. Lizzie gets summoned by Yama to see Travis, the guy at the terrorist attack, to give him peace, and then Yama basically said that he would see her soon and that was that. I didn't very much like their romance anyway, but I was very frustrated by the fact that Yama was being so self-righteous and toying with Lizzie's emotions. And then, in the end, Lizzie goes to her friend Jamie and spills all the little beans about the afterworld. I did kind of like that, it is only that I predicted that from the beginning anyway...Unfortunately, I may have liked it more if Yama had died in the end, and there had been more build up to the ending than there actually was. At least if Yama had died, then there would have been something super exciting that happened in Lizzie's story!
I struggled more with Lizzie's story, and, honestly, could have done without it altogether. Her storyline, while gripping at times, lagged in some parts and felt kind of choppy. The characters were great and all, but they weren't as fleshed out as they could have been, in my eyes. Honestly, the book could have used another 100 pages or so to really flesh the story out and give it a new meaning. And towards the end, Lizzie's story felt really rushed, like the ending was the most important part and the book HAD to get there in a certain amount of time--that is, three chapters.
About that ending....I had a little trouble with it: there was this whole build-up to the epic ending in Darcy's chapters, and how she has spent so much time trying to figure out how the book would end...and for it to end like THAT? I'll talk about it more under the spoilers bar.
All in all, I loved this book and found it both an educational journey and a literary journey. I got to find out the inner workings of publishing--something I've been meaning to do--and I felt connected to Darcy's storyline more than anything else, because I am in the same boat...just without the whole $300,000 publishing contract for two books and moving out to New York and being eighteen...anyway, you get the picture! Solid 4/5 stars from me!
SPOILERS: PROCEED ONLY IF YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED ON THE ENDING OF DARCY'S AFTERWORLDS
Okay, the ending of Darcy's Afterworlds kind of felt redundant to me. Lizzie gets summoned by Yama to see Travis, the guy at the terrorist attack, to give him peace, and then Yama basically said that he would see her soon and that was that. I didn't very much like their romance anyway, but I was very frustrated by the fact that Yama was being so self-righteous and toying with Lizzie's emotions. And then, in the end, Lizzie goes to her friend Jamie and spills all the little beans about the afterworld. I did kind of like that, it is only that I predicted that from the beginning anyway...Unfortunately, I may have liked it more if Yama had died in the end, and there had been more build up to the ending than there actually was. At least if Yama had died, then there would have been something super exciting that happened in Lizzie's story!
xknight95's review
2.0
2/5 Stars. I finished it, but almost did not want to. Afterworlds had a fairly strong start. The beginning of Darcy's book was very intriguing with the whole terrorist attack in an airport. Unfortunately after that I found it went all down hill. I just lost interest in Lizzie and Yama's story. It was way to instalovey. I honestly don't think Darcy's story would have done well on the market in the real world. The "real world" half of the book was not much better. Did not like Darcy at all. She made too many dumb decisions that really irritated me. You are handed $300000 and you just blow it on a overpriced apartment and food and unnecessary plane tickets... so irritatingly stupid! Smart thing would have been to get a part time job, stay at home, and invest the majority of that money. Sure you can say, "well, she's only 18". I can honestly say that 18 year old me would have invested that money.