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msanders92's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
raediance04's review
5.0
I loved the concept for this book. It's actually like two books in one: one about a teenage girl who is in the process of publishing a book and the other is the book she is writing. Alone, I'm not sure the books would be too interesting but together it is an amazing reading experience. The first chapter of Darcy's book, also titled Afterworlds, was terrifying and suspenseful and the love story in the contemporary part with Darcy was beautiful and refreshing. I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy books, especially those based in mythology. I also recommend this to anyone who has participated in NaNoWriMo. Maybe this is the motivation you need to publish a book like Darcy.
karinlib's review
3.0
I don't really know what I think of this book. It was a quick read, a page turner. I liked the premise of a debut author under contract, rewriting her first novel. We not only get her story, but her novel as well. My problem is that I didn't love either story.
lanica's review
3.0
Two stories told at the same time, every other chapter.
One - a young girl writes an amazing novel and has to learn how to deal with the expectations of greatness, even though the book is a first draft.
The other - A young girl gains paranormal powers after surviving a terrorist attack.
PERSONAL REVIEW:
I LOVE Scott Westerfeld's books. I do. But this one was...soft. It had a malleable plot, a bunch of fuzzy characters, a wishy-washy setting. It was good, but not great. Unfortunately for this book I have come to expect greatness from Mr. Westerfeld. I enjoyed the book, but as I finished it I was left with a feeling of sadness that it was not as good as it could have been. He has a few amazing ideas, but they don't grow into anything...they fizzle. Sigh.
LIBRARIAN REVIEW:
A book I think would be great for many young adult readers. It is an interesting way of explaining the realities of the publishing world. I would love to book-club it with some of my more mature kids. There are some amazing discussions that could come from reading this. I love his writing style, and a few of his characters are great. I like the setting of the underworld in the paranormal sections, and I think that a young reader would enjoy the book more than I, an older and more jaded reader, did.
Notes to those who are thinking of adding it to their library collection without reading it. You need to know...
Also, there are a lot of the word 'Fuck' in this book, a few in the early chapters, and more often as the book goes on.
One - a young girl writes an amazing novel and has to learn how to deal with the expectations of greatness, even though the book is a first draft.
The other - A young girl gains paranormal powers after surviving a terrorist attack.
PERSONAL REVIEW:
I LOVE Scott Westerfeld's books. I do. But this one was...soft. It had a malleable plot, a bunch of fuzzy characters, a wishy-washy setting. It was good, but not great. Unfortunately for this book I have come to expect greatness from Mr. Westerfeld. I enjoyed the book, but as I finished it I was left with a feeling of sadness that it was not as good as it could have been. He has a few amazing ideas, but they don't grow into anything...they fizzle. Sigh.
LIBRARIAN REVIEW:
A book I think would be great for many young adult readers. It is an interesting way of explaining the realities of the publishing world. I would love to book-club it with some of my more mature kids. There are some amazing discussions that could come from reading this. I love his writing style, and a few of his characters are great. I like the setting of the underworld in the paranormal sections, and I think that a young reader would enjoy the book more than I, an older and more jaded reader, did.
Notes to those who are thinking of adding it to their library collection without reading it. You need to know...
Spoiler
The main female character is gay and has a wonderful (although not graphic) relationship with another woman. (I'm not hiding this because she is gay, I'm hiding it because finding out she is gay is a wonderful little scene in the book.)Also, there are a lot of the word 'Fuck' in this book, a few in the early chapters, and more often as the book goes on.
morganrondo's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this. The storyline was a little weird but interesting and creative. Parts of it reminded me of Midnighters.
I love the structure of alternating chapters that are related. It probably didn't need to be 600 pages to cover everything but it still went by pretty fast.
I love the structure of alternating chapters that are related. It probably didn't need to be 600 pages to cover everything but it still went by pretty fast.
kitsuneheart's review
4.0
I totally expected reality and fantasy to intertwine in this book, about a young woman getting her first novel to the publisher, and was actually pretty relieved they didn't. It's such an over-used trope, and having the stories of Darcy and Lizie be separate allows each story to develop independently. Certainly, there will be analogies made between the life of Darcy and Lizzie's journey, but finding them is not a requirement for enjoying the book.
I enjoyed the book, but can't quite give it five stars, as the narrative from Darcy didn't feel quite genuine. That's probably the result of the difference in backgrounds of the actual author, Westerfeld, and his character. He's just a bit too distanced from the life of a 18-year-old girl for me to get behind the portrayal. The result is that the Lizzie chapters are more interesting than the Darcy chapters. Lizzie is focused on issues that would be more gender-neutral--recovering from a terrorist attack, discovering strange new powers, avenging murders--as opposed to Darcy, whose very gender-specific struggle with relationships and budding sexuality.
Still, overall, enjoyable. The audiobook version is adequate. Narrated fine, but with nothing that really stands out. So don't feel a need for the audio version, but don't be scared away.
By the way, if you're more into the story of Lizzie than Darcy, as I was, you should check out the "Abandon" trilogy by Meg Cabot. A modern retelling of the Persephone myth, focusing on a more active and powerful female lead.
I enjoyed the book, but can't quite give it five stars, as the narrative from Darcy didn't feel quite genuine. That's probably the result of the difference in backgrounds of the actual author, Westerfeld, and his character. He's just a bit too distanced from the life of a 18-year-old girl for me to get behind the portrayal. The result is that the Lizzie chapters are more interesting than the Darcy chapters. Lizzie is focused on issues that would be more gender-neutral--recovering from a terrorist attack, discovering strange new powers, avenging murders--as opposed to Darcy, whose very gender-specific struggle with relationships and budding sexuality.
Still, overall, enjoyable. The audiobook version is adequate. Narrated fine, but with nothing that really stands out. So don't feel a need for the audio version, but don't be scared away.
By the way, if you're more into the story of Lizzie than Darcy, as I was, you should check out the "Abandon" trilogy by Meg Cabot. A modern retelling of the Persephone myth, focusing on a more active and powerful female lead.
sturmykins's review
3.0
This was certainly a good book, but possibly my least favorite Scott Westerfeld that I've ready. I definitely liked the framed story rather than the framing story. While the two certainly interact, I thought there was going to be more consciousness from the one that it was being affected by the other. A good read if you like to thing about reading, writing, and the publishing world.
hayleybeale's review
5.0
Scott Westerfeld gets meta in these two terrific books in one - alternating chapters of a story about a young writer and her first novel. Read my full review here.
darastar's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 - because I like Darcy's story more than Lizzie's (which is a little slow).
Full thoughts on my blog: http://maggiekeller.net/2016/03/17/book-afterworlds/
Full thoughts on my blog: http://maggiekeller.net/2016/03/17/book-afterworlds/
bellmelr's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
THIS IS ALSO POSTED ON MY BLOG
As many prospective readers (and those who have already read this) know that this is two books in one. The first is the story of a debut author and her journey to publishing, the second being the story that she published. The two stories were separated by alternating chapters.
It was an interesting concept and great to watch as Darcy (the author of the 2nd story) grew and Lizzie (the protag of the 2nd story) did as well.
While they were both great pieces, to put them together seemed like a bad idea. I thought it was really awesome at first, but it turned out to be too much information to take in at once. Even though the chapters were split up, they just kind of dropped off near the end of each chapter. Once you went on to read the chapter after that, say, in Darcy’s perspective, you nearly forgot everything that had happened in Lizzie’s chapter.
In Darcy's story there seemed to be a lot of problems. It was interesting and all, but Westerfeld seemed to just kind of throw things at you (keep in mind that I have never read a Westerfeld book and this might just be me not particularly understanding his way of writing yet).
These are things like Darcy's sudden announcement of her homosexuality and his glaze over of the aspect. It's not brought up much except for a few scenes, which I thought was a big part that could’ve contributed to the story more. Darcy seemed to just make decision with little regard to the life around her.
I think my main thing is, is that I just didn’t like Darcy very much. To me, it seemed like she lacked character and that was something that didn’t improve throughout the duration.
On the other hand, Lizzie’s story was quiet gripping. I know Westerfeld is known for sci-fi/dystopian genres, so I wasn’t disappointed when I had gotten my hopes up for Lizzie’s story.
Her first chapter is terrifying, something I don’t think anyone would want to experience. I don’t want to write too much about it, because it’s what thrusts you into the world of Darcy’s novel. I would go back and read only Lizzie’s story again and again.
I say, if you’re interested, definitely read it. It’s still worth the read, despite what people say. I think I was just mostly disappointed because I thought I would really like Darcy’s story, because it’s about this teenage girl, fresh out of high school that moves to New York to publish her novel. That’s exactly what I got, her experiences, but her character made it really hard to enjoy everything that was happening to the fullest.
THIS IS ALSO POSTED ON MY BLOG
As many prospective readers (and those who have already read this) know that this is two books in one. The first is the story of a debut author and her journey to publishing, the second being the story that she published. The two stories were separated by alternating chapters.
It was an interesting concept and great to watch as Darcy (the author of the 2nd story) grew and Lizzie (the protag of the 2nd story) did as well.
While they were both great pieces, to put them together seemed like a bad idea. I thought it was really awesome at first, but it turned out to be too much information to take in at once. Even though the chapters were split up, they just kind of dropped off near the end of each chapter. Once you went on to read the chapter after that, say, in Darcy’s perspective, you nearly forgot everything that had happened in Lizzie’s chapter.
In Darcy's story there seemed to be a lot of problems. It was interesting and all, but Westerfeld seemed to just kind of throw things at you (keep in mind that I have never read a Westerfeld book and this might just be me not particularly understanding his way of writing yet).
These are things like Darcy's sudden announcement of her homosexuality and his glaze over of the aspect. It's not brought up much except for a few scenes, which I thought was a big part that could’ve contributed to the story more. Darcy seemed to just make decision with little regard to the life around her.
I think my main thing is, is that I just didn’t like Darcy very much. To me, it seemed like she lacked character and that was something that didn’t improve throughout the duration.
On the other hand, Lizzie’s story was quiet gripping. I know Westerfeld is known for sci-fi/dystopian genres, so I wasn’t disappointed when I had gotten my hopes up for Lizzie’s story.
Her first chapter is terrifying, something I don’t think anyone would want to experience. I don’t want to write too much about it, because it’s what thrusts you into the world of Darcy’s novel. I would go back and read only Lizzie’s story again and again.
I say, if you’re interested, definitely read it. It’s still worth the read, despite what people say. I think I was just mostly disappointed because I thought I would really like Darcy’s story, because it’s about this teenage girl, fresh out of high school that moves to New York to publish her novel. That’s exactly what I got, her experiences, but her character made it really hard to enjoy everything that was happening to the fullest.