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mfumarolo's review
4.0
Really more like 3.5 stars, but I'll round up.
*e-Galley provided by the publisher via Edelweiss - thank you! This in no way impacted my opinions of the book.*
Darcy Patel has won the literary lottery. At only 18 years old, not only has she written her first novel, but she got an agent, sold her manuscript in a huge two book deal, and is now moving to New York instead of her planned dorm room in Ohio so she can be full time writer for a few years. But living the dream isn't quite what Darcy thought it would be (not that she really knew what to expect). Then there's Darcy's book itself, Afterworlds, the suspenseful paranormal romance thriller about a girl who survives a terrorist attack and finds herself able to slide between the land of the living and into the Afterworld, where the dead reside.
This book is a true example of getting two novels for the price of one. Literally. Chapters alternate between the two stories, each one a full-length work resulting in a massive 600 page journey. Readers must be in the mood, therefore, for two things: 1) a big book and 2) wanting to read both straight-up contemporary and paranormal romance at the same time. This second part was a bit of a challenge for me at the time of reading - the paranormal chapters, while very well written and engaging, were just not something I was completely in the mood for when I picked this up. Lizzie and Yamaraj, these chapters' protagonists, are well considered and go on a captivating journey. Westerfeld could easily write a sequel just focusing on them (and I hope he does!). An interesting facet of this particular story-in-a-story is that Darcy is becoming a more seasoned writer as she's editing and rewriting, and we get to see that as the book goes on.
While I may not have been completely in the mood for paranormal, I was deeply interested and invested in the contemporary side of this story. Darcy doesn't always make the right choices. In fact, she makes a lot of choices that made me wince (mostly in terms of how she mishandles her financials), but those choices were incredibly realistic given her extraordinary situation. While much of Darcy's world is book related, it's not her whole world. She's discovering New York, learning how to live on her own, in her first relationship, and figuring out the publishing industry from the eye of the storm.
I've never read anything by Westerfeld before, and this was quite an introduction to his style and body of work. If you are in the mood for contemporary, romance, action, adventure, ghosts, and really a little bit of everything, check out Afterworlds when it hits book shelves September 23rd.
*e-Galley provided by the publisher via Edelweiss - thank you! This in no way impacted my opinions of the book.*
Darcy Patel has won the literary lottery. At only 18 years old, not only has she written her first novel, but she got an agent, sold her manuscript in a huge two book deal, and is now moving to New York instead of her planned dorm room in Ohio so she can be full time writer for a few years. But living the dream isn't quite what Darcy thought it would be (not that she really knew what to expect). Then there's Darcy's book itself, Afterworlds, the suspenseful paranormal romance thriller about a girl who survives a terrorist attack and finds herself able to slide between the land of the living and into the Afterworld, where the dead reside.
This book is a true example of getting two novels for the price of one. Literally. Chapters alternate between the two stories, each one a full-length work resulting in a massive 600 page journey. Readers must be in the mood, therefore, for two things: 1) a big book and 2) wanting to read both straight-up contemporary and paranormal romance at the same time. This second part was a bit of a challenge for me at the time of reading - the paranormal chapters, while very well written and engaging, were just not something I was completely in the mood for when I picked this up. Lizzie and Yamaraj, these chapters' protagonists, are well considered and go on a captivating journey. Westerfeld could easily write a sequel just focusing on them (and I hope he does!). An interesting facet of this particular story-in-a-story is that Darcy is becoming a more seasoned writer as she's editing and rewriting, and we get to see that as the book goes on.
While I may not have been completely in the mood for paranormal, I was deeply interested and invested in the contemporary side of this story. Darcy doesn't always make the right choices. In fact, she makes a lot of choices that made me wince (mostly in terms of how she mishandles her financials), but those choices were incredibly realistic given her extraordinary situation. While much of Darcy's world is book related, it's not her whole world. She's discovering New York, learning how to live on her own, in her first relationship, and figuring out the publishing industry from the eye of the storm.
I've never read anything by Westerfeld before, and this was quite an introduction to his style and body of work. If you are in the mood for contemporary, romance, action, adventure, ghosts, and really a little bit of everything, check out Afterworlds when it hits book shelves September 23rd.
theswampmaster's review
3.0
To be honest, I was sort of disappointed. With a concept awesome like this and just the crazy format of the book, I felt the idea could've been played with so much more. I am not even that excited for book two, someone please bring back our Westerfeld
phoenixpond's review
3.0
I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I did, especially after hearing the author speak at GenCon last summer. I did like the feel of the book with the alternating chapters - and visually the black top and bottom borders set it off quite nicely. I started reading it on Kindle...it was much harder to jump back and forth between Lizzie's and Darcy's stories without the visual reminder. I enjoyed it much more when I picked up the good old fashioned hard cover copy.
Otherwise, there wasn't anything that I particularly liked or disliked about this book - it was just ok. Kind of fell flat.
I am interested to hear what Maddie thinks.
Otherwise, there wasn't anything that I particularly liked or disliked about this book - it was just ok. Kind of fell flat.
I am interested to hear what Maddie thinks.
j_ritt02's review
5.0
I loved this book! I found lizzie's story very much like a book I would read. Darcy inspired me because I love to write. I liked how we found a little about Imogen at a time, and really liked that character. I felt like this book was inspiring and made it okay to be who we are.
kkdemarco's review
4.0
Wow!! This book was so interesting. The chapters alternate between Darcy's perspective - an 18-year-old student who just sold her first novel (which the first draft was written during NaNoWriMo!) - and the actual novel that she wrote, entitled Afterworlds. So cool. Before reading this book, I thought I would like her book better (it's fantasy/sci-fi), but I actually enjoyed the realistic fiction parts much more! It was so neat to get an insight into the world of writing and publishing, and it really inspired me to (attempt to) write! Her actual book fell a little flat with me, and I honestly didn't connect with any of the characters. Not sure if it was the "book within a book" feel or not, but probably. Overall, a really interesting premise and great writing on the part of Scott Westerfeld (as always).
erinalexdocx's review
2.0
Quite a disappointing read, to be honest. The characters were irritating. Both plotlines were confused. There were some typos I noticed, and lines were repeated in places. Sad that I didn’t enjoy it more :(
justwanna2read's review
lighthearted
slow-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
4.0
allaurae's review
2.0
Official Rating: 1.5
Thoughts:
Oh. My. God.
I don't think it's ever taken me so long to finish reading a book. I wish I could put that down to it being 600 pages long. Believe me, I wish. But the sad reality is, this book simply frustrated me to no end.
While I was reading Afterworlds, several people asked what the novel was about. Considering the two (mostly unrelated) plotlines, suffice to say I was often conflicted on the best way to answer them. I appreciate what Westerfeld was trying to do with this novel, but I just don't think it was executed in the best manner. While having page markings did help me keep up with whose story I was following, the fact that I needed such an infantile assistant made me wonder if the two stories might have been best published separately. But then I realised, they couldn't be.
They couldn't be, because Darcy's story isn't a novel. It's just a character-growth plot. Don't get me wrong - I'm a sucker for books with solid character growth, and I usually don't mind if the plot loses something because of the focus on a particular character's journey. However, the problem I had with Darcy's character growth was that I just didn't like her. The entire way through the novel she seemed to me to be a whiny, selfish and frustrating brat. I get that she's supposed to have elements of all of those characteristics seeing as she's "growing up in the big city" and all, but every time I thought she'd learned a lesson and would finally adapt away from those negative points, I would turn a page and - what do you know - she's complaining about something else.
The parallel of Lizzie's story was somewhat of a boon for me. I was actually really fascinated by this world that Darcy and -by extension- Westerfeld had devised. I appreciated her growth, and she seemed to adapt at a very realistic speed to this new world of ghosts and walking through walls that she was thrust into. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending that Darcy 'slaved away' to perfect, but I appreciate that Darcy was trying to make a point that life doesn't always end in Happily-Ever-Afters with peachy-perfect characters, especially in a world entrenched with death. All in all, however, I felt that many of the characters in this sub-fictional world were a bit flat, as Darcy herself fears partway into her editing process.
I was so glad to get to the end of this novel. My poor paperback copy of it is in complete tatters now from the four months of carting it around in my bag, hoping to be struck by the inspiration to read it. I probably should be clear - I didn't hate this book. In fact, I really enjoyed some parts of it. Westerfeld has a way of writing very prolific sentences that tap into the human psyche that are always a pleasure to read. I am going to read more of his works, as I do think that Afterworlds may just have been a bad egg from a golden goose, so to speak.
Not sure I'll be embarking on any more 600-page wonders of his (or any other author's, for that matter) anytime soon, however.
Thoughts:
Oh. My. God.
I don't think it's ever taken me so long to finish reading a book. I wish I could put that down to it being 600 pages long. Believe me, I wish. But the sad reality is, this book simply frustrated me to no end.
While I was reading Afterworlds, several people asked what the novel was about. Considering the two (mostly unrelated) plotlines, suffice to say I was often conflicted on the best way to answer them. I appreciate what Westerfeld was trying to do with this novel, but I just don't think it was executed in the best manner. While having page markings did help me keep up with whose story I was following, the fact that I needed such an infantile assistant made me wonder if the two stories might have been best published separately. But then I realised, they couldn't be.
They couldn't be, because Darcy's story isn't a novel. It's just a character-growth plot. Don't get me wrong - I'm a sucker for books with solid character growth, and I usually don't mind if the plot loses something because of the focus on a particular character's journey. However, the problem I had with Darcy's character growth was that I just didn't like her. The entire way through the novel she seemed to me to be a whiny, selfish and frustrating brat. I get that she's supposed to have elements of all of those characteristics seeing as she's "growing up in the big city" and all, but every time I thought she'd learned a lesson and would finally adapt away from those negative points, I would turn a page and - what do you know - she's complaining about something else.
The parallel of Lizzie's story was somewhat of a boon for me. I was actually really fascinated by this world that Darcy and -by extension- Westerfeld had devised. I appreciated her growth, and she seemed to adapt at a very realistic speed to this new world of ghosts and walking through walls that she was thrust into. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending that Darcy 'slaved away' to perfect, but I appreciate that Darcy was trying to make a point that life doesn't always end in Happily-Ever-Afters with peachy-perfect characters, especially in a world entrenched with death. All in all, however, I felt that many of the characters in this sub-fictional world were a bit flat, as Darcy herself fears partway into her editing process.
I was so glad to get to the end of this novel. My poor paperback copy of it is in complete tatters now from the four months of carting it around in my bag, hoping to be struck by the inspiration to read it. I probably should be clear - I didn't hate this book. In fact, I really enjoyed some parts of it. Westerfeld has a way of writing very prolific sentences that tap into the human psyche that are always a pleasure to read. I am going to read more of his works, as I do think that Afterworlds may just have been a bad egg from a golden goose, so to speak.
Not sure I'll be embarking on any more 600-page wonders of his (or any other author's, for that matter) anytime soon, however.
maryanne6828's review
4.0
Awesome! Loved the two entwining stories that are being told. Could be a stand alone or it could be a series.