288 reviews for:

In the After

Demitria Lunetta

3.88 AVERAGE


This is another book i shared with my family. This is another good conversation starter! Get imaginatin involved! I can't wait to read the next one!
adventurous tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

If you like Dystopian fiction, this is a great find! 

In the After is a post-apocalyptic book about a teenager girl named Amy. After an alien invasion, the world is left devastated and there very few survivors left. Amy is left in the security of her home, and then she discovers a young toddler, whom Amy names Baby. Together, the two of them survive in what Amy calls “The After.” When the security of their home is threatened, they are forced to leave and are picked up by a ship and escorted to a strange place that Amy thought could never exist. Amy and Baby are forced to struggle with the many challenges that are presented in this new place.

When I first started this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew that the book was about aliens, and it was about a young girl and a toddler surviving the world together. Other than that, I had no idea. But regardless, I decided to dive into it. I have to say, this was a very quick read for me. I never found myself bored with the story, even though I had my predictions. I was wrong on about half of them. But I’m okay with that, because it makes the story more interesting and proves that it isn’t so predictable. However, this book reminded me a little bit of The Fifth Wave. Okay okay, I know that I read the first couple of pages and then decided to put it down, so I don’t have much of an argument there. But I was reminded of the sole survivor and the alien invasion. That has to be substantial enough, right? I’ll let you be the judge of that.

So from what I gather in the author’s bio, Lunetta studied biology in college. I think this helped her story gain a lot of depth. I’m so used to dystopian stories in which characters are presented with scientific explanations, but they are more simplistic. I always find myself wishing that the stories would dig deeper into the science more so that I can get a better understanding of whats really going on. However, I think I might be a little bias in this thinking. While I didn’t graduate with a degree in science, I did do some studying of biology and anthropology, and I thought I did fairly well in those classes. Needless to say, I’ve always liked science. So, reading this book was enjoyable for me. The science was the most important factor in this book, especially in the way that it affected society.

This leads me to my next point. While I’m always a sucker for a good love story within these dystopian novels, it was kind of refreshing to not have the love story be the main focus. Don’t get me wrong, it was there, but I think that it will be developed in the following novels. I think books sometimes have a knack for jumping into romances right away, and they come off as these whirlwind relationships in which the characters are bound for life. Its romantic, takes your breath away, etc, but lets be honest, thats not always going to be the case. I like that Amy’s love interest, Rice, has decided to take it slow. It may be the fact that Amy has so much going on right now, you know with dealing with aliens and a small child, but I think she knows that a romance is not of the most utmost importance here. This makes Amy strong, independent, and a fighter. She reminds me of Katniss in The Hunger Games. So many people get caught up in the love triangles, and we start to see the formation of things like “Team Jacob” or “Team Gale”, when in all reality, the love triangle is the side story, and there are larger things to focus on. Okay, maybe Team Jacob was a terrible example considering the fact that the relationship in Twilight is the main focus. But like Katniss, Amy knows that finding out the truth and bringing it to the attention of the people is the most important thing here.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who need a break from the overwhelming romances that are included with a lot of the novels that are available out there. For those who want to enjoy the science, the logic, and the tension that is created when logic meets emotion.

4/5

3.5*
adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix

This book was so good. I loved Amy and Baby especially in the beginning when they were on their own. I didn't guess at all what the "aliens" were but that was a cool twist. I have already started the second book in this series and will be looking into more books by this author. But also I love this narrator of this book and that's very important for me to note cause I think a narrator can make or break the book. So I will also be looking into more books narrated by this person.
adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I figured out the twists at the end pretty soon into this one. Needed to finish to confirm that I was right.

In the After by Demitria Lunetta follows Amy who is watching television when they attack. The first section of the book follows Amy living on her own, protecting herself and the small child she finds from the horrific creatures outside, maintaining total silence at all times. The two then move into a perfect community that quickly is shown to not be as perfect as it appears.

I really enjoyed this book and I've been in a mood to hate everything lately. It was the perfect combination of adventure and terror combined with a utopia/dystopia with a minor mystery throughout. I rushed through the book, finishing quickly even though it was very long. The ending was solid enough to satisfy me but enough to keep me wondering about the sequel.

Appropriateness: This book is fairly violent and has a lot of survival scenes where you are worried about the main character's safety. There's no real romance to turn off readers who hate romance. I'd recommend this book to readers 13+

Amy was home alone, watching TV, having a day very similar to many other days. Except this was the day that They attacked. Creatures who are devouring anyone They find and the best way to stay alive is to stay silent and stay inside. Amy ventures out only when necessary and on one of these trips she finds a toddler she names "Baby". Together they stay in Amy's protected house for years. Then, miraculously, they're saved and taken to New Hope, a safe shelter from Them. But Amy's not convinced it's the sanctuary everyone says it is and she refuses to let New Hope take Baby away from her.

I was in the mood for a creepy read and this one seemed to be a good choice after looking through my shelves. It looked creepy but also different, definitely what I was in the mood to read because I ended up really enjoying it.

Amy was a character I could relate to quite easily. She was young, a bit spoiled, not someone most people would expect to be able to survive on her own, especially not in the world in this book. She was lucky that the house she lived in was protected but in order to survive, she had to learn how to avoid Them, how to safely scavenge for food, how to defend her home, herself, and Baby. She had to become hardened but she still had her soft moments, rescuing Baby was proof of that. She had really good instinct so when she felt something was off about New Hope, I went with her.

The book was mainly two parts. Amy, and then Baby, surviving in their house by themselves, relying on themselves, doing whatever was necessary. The second part was them in New Hope, trying to adjust to a society again, learning how to feel safe and to trust more than just each other. Both parts were interesting since they offered different challenges but the second part with New Hope edged out the beginning for my favourite. It was fascinating to see people trying to fit back into society after surviving on their own for so long and how maybe it wasn't possible for everyone to adjust.

There were some surprising twists in the plot and some twists that I thought were a little predictable. The overall storytelling was very strong. I had a nice sense of the world, both Amy's house and New Hope, and what was happening the whole time. The writing was dark and gritty and really fit the whole plot well.

This was definitely right the choice to fit my need for a dark, creepy read mood.

Page Turner!

This book was really good, I liked it. You can really see the development of the main character throughout the story.