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mostlyshanti 's review for:
In the Afterlight
by Alexandra Bracken
This book was another one that almost got five stars. IT WAS JUST THAT GOOD, OKAY! Firstly, the characters, secondly, the characters, thirdly the themes, fourthly the plot and DID I MENTION THE CHARACTERS? *fangirls for a little while like a pro*
Ruby
Ruby is, as ever, our main character. A lot of authors add additional viewpoints (Veronica Roth, Ally Condie, Amy Tinterra) but I was totally happy with her one. One thing I loved was that Ruby was shown as a flawed human being She made mistakes. And she was aware of it, and she tried to do better, she didn’t just accept herself as she was. She is an excellent leader, but I was delighted that she wasn’t the only leader. For example, I loved the dynamic between her and Cole. They had to make choices, but they made good ones. Ruby also doesn’t come across as utterly independent She relies on other people, even when it’s hard for her. She has this incredible protective instinct that she just can’t help even when it’s hurtful to people. She came across as willing to take action, willing to make judgements, willing to change the way that she was perceived, but also aware of her limitations. Her debates about when and how to use her powers gave me such insights to who she was. She tried to do the right thing, but it wasn’t always possible. (also, her and Lee? AAAAAAGGGH *squee*)
Zu
First off, let me just say that I loved that Zu started talking. And it was a choice entirely of her own and she had such great stuff to say and I pretty much loved it. She’s amazing. Ruby is also very protective of Zu. It’s fairly obvious that she appears in this book and she does. She doesn’t use her powers much, but she’s still a really interesting character and adds another perspective to all the violence that they were doing.
Liam
Liam is, as ever, excellent. I did find all the ‘darlin’s’ a bit excessive, but through Brackens amazing writing I can totally understand his point of view. I loved that he adovocated for non-violence that is a hugely important perspective in often bloody dystopia’s. I liked how he got involved with the garage. And him and Cole were totally amazing, of course. He was trying to make a place for himself in the world and I think that he succeeded. He is a really interesting character. Like Zu, his powers aren’t that important. But In the Afterlight isn’t really about powers, its’ about choices, and I completely enjoyed his choices.
Vida
(This is a character based book. It’s gonna go on for a while.) Vida is so spiky, but so loving. The few times that she had really meaningful conversations with Ruby, she came across as amazing. She is sort of afraid of people, but also absolutely confident in herself. She acts terribly sometimes, but once again, I understand why. She is someone who is desperately afraid of getting her heart hurt again, yet speaks for forgiveness and kindness, over and over and over. Also her ‘arrangement’ with Chubs *dies of feels and happiness*
Nico
I read Never Fade eight months ago, and I couldn’t really remember the details of Nico’s betrayal. But he is amazing(again) in this book. I liked how he was always on the computers, someone actually using their power. His conversation with Clancy meant so much and was so excellent and made a lot of sense and also he named the program ‘Jude’? He’s really interesting, and his development and forgiveness was an amazing journey to watch (sorry about the superlatives, guys) He deserves his own book, really. What is gonna happen to him after the end?
Clancy (finally)
I still don’t get Clancy. But I do understand him a LITTLE bit more. What he said made sense, and while I don’t feel sorry for him, I do get that he was someone who was hurt over and over and over but those he reached out to. His conversations with Ruby are revealing to say the least. I found that the whole Clancy-was-controlling-me-ick-ick-ick thing wasn’t really explored in depth, eclipsed by other things, which was annoying. But I do get why he did that We do see in this novel that he isn’t always perfect at reading minds. But he also developed. And maybe there was a little glimmer of compassion once or twice. after that ending where he is stripped of who he is I certainly didn’t hate him any more
Honourable Mention
Chubs, Cate, Cole, (haha, all the C’s), Lillian Gray, Zach, Pretty much everyone, yeah
Themes
This review is horribly long, so I’ll make it quick. There were a lot of discussions around ethical leadership and violence and pretty much choices (what it always comes back to) These themes were discussed really well. I loved how all the characters had opinions and they talked about them. And these things have actual relevance to peoples lives (in the book, and IRL actually) It showed their deeper sides. All the ‘team meetings’ were pretty much fabulous.
Acceptance is obviously a huge deal (especially with today’s breaking news). I loved how diverse-not-for-the-sake-of-being-diverse In the Afterlight was. But it talks about acceptance in a not-contemporary-US setting, which is so great. I liked how it was a big deal and something they’d always have to live with Also, that conference at the end XD People who are different will always take a while to be accepted and the team Amazing kids are fully prepared to deal with that.
Plot
I’m not going to say much (because spoilers, sorry) but. Action-Packed. Ever-Twisting. Invovles everyone. Excellent ending. Lots of sadness. Some happiness. Entirely new contexts. Coming full circle. I’m going to just sing my happy song now.
So that was it, guys. In the Afterlight, a book I loved. The only reason it doesn’t (quite) get five stars is because the characters did some really dumb things (even though this was explained) and I also struggled with some of the depictions of violence, where Liam’s principles, though considered, weren’t really acted on.
Ruby
Ruby is, as ever, our main character. A lot of authors add additional viewpoints (Veronica Roth, Ally Condie, Amy Tinterra) but I was totally happy with her one. One thing I loved was that Ruby was shown as a flawed human being She made mistakes. And she was aware of it, and she tried to do better, she didn’t just accept herself as she was. She is an excellent leader, but I was delighted that she wasn’t the only leader. For example, I loved the dynamic between her and Cole. They had to make choices, but they made good ones. Ruby also doesn’t come across as utterly independent She relies on other people, even when it’s hard for her. She has this incredible protective instinct that she just can’t help even when it’s hurtful to people. She came across as willing to take action, willing to make judgements, willing to change the way that she was perceived, but also aware of her limitations. Her debates about when and how to use her powers gave me such insights to who she was. She tried to do the right thing, but it wasn’t always possible. (also, her and Lee? AAAAAAGGGH *squee*)
Zu
Liam
Liam is, as ever, excellent. I did find all the ‘darlin’s’ a bit excessive, but through Brackens amazing writing I can totally understand his point of view. I loved that he adovocated for non-violence that is a hugely important perspective in often bloody dystopia’s. I liked how he got involved with the garage. And him and Cole were totally amazing, of course. He was trying to make a place for himself in the world and I think that he succeeded. He is a really interesting character. Like Zu, his powers aren’t that important. But In the Afterlight isn’t really about powers, its’ about choices, and I completely enjoyed his choices.
Vida
(This is a character based book. It’s gonna go on for a while.) Vida is so spiky, but so loving. The few times that she had really meaningful conversations with Ruby, she came across as amazing. She is sort of afraid of people, but also absolutely confident in herself. She acts terribly sometimes, but once again, I understand why. She is someone who is desperately afraid of getting her heart hurt again, yet speaks for forgiveness and kindness, over and over and over.
Nico
I read Never Fade eight months ago, and I couldn’t really remember the details of Nico’s betrayal. But he is amazing(again) in this book. I liked how he was always on the computers, someone actually using their power.
Clancy (finally)
I still don’t get Clancy. But I do understand him a LITTLE bit more. What he said made sense, and while I don’t feel sorry for him, I do get that he was someone who was hurt over and over and over but those he reached out to. His conversations with Ruby are revealing to say the least.
Honourable Mention
Chubs, Cate, Cole, (haha, all the C’s), Lillian Gray, Zach, Pretty much everyone, yeah
Themes
This review is horribly long, so I’ll make it quick. There were a lot of discussions around ethical leadership and violence and pretty much choices (what it always comes back to) These themes were discussed really well. I loved how all the characters had opinions and they talked about them. And these things have actual relevance to peoples lives (in the book, and IRL actually) It showed their deeper sides. All the ‘team meetings’ were pretty much fabulous.
Acceptance is obviously a huge deal (especially with today’s breaking news). I loved how diverse-not-for-the-sake-of-being-diverse In the Afterlight was. But it talks about acceptance in a not-contemporary-US setting, which is so great. I liked how it was a big deal and something they’d always have to live with
Plot
I’m not going to say much (because spoilers, sorry) but. Action-Packed. Ever-Twisting. Invovles everyone. Excellent ending. Lots of sadness. Some happiness. Entirely new contexts. Coming full circle. I’m going to just sing my happy song now.
So that was it, guys. In the Afterlight, a book I loved. The only reason it doesn’t (quite) get five stars is because the characters did some really dumb things (even though this was explained) and I also struggled with some of the depictions of violence, where Liam’s principles, though considered, weren’t really acted on.