Series: In the After #1
Rating: ★★★★
Pages: 455
Published by HarperTeen on June 25, 2013
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I read in a review by Emily May on Goodreads regarding this book and she said that anyone who wasn't too fond of The 5th Wave would enjoy this book and vice versa, (as in, if you loved The 5th Wave then you probably won't like In the After) and after reading In the After, I've decided that I agree with her. In my review of The 5th Wave I said that I loved it yet hated it at the same time. I still stand by that. On one hand, I loved the aliens and just the premise of the book, but on the other hand I didn't really enjoy the characters. Yes, I'm going to compare The 5th Wave and In the After in some aspects during this review. I apologize if you don't like reviewers who do that, but it's my opinion.
In the After is about a girl named Amy. Amy is a survivor in the alien apocalypse. One day, she's lounging on her couch watching TV when all of a sudden her TV turns off. Immediately, she blames her dad for messing with the solar panels (he's a eco-freak). But then the TV turns on and it's the president, explaining that he has the situation under control. And then the president is interrupted, broadcasting the news station who informs the US population that they have been invaded by extraterrestrial lifeforms.
Amy survives the apocalypse on her own for three years with only the help of a three year old (now six after the three years) named Baby who unnervingly has the ability to be super quiet and seemingly has unbelievable hearing. Amy and Baby live a comfortable lifestyle...until they simply don't anymore.
I think the biggest issue I had with this book was the pacing. The book is split into three sections. If I had to rate each section, it would go a little like this:
Section 1: Four Stars
Section 2: Three Stars
Section 3: Five Stars
Most people who reviewed this book would disagree with me and say that the first section was the most interesting, but it's really a matter of preference. Although I liked the survival section, Amy daydreamed a lot, thinking back on her past a but like Cassie from The 5th Wave liked to do. Daydreaming in the past really isn't my cup of tea even though it's not completely non-enjoyable. The second section was fairly interesting if not a bit slow. It's really just about Amy meandering around New Hope, trying to find answers about the aliens that have taken over her planet. Not boring but not nail-biting interesting either.
But the third section. Oh my gosh, the third section was the part that made me fall in love (okay, like. I didn't love this book, but I did like it a lot) with In the After. Amy basically does daydream in the past in this section, but it's done in a way that intrigues me. It's not the boring "this happened and then this happened and then this happened and then this happened" rather than "okay here's a scene from the present, now we're going to jumpcut into the past, oh look now we're in the present" and back and forth, back and forth. I don't like books that experiment with different tenses...usually. But this book just did it so wonderfully.
Another thing I really enjoyed about In the After was the characters. They were fairly realistic. Amy's actions and responses to certain situations didn't seem forced or executed in a bad way. But you know what did seem forced? Amy and Rice's relationship.
In the After isn't the type of book to be drowned in romance, which was one of the worst things about The 5th Wave, but the fact that Rice and Amy's relationship was barely grazed on the top made it seem forced and a bit unrealistic. The two didn't really have any chemistry other than the fact that Amy was the only girl Rice's age at New Hope (which turned out to be false because there were two or three girls in the same class as Amy). It just seemed more like a relationship out of necessity rather than passion. And that kiss. It was...unexpected.
The last thing I wanted to address about this book was the book's ending. It wasn't all that surprising. At first, I thought that what I had guessed couldn't be right because it was too obvious, but it ended up being right. But the ending was done so well that I really don't care that I sniffed out the ending before it even happened, which is a good thing I suppose.
In conclusion, this book is full of suspense, action, and sisterly love. I found this book to intense as well as heartwarming, which is something rare for an apocalyptic/dystopian book these days (or is it just the books I pick?). I absolutely cannot wait for the second book In the End to come out June this year! I'm definitely getting my hands on a copy.
If you haven't already read this book, go and read it now! In the After turned out to be nothing like what I thought it was going to be like, but it was a good surprise. I will probably recommend this book to my friends that like action as well as my friends that like dystopian. It's a combination of both!
On a final note, what a great way to start out my reading year! A four star book--amazing.
They hear the most silent of footsteps.NOTE: I'm counting this for my 2014 Dystopia Reading Challenge, because I've read this book and have decided that it's dystopian. New Hope isn't all sunshine and rainbows.
They are faster than anything you've ever seen.
And They won't stop chasing you...until you are dead.
Amy is watching TV when it happens, when the world is attacked by Them. These vile creatures are rapidly devouring mankind. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to escape—and even rescue “Baby,” a toddler left behind in the chaos. Marooned in Amy’s house, the girls do everything they can to survive—and avoid Them at all costs.
After years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she’ll lose Baby—and much more.
Rebellious, courageous, and tender, this unforgettable duo will have you on the edge of your seat as you tear through the pulse-pounding narrow escapes and horrifying twists of fate in this thrilling debut from author Demitria Lunetta.
I read in a review by Emily May on Goodreads regarding this book and she said that anyone who wasn't too fond of The 5th Wave would enjoy this book and vice versa, (as in, if you loved The 5th Wave then you probably won't like In the After) and after reading In the After, I've decided that I agree with her. In my review of The 5th Wave I said that I loved it yet hated it at the same time. I still stand by that. On one hand, I loved the aliens and just the premise of the book, but on the other hand I didn't really enjoy the characters. Yes, I'm going to compare The 5th Wave and In the After in some aspects during this review. I apologize if you don't like reviewers who do that, but it's my opinion.
In the After is about a girl named Amy. Amy is a survivor in the alien apocalypse. One day, she's lounging on her couch watching TV when all of a sudden her TV turns off. Immediately, she blames her dad for messing with the solar panels (he's a eco-freak). But then the TV turns on and it's the president, explaining that he has the situation under control. And then the president is interrupted, broadcasting the news station who informs the US population that they have been invaded by extraterrestrial lifeforms.
Amy survives the apocalypse on her own for three years with only the help of a three year old (now six after the three years) named Baby who unnervingly has the ability to be super quiet and seemingly has unbelievable hearing. Amy and Baby live a comfortable lifestyle...until they simply don't anymore.
I think the biggest issue I had with this book was the pacing. The book is split into three sections. If I had to rate each section, it would go a little like this:
Section 1: Four Stars
Section 2: Three Stars
Section 3: Five Stars
Most people who reviewed this book would disagree with me and say that the first section was the most interesting, but it's really a matter of preference. Although I liked the survival section, Amy daydreamed a lot, thinking back on her past a but like Cassie from The 5th Wave liked to do. Daydreaming in the past really isn't my cup of tea even though it's not completely non-enjoyable. The second section was fairly interesting if not a bit slow. It's really just about Amy meandering around New Hope, trying to find answers about the aliens that have taken over her planet. Not boring but not nail-biting interesting either.
But the third section. Oh my gosh, the third section was the part that made me fall in love (okay, like. I didn't love this book, but I did like it a lot) with In the After. Amy basically does daydream in the past in this section, but it's done in a way that intrigues me. It's not the boring "this happened and then this happened and then this happened and then this happened" rather than "okay here's a scene from the present, now we're going to jumpcut into the past, oh look now we're in the present" and back and forth, back and forth. I don't like books that experiment with different tenses...usually. But this book just did it so wonderfully.
Another thing I really enjoyed about In the After was the characters. They were fairly realistic. Amy's actions and responses to certain situations didn't seem forced or executed in a bad way. But you know what did seem forced? Amy and Rice's relationship.
In the After isn't the type of book to be drowned in romance, which was one of the worst things about The 5th Wave, but the fact that Rice and Amy's relationship was barely grazed on the top made it seem forced and a bit unrealistic. The two didn't really have any chemistry other than the fact that Amy was the only girl Rice's age at New Hope (which turned out to be false because there were two or three girls in the same class as Amy). It just seemed more like a relationship out of necessity rather than passion. And that kiss. It was...unexpected.
The last thing I wanted to address about this book was the book's ending. It wasn't all that surprising. At first, I thought that what I had guessed couldn't be right because it was too obvious, but it ended up being right. But the ending was done so well that I really don't care that I sniffed out the ending before it even happened, which is a good thing I suppose.
In conclusion, this book is full of suspense, action, and sisterly love. I found this book to intense as well as heartwarming, which is something rare for an apocalyptic/dystopian book these days (or is it just the books I pick?). I absolutely cannot wait for the second book In the End to come out June this year! I'm definitely getting my hands on a copy.
If you haven't already read this book, go and read it now! In the After turned out to be nothing like what I thought it was going to be like, but it was a good surprise. I will probably recommend this book to my friends that like action as well as my friends that like dystopian. It's a combination of both!
On a final note, what a great way to start out my reading year! A four star book--amazing.
You might also like:
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (Maybe, lol)
I actually really liked this book and The 5th Wave...oh well! They start off very similarly, but then quickly the similarities end. The first section was good, but once they're brought to New Hope, that's when I was absolutely riveted. I loved the way the author let you know that New Hope is not a good place and then we read how everything happened to get Amy to that point. I just loved that it went back and forth from the past to the present, I thought that was a great way to structure the book, it created such tension. I really enjoyed In the End as well and I loved that it was a duology so there was no middle book syndrome. Great review! ~Pam
ReplyDeleteIt's not that I didn't like The 5th Wave, it's just that I enjoyed In the After more xD And omg, you got an ARC of In the End? So lucky. HOW? If you don't mind me asking xD
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