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June 19, 2013

Review: In The After by Demitria Lunetta

 In the After
Title: In The After (In The After, #1)
Author: Demitria Lunetta
Publisher:
 HarperTeen

Publication date: June 25, 2013
Genre(s): Young Adult (Post Apocalyptic/Dystopian)
Source: Harper Collins Canada
Format: ARC
Pages: 400
They hear the most silent of footsteps.
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.
In The After started with a bang.. or more accurately towards the book, a silent implode. Because in this world, in order to survive, you have to stay silent, every second of the day. The book is set a couple of years after the apocalypse, with a bit of flashbacks in the beginning to set up the world building. We meet Amy, the sole survivor in her family that consists of her tree hugging father and scientist mother. The only reason she was able to survive was because her family basically set her up with the extra protection her mother took, such as adding an electric fence around the house, and with her dad's organic garden as well as solar panels. 
This apocalypse will make you learn to breath, walk, eat, and sleep without making a single sound, or else They will come. They have supersonic hearing, are lightning fast, and will eat anything that walks across this earth. The beginning of the book was frighting and very sad. Just seeing how Amy found herself all alone in this monster infested world and having to fend for herself indefinitely. Then she finds Baby.. a four year old, in the middle of a supermarket. I have to say that I loved the relationship dynamic between Amy and Baby. Baby truly saved Amy's humanity. She was becoming ruthless and emotionless, traits that you need to acquire if you start living in a world full of monsters as well as other survivors that are ready to kill for anything. The sign language they molded to fit them was fascinating. Baby herself was so mature (the book was set around three years after Amy found Baby so she was around seven years old). I have to say, I enjoyed reading about them and how they were surviving. I love survival books and that was why I enjoyed this part of the book. 
Unfortunately it wasn't all excitement and action going on. This book is split in three sections; The first is what I mentioned, while the second and third were set in New Hope, a sort of camp that housed thousands of survivors and was protected by the most high tech devices and weapons that can be found. When Amy and Baby find themselves in New Hope.. I found myself drifting off and missing the thrill and action of when they were outside. As the synopsis mentions, New Hope isn't the dream place everyone believes it to be. This part of the book felt more dystopian but I personally felt it was lacking. Flash forwards get thrown at us that I did not appreciate as well as a random romance that didn't progress smoothly, but only appeared sporadically. In terms of shocking revelations, Lunetta knows how to write them because I was seriously shocked towards the end of the book. However, I didn't enjoy the whole idea of The Ward and I felt like how the patients were, confused, drunk like, and trying to figure out what the hell is going on. I just felt that nothing much happened in the last two parts of the book. Also, I was quite bummed that Amy and Baby were barely together, their scenes were very short. This was disappointing since they were the heroes of the first part of the book. 
All in all, In The After was a fantastic post apocalyptic novel with a ton of action (at least the first part) as well as big and shocking revelations that will make you want to pick up the second book immediately. 

13 comments:

  1. I am so confused by this book...mostly because so many reviewers seem to be confused about it, lol. Sounds like an action-packed read, for the most part, and scary aliens are always exciting, so I think I'll have to move this up the pile.

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  2. Hmm... It sounds interesting. Not too high on my TBR at the moment but at some point I do plan on getting around to it. Sounds...different haha

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  3. I'm posting my review of this on Monday and it looks we have similar thoughts. I liked the first part, but the going bath and forth between the Ward really distracted me. Also, the big secret was kind of meh.

    Kate @ Ex Libris

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  4. Oh I'm quite excited to read this one! I've heard amazing things about Amy and Baby's relationship, and I'm glad that you thought so as well. They sound like a truly fantastic pair! I'm sorry the second half was a lot slower and less about Amy and Baby. I'll have to look out for that when I read it! Thanks for the honest review, Juhina!

    Jen at Books and Other Happy Ever Afters

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  5. A silent implode! Haha! Well said! I really enjoyed this one! I agree the New Hope sections were not nearly as interesting but I still really liked the MC and Baby. They were an amazing pair with such a great connection that I could really feel throughout. This made the book for me. Glad you enjoyed it! :)

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  6. I am really excited to read this one. I watched the trailer which I normally don't do and it got my attention. I'll have to keep in mind about the New Hope section. Great review.

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  7. I liked the first half better than the 2nd as well. It was way more exiting! The 2nd half was a bore and I didn't like the direction it went in. Great review!

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  8. The shocking revelations and action-packed first part sound fantastic, but that sucks that the sections set in New Hope were a bit disappointing and slow.

    Nice well written, honest review! :)

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  9. #1 I am sending you my address so you can send me your copy! lolz
    I am excited to read this book. I saw it showcased a few weeks ago and was like "I.WANT.NOW!"
    Hopefully it'll live up to my minds hype. Ive had that issue before. Hyping up a book that was not excellent. Just good.
    I'm glad you liked it & I am looking forward to reading it in a few days :)

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  10. I read Rick Yancey's 'The Fifth Wave' recently which I think was better paced than this one (I really enjoyed it). Maybe give that one a shot?

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  11. Big and shocking revelations, I really like that :D It's a shame that the heroes are barely together, but I think this book sounds good enough to try! :) Great review.

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  12. Great review :D Thank you for being honest. <3 I think the cover is interesting, but not a book I would pick up. Glad you liked the first part, but the next two parts do not sound good at all :\ Won't be reading it. But thank you for sharing your thoughts :D
    Thank you for commenting on my mailbox last week. <3
    Love, Carina @ Carina's Books

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  13. Fantastic review, I love how you described the silence and how the survivors needed to adapt to that new way of living! It's a shame that it lost some of it's appeal as it went in but you're not the first blogger who's review mentions they liked the beginning a lot more! Thanks for your honesty, I may still check this out eventually but I'm in no big rush :)

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