In the After by Demitria Lunetta

Release Date: 25th June, 2013

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 400pgs

The Story

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.

The Review

A big thanks to the publisher on Edelweiss for accepting my request in reading this book early!

The first word that comes to mind with this book is . . . intense. At one moment, I thought the book was going to go one way but then the next thing I knew it went in a completely different direction not to mention in a completely different genre than I first expected of it and I SO loved being surprised like that. I think a lot of readers will definitely be satisfied with this book right here!

IN THE AFTER was a very haunting and smoothly-written book that hits all of the high notes for me. With just enough description of things without going overboard and with just the right amount of characterization and depth added onto the storyline, I thought this book was definitely well-written in all aspects. So while some elements of the book may not entirely be original to some readers, but I think what readers can take away from the book and what they will love the most of all is seeing our main heroine, Amy, grow throughout the book from this toughened teenage girl to this young, all-inspiring young woman. It's definitely one of my own highlights out of everything I just read. I just love seeing my main characters grow!

Amy, our leading girl, is a fantastic young main heroine. Right from the beginning she's this tough, very harsh and a very unforgiving girl who has a very little - if no - connection to other human beings apart from this little girl named Baby, and I think that's why I loved her as a character. I think pretty much anyone in her position would be exactly like that considering the world she lives in is crumbling all around her and it just gives off this realism vibe which, I guess, made me enjoy the book even more than I already did. Her sacrifices, her survival, her mere determination in everything that she does . . . it's definitely something you can't loose respect for in a main character . . . it just makes you love them even more for being as strong as they are and Amy is one those kind of heroines. She never stops fighting!

Overall, IN THE AFTER is a pretty graphic and a somewhat very terrifying world that the author slowly opens  up to us all. With a fantastic crossover between I Am Legend and The War of the Worlds, I think any sci-fi and dystopian fan will definitely love this book and the story it tells. It's definitely something you cannot miss out on!

The Rating

4/5 stars