UPDATE 07/03/2021 - Quick reread before I read book 2!

Well I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I was totally blindsided at one point which, to me, is a reflection of how absorbed I was in this post apocalyptic story. My jaw literally dropped and I actually said out loud "Well. I did not see that coming". I know, I have a way with words.

The first part of the book is filled with a quiet tension...(if you've read the book you will appreciate that little joke). Flesh eating aliens have decimated the population and Amy is in full survival mode. Yes, it's all very convenient that she is rich and lives in a house that is surrounded by an electric fence and her parents had a gun in the house etc. Don't dwell too much on that stuff and just go with the flow I say. I like that her survival instincts are quite strong which results in a couple of dark little scenes where she uses the aliens to her advantage. She finds Baby and together they forge a rough but contented existence in this new world. Their connection felt real and I loved them.

The story takes a turn in pace when they are 'rescued". What happens from here is told in two different time lines as Amy tries to make sense of where she is and what their new lives will look like. For this reason the story does slow down as they adjust to having other people in their lives. To me the writer captured Amy's state of confusion incredibly well as she becomes more of an unreliable narrator. I felt a bit lost and didn't know what was happening. This was a good thing because that is exactly how Amy felt. I like it when an author subjects us to this type of immersive experience because as clarity comes for Amy, we share in her discovery.

A totally engaging book and I will definitely be following the series through. ( )

Zombielike creatures have taken over the world but Amy has managed to survive for several years with a toddler in her fortress-like apartment. A chain of events leads her to a compound that’s safe from the creatures, but will this protected colony turn out to be a dystopia? ( )

5* ( )

In the After by Demitria Lunetta opens with the story of Amy, a survivor of an apparent alien invasion. She is the only child of a scientist mother and hippie father, both of whom are out on the day the aliens arrive and are presumed dead. The aliens are predators that hunt humans down in order to devour them and although their eyesight isn’t good their hearing is exceptional and Amy has to learn how to live soundlessly. She finds a young child, names her Baby, and the two live together in absolute silence.

One night while out scavenging they are captured and taken into an aircraft. Amy fears that the aliens have them, but to her surprise they have been picked up by humans who take them to a safe community of survivors, called New Hope. Amy and Baby now must learn to fit into a society that has very set rules and regulations. Amy, ever curious, doesn’t just accept the surface reasons but digs deeper and unearths some major secrets that change everything for her and place her in great danger.

In the After is the first part of a YA sci-fi adventure story that places the reader in the center of the action right from the first paragraph. These alien creatures are deadly and Amy must use all her survival skills to keep her and Baby alive. Once the girls have been taken to New Hope the style of the book changes and the story now unfolds in a series of flashbacks. The ending is abrupt and leaves us with a lot of questions which I am sure the second volume will be dealing with. Overall I found this an average read with the first half of the book being stronger than the second. I will be reading on as I have the sequel on my shelves and I am interested enough to want to find out what happens next. ( )

I love post apocalyptic and zombie books because I enjoy reading about how people can adapt and survive even the most unthinkable circumstances. In the After was a little post-apocalyptic thriller, a little zombie-ish, a little sci-fi alien invasion and a little bit dystopian. So many of the elements I enjoy wrapped up in one book, it's easy to see why I was so excited to read this and maybe why I had such high expectations for it.

I absolutely enjoyed the beginning of the book. The world building in the opening scenes painted a vivid picture of how quickly the world became a terrifying and dangerous place inhabited by creatures drawn to light and sound. I was fascinated by the way Amy and Baby had created a non-verbal way of communicating that was based on sign language but was adapted to work in their specific circumstances. I thought that the author did a great job creating a feeling of resignation and hopelessness in the characters but still that spirit to survive and persevere.

Where In the After fell short for me was in the second half, after Amy & Baby's "rescue". I spent most of the book feeling alternately confused and annoyed with the direction that the story seemed to be taking. The dystopic society that was created didn't seem entirely plausible and just felt loosely constructed. The interactions between the characters felt awkward and artificial, the romance wasn't believable, and most of the relationships felt forced. This was a bit of a disappointment since I had so enjoyed the world building in the beginning.

Ultimately, In the After was an okay read. I don't know if I will continue with the series since I didn't really like the direction the story went. However, I would still recommend it to fans of zombie, post apoc, sci fi, and dystopic themed books. ( )