Author: Amy Plum
Series: After the End #1
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date:May 6th 2014
Pages: Hardback, 322 Pages
Source: BEA 2014
Summary from Goodreads:
"I have no idea what is truth and what is fiction. I'm all I've got now. I can't trust anyone."
World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.
At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.
When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.
Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.
"I have no idea what is truth and what is fiction. I'm all I've got now. I can't trust anyone."
World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.
At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.
When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.
Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.
Review
After the End took me almost two months to finish. It was a book I actually thought I was not going to finish; I would put it down for a week then pick it up again and read about 30 pages and just lose interest and put it back down. It was not until the last 100 or so pages that I powered through until the end.
"One of the first things Whit taught me was how to connect to the Yara. In order to Read --to make your will known to the Yara and receive an answer, if the Yara decides to grant you one -- you must go through nature."
One of my biggest struggles throughout the story was the 'magic/supernatural' aspects of the story. I just could not get behind the connection with Nature. I felt like there was just not enough explanation and when the connection, the Yara, was referenced I wanted to roll my eyes. Not to mention, the main character's name bugged me. While later in the book there is some explanation about the connection with the Yara, it felt both weak and underdeveloped.
Another major issue I had with the book was the plot. The plot was slow, about two weeks transpired throughout the book, it felt like it was just going on and on yet nothing was happening. Along with the dragging plot, the romance between Juneau and Miles was rushed and seemed rather forced. The POVs alternated between both Miles and Juneau giving the reader both perspectives of the slow moving events. I am struggling to put into words the actual struggle I had with the book. Below is an example of the awkward and heavy handed description of the budding romance.
The worst part is that even though it took me about two months to read and I did not like a lot of aspects about the story, I am still curious about what is going to happen in the next book.
"One of the first things Whit taught me was how to connect to the Yara. In order to Read --to make your will known to the Yara and receive an answer, if the Yara decides to grant you one -- you must go through nature."
One of my biggest struggles throughout the story was the 'magic/supernatural' aspects of the story. I just could not get behind the connection with Nature. I felt like there was just not enough explanation and when the connection, the Yara, was referenced I wanted to roll my eyes. Not to mention, the main character's name bugged me. While later in the book there is some explanation about the connection with the Yara, it felt both weak and underdeveloped.
Another major issue I had with the book was the plot. The plot was slow, about two weeks transpired throughout the book, it felt like it was just going on and on yet nothing was happening. Along with the dragging plot, the romance between Juneau and Miles was rushed and seemed rather forced. The POVs alternated between both Miles and Juneau giving the reader both perspectives of the slow moving events. I am struggling to put into words the actual struggle I had with the book. Below is an example of the awkward and heavy handed description of the budding romance.
"The touch of our skin sets off a reaction in me. I am immediately awake... 100 percent present. And it feels like a whirlwind of thorns is whipping around in my chest, stinging me all over from the inside. That makes it sound painful. It isn't."
The worst part is that even though it took me about two months to read and I did not like a lot of aspects about the story, I am still curious about what is going to happen in the next book.
Bottom Line
Unfortunately, After the End is not a book I am jumping to recommend, even though I really enjoyed the Revenants series. Even with the slow-moving plot, eye-rolling magic, and weak story line, the story had just enough intrigue to keep me from giving up - yet it was a difficult read. If you are really into being "one with nature," After the End may be for you, but otherwise I would pass on it.
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