lyrrael's review against another edition
2.0
Afterworlds is a book told in two storylines -- the first, that of Darcy Patel, the author of the book Afterworlds, who writes the book in a month during high school and is very quickly picked up by a publisher. She puts college on hold, and moves to New York to write the rest of the series and get some serious exposure to the writing world; the other, that of her protagonist, Lizzie, who finds she can move between the world of the living and the world of the dead following a terrorist attack, and who just wants to make things work, protect her friends, and maybe have a little more to do with this mysterious boy she's met in the other world.
Unfortunately, I had to put this book down at around 40%, because both Darcy and Lizzie were just too shallow for me to deal with well, and that's fair, because I'm not the target audience. I was gritting my teeth during Darcy's portions of the book because it was just too... you know, handwavey. She's hanging out with tons of authors, and it's all so easy... I ended up looking forward to Lizzie's parts of the book, but even then, there were times I just wanted to yell, "Dude, really? Don't be a dumbass." After too many of those, I realized I just wasn't enjoying myself and moved on. Again, I am not the target audience -- a mid-teen range would be very much at home in this book.
Related: I am very, very glad to see young adult starting to look at nontraditional relationships and sexual orientations. Kudos, Mr. Westerfeld.
Unfortunately, I had to put this book down at around 40%, because both Darcy and Lizzie were just too shallow for me to deal with well, and that's fair, because I'm not the target audience. I was gritting my teeth during Darcy's portions of the book because it was just too... you know, handwavey. She's hanging out with tons of authors, and it's all so easy... I ended up looking forward to Lizzie's parts of the book, but even then, there were times I just wanted to yell, "Dude, really? Don't be a dumbass." After too many of those, I realized I just wasn't enjoying myself and moved on. Again, I am not the target audience -- a mid-teen range would be very much at home in this book.
Related: I am very, very glad to see young adult starting to look at nontraditional relationships and sexual orientations. Kudos, Mr. Westerfeld.
j_ritt02's review
5.0
I loved this book! I found lizzie's story very much like a book I would read. Darcy inspired me because I love to write. I liked how we found a little about Imogen at a time, and really liked that character. I felt like this book was inspiring and made it okay to be who we are.
amarylissw's review
1.0
This is the third series I've tried by Scott Westerfeld, and I think it will be the last. The book started out well enough, but honestly, nearly halfway through the book and I cannot see why we're subjected to having to read two books at once with seemingly no connection between them other than the fact that one MC wrote the other.
Darcy's story was one long drag and yes, I will say it, too, unrealistic. It's highly unlikely that she would be picked up so early with hardly no troubles or waiting and get paid so much for someone who only read the first chapter. (It wasn't that good of a first chapter, by the way.)
Ugh. I'm not sure why so many people enjoy this author's books.
Darcy's story was one long drag and yes, I will say it, too, unrealistic. It's highly unlikely that she would be picked up so early with hardly no troubles or waiting and get paid so much for someone who only read the first chapter. (It wasn't that good of a first chapter, by the way.)
Ugh. I'm not sure why so many people enjoy this author's books.
chloe852's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
emtheauthor's review
4.0
I really can't believe I haven't heard of this book before. I don't know how it's not more popular (an awesome new idea by Scott Westerfeld anyone?) and how in the world I found a beautiful new hardcover edition in the Barnes and Noble clearance bin. But I did. And I was stoked.
I've never read a book quite like this one: it's about a high school senior named Darcy who gets an amazing publishing deal for her novel 'Afterworlds'. She leaves her somewhat reserved family in Philly and moves to the dazzling New York City to chase her dream and immerse herself in the new publishing world she wants so badly to be a part of. However, every chapter switches between Darcy's quest for authorship and the novel she wrote.
At first, I wasn't really jiving with the story of Lizzie in 'Afterworlds' and found myself wishing to just read about Darcy. I loved Darcy. I loved her and everyone she met, and I love the way we saw her grow and change and learn. Plus, as a teenage author, I devoured through her story, living vicariously (with some jealousy, I'll admit) at the wonderful and terrifying and exhausting life of getting published. I loved every part of her journey.
The problem was, I didn't like 'Afterworlds' the novel from the start. The first chapter was soooo good, but then it quickly changed to almost supernatural in some ways, and I didn't like that as much. I also didn't really like the love interest at first. It took several chapters before I came to like Darcy's novel. By the middle though, I came to love it. I wanted to know what happened. And while it was somewhat beautifully frustrating to get so involved in one of their stories, only to have it switch at the chapter break, my absolute favorite thing was watching how the stories interwove together. Maybe it's just because I'm a writer, so I know the feeling, but I thought it was so well done. Especially the endings. It was amazing to see how Darcy and Lizzie influenced and directed each other, and it truly illustrates just how fiction can come to life.
Rated 4/5 for such a refreshing and clever idea, brilliant storytelling, and writer's love
I've never read a book quite like this one: it's about a high school senior named Darcy who gets an amazing publishing deal for her novel 'Afterworlds'. She leaves her somewhat reserved family in Philly and moves to the dazzling New York City to chase her dream and immerse herself in the new publishing world she wants so badly to be a part of. However, every chapter switches between Darcy's quest for authorship and the novel she wrote.
At first, I wasn't really jiving with the story of Lizzie in 'Afterworlds' and found myself wishing to just read about Darcy. I loved Darcy. I loved her and everyone she met, and I love the way we saw her grow and change and learn. Plus, as a teenage author, I devoured through her story, living vicariously (with some jealousy, I'll admit) at the wonderful and terrifying and exhausting life of getting published. I loved every part of her journey.
The problem was, I didn't like 'Afterworlds' the novel from the start. The first chapter was soooo good, but then it quickly changed to almost supernatural in some ways, and I didn't like that as much. I also didn't really like the love interest at first. It took several chapters before I came to like Darcy's novel. By the middle though, I came to love it. I wanted to know what happened. And while it was somewhat beautifully frustrating to get so involved in one of their stories, only to have it switch at the chapter break, my absolute favorite thing was watching how the stories interwove together. Maybe it's just because I'm a writer, so I know the feeling, but I thought it was so well done. Especially the endings. It was amazing to see how Darcy and Lizzie influenced and directed each other, and it truly illustrates just how fiction can come to life.
Rated 4/5 for such a refreshing and clever idea, brilliant storytelling, and writer's love
myrmaid's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lexkazokas's review
4.0
I like the concept of how Darcy is an author and how it includes the novel that Darcy wrote. It is quite creative.
alicechannington's review
5.0
I loved the story... only one thing that really bugged me; how did Lizzie know where the bad man lived? Mindy was buried in the backyard of her parents'. Anna lived across from Mindy. Her murder was never resolved. How did Lizzie know where he lived? She had a connection to Anna's childhood house, but she couldn't have known where he lived simply because she knew where her mom used to live in as a child.