offinherownmind's review against another edition
3.0
3.5*
Dual stories. One story tells of Darcy a new author who moved to New York trying to complete revisions and a sequel. The other telling the story of Darcy's book.
Likes
-female/female romance between Darcy
-all the talk of the publishing world, It's interesting to read
-indian/Hindu representation with Darcy and Yamaraj
-the concept of having two stories running next to one another
-the growth of Darcy
-Darcy's parents sing accepting/understanding of Darcy having a girlfriend
Dislikes
-Darcy's obsession with beer. I can't see how she would get away with drinking all the time.
Overall, I enjoyed this. It's not a favorite of mine. Im not sure who's story I enjoyed more, Darcy's or Lizzie's. I always would get so wrapped up in one that when it switched I'd contemplate skipping ahead, but then I'd become entrapped in the other story.
Dual stories. One story tells of Darcy a new author who moved to New York trying to complete revisions and a sequel. The other telling the story of Darcy's book.
Likes
-female/female romance between Darcy
-all the talk of the publishing world, It's interesting to read
-indian/Hindu representation with Darcy and Yamaraj
-the concept of having two stories running next to one another
-the growth of Darcy
-Darcy's parents sing accepting/understanding of Darcy having a girlfriend
Dislikes
-Darcy's obsession with beer. I can't see how she would get away with drinking all the time.
Overall, I enjoyed this. It's not a favorite of mine. Im not sure who's story I enjoyed more, Darcy's or Lizzie's. I always would get so wrapped up in one that when it switched I'd contemplate skipping ahead, but then I'd become entrapped in the other story.
trin_ney18's review against another edition
3.0
Can Books Depress You?
I liked this book. I've never read anything like it and I sorta went into it not knowing what was going to happen. I didn't realize that we would be getting Darcy's story and then the story she wrote for herself. I thought it would be more fantasy starting to clash with reality. Kind of like Inkheart but instead of reading the words and them becoming true it would've been writing the words and them becoming true. I was wrong, big time. But I still really liked it's alternating universes. It was super cool.
So this book did make me cry. I was quite hysterical towards the end but that means it was good enough to get me invested in the characters. For future readers of this book, don't be scared by the size. I find myself constantly in reading slumps because the size of a book has scared me and I don't want to read it. I mean this book moved so fast that I could read about 100 pages a night. The book gives you an insight on what the publishing world is like and for aspiring writers it's really something that I would recommend reading so you can have an idea of what'll happen.
This book also really bothered me. I just didn't care for the writing style. There was a lot of usage of the term "as if" and you could just tell that it was a book written by someone. Very seldom did I find myself getting sucked into the worlds of the book and that's what I want. There was only once that I came away exhausted because of getting into it so much that it takes energy. Also, there were parts in which I preferred one story over another so I couldn't truly appreciate the chapter I was on because I wanted to get to the next one so quick.
Honestly, I don't know if this book depressed me or if I'm just tired from staying up reading it so late but either way I think I would recommend this to my friends.
I liked this book. I've never read anything like it and I sorta went into it not knowing what was going to happen. I didn't realize that we would be getting Darcy's story and then the story she wrote for herself. I thought it would be more fantasy starting to clash with reality. Kind of like Inkheart but instead of reading the words and them becoming true it would've been writing the words and them becoming true. I was wrong, big time. But I still really liked it's alternating universes. It was super cool.
So this book did make me cry. I was quite hysterical towards the end but that means it was good enough to get me invested in the characters. For future readers of this book, don't be scared by the size. I find myself constantly in reading slumps because the size of a book has scared me and I don't want to read it. I mean this book moved so fast that I could read about 100 pages a night. The book gives you an insight on what the publishing world is like and for aspiring writers it's really something that I would recommend reading so you can have an idea of what'll happen.
This book also really bothered me. I just didn't care for the writing style. There was a lot of usage of the term "as if" and you could just tell that it was a book written by someone. Very seldom did I find myself getting sucked into the worlds of the book and that's what I want. There was only once that I came away exhausted because of getting into it so much that it takes energy. Also, there were parts in which I preferred one story over another so I couldn't truly appreciate the chapter I was on because I wanted to get to the next one so quick.
Honestly, I don't know if this book depressed me or if I'm just tired from staying up reading it so late but either way I think I would recommend this to my friends.
jerihurd's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 actually . Definitely better than Leviathan series, though not as good as Uglies. Interesting to see him pushing himself, going more "literary" with the very "meta" aspect of the novel, the sendup of the YA publishing world, etc. Contrary to many others, I didn't find the alternating chapters off-putting at all, and they were interesting commentary on each other.
dlberglund's review against another edition
4.0
Solid 4+ stars. I really, really, liked this book, and the story-within-a-story. It is first the story of Darcy, an 18-year-old who has just been given a two-book publishing deal. She puts off college to move to New York and write like a real writer. She shows us frank pieces of the publishing world; I learned a lot as she learned to navigate that world.
Then, we have the alternating chapters, which ARE the chapters of Darcy's new book. In these chapters, Lizzie is a high school senior in California, who develops supernatural powers after a near-death experience. I loved her story, too, and rooted for her as she learned to navigate the afterworlds.
Some chapters were scary enough that I practically had to put them in the freezer (or at least turn off the audiobook and listen to Taylor Swift for a minute), but I found both stories within the book captivating in their own ways.
Then, we have the alternating chapters, which ARE the chapters of Darcy's new book. In these chapters, Lizzie is a high school senior in California, who develops supernatural powers after a near-death experience. I loved her story, too, and rooted for her as she learned to navigate the afterworlds.
Some chapters were scary enough that I practically had to put them in the freezer (or at least turn off the audiobook and listen to Taylor Swift for a minute), but I found both stories within the book captivating in their own ways.
burstnwithbooks's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars/5 because I didn't really like Lizzie's story.
marianavert's review against another edition
3.0
La primera vez que lo leí le di 5 estrellas, 3 años después lo releí y no comprendo por qué me había gustado tanto la primera vez que lo leí.
Es una historia original pero la historia de Darcy me parece relleno.
Es una historia original pero la historia de Darcy me parece relleno.
suhbreenah's review against another edition
5.0
Okay. To begin. I understand that some aspects of Darcy's narration may not be realistic at all, but I came here to be entertained. And I loved this book.
I have never related to a main character as much as I related to Darcy. I absolutely adored her. I loved her relationship with Imogen and I feel like I completely understand everything that happened between them. They may have moved seemingly fast but I still enjoyed it that way. Though I will say Imogen's backstory kind of weirded me out a lot. All of the book tour scenes were fun and I liked how Darcy managed to incorporate herself within YA society. Standerson was very clever and I really felt like his character was very real for having so little book time. I was excited about the BEA mention and it just made me want to go that much more. I feel like Darcy's experiences within the story really made this book for me and I haven't been so pleased with that kind of narration in a long time so much applause to Scott Westerfeld.
Now about Afterworlds. I'm not sure how much I would've enjoyed that story on its own, but I adored it as a part of this book. It added so much depth to Darcy and I really felt like it was being revealed along with Darcy's story very well. It was so much more interesting to hear the ideas behind everything. It read as if written by a debut author, and it just felt like an extra added surprise for the whole book. The ideas of the Hindu origin made it very unique among other things I've read before and the whole concept was new to me and I was surprised to enjoy it so much.
All in all I felt like the two narratives entwined this story complimented each other beautifully. I loved Scott Westerfeld's modern ideas of romance, and I hated being away from this book. The only things I could possibly truly write negative comments for were geared more towards Afterworlds itself simply because I preferred Darcy's storyline slightly more.
I have never related to a main character as much as I related to Darcy. I absolutely adored her. I loved her relationship with Imogen and I feel like I completely understand everything that happened between them. They may have moved seemingly fast but I still enjoyed it that way. Though I will say Imogen's backstory kind of weirded me out a lot.
Spoiler
I understand that her using Imogen White's name was supposed to be super meaningful and whatnot but I honestly still found it a little odd? It just seemed like a really big thing to tribute, especially to someone she hasn't been happy with. I did like the reasoning behind Imogen's pen name and I found that part of the story really emotional and it hit home pretty well. While Darcy's response may seem a little shallow I feel like I would've acted that way in her position as well.Now about Afterworlds. I'm not sure how much I would've enjoyed that story on its own, but I adored it as a part of this book. It added so much depth to Darcy and I really felt like it was being revealed along with Darcy's story very well. It was so much more interesting to hear the ideas behind everything. It read as if written by a debut author, and it just felt like an extra added surprise for the whole book. The ideas of the Hindu origin made it very unique among other things I've read before and the whole concept was new to me and I was surprised to enjoy it so much.
All in all I felt like the two narratives entwined this story complimented each other beautifully. I loved Scott Westerfeld's modern ideas of romance, and I hated being away from this book. The only things I could possibly truly write negative comments for were geared more towards Afterworlds itself simply because I preferred Darcy's storyline slightly more.
wombat_88's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
forsakenfates's review against another edition
4.0
"The real world worked differently than stories. In a novel you always knew the moment when something Happened, when someone Changed. But real life was full of gradual, piecemeal, continuous transformation. It was full of accidents and undefinables, and things that just happened on their own."
I'm not really sure how to review this book because it really is two books in one. On the one had we have Darcy's story that focuses on her journey to publish her debut novel Afterworlds. Then we have Lizzie (the main character in Afterworlds) and her story after the attack in Dallas. These stories are clearly separated since odd chapters are Darcy and even chapters are Lizzie with the black top and bottom bars. The top and bottom black bars on Lizzie's story were incredibly helpful when it came to reading this book, since there was not a huge different in the writing style between the two stories.
The idea for this story was absolutely fascinating. I really enjoyed how we got to see Darcy on her journey to publication and seeing how she worried about all the little things in the book. We even got behind the scenes information about the book and what was going to happen to Lizzie. However, while I loved this foray into the publishing industry, I feel like things went a little to easy for Darcy. She did not really have the hardships I associate with the industry. Imogen kind of touches on this luck towards the end of the book, but there were still some aspects of the book that seemed too good to be true when it came to Darcy's journey.
As for Lizzie's story, from the start when the attack happens at the airport, I was drawn into what would happen to her and Yama. I loved the world that was created with the Underworld and the ghosts. I think my preference toward the supernatural, fantasy type books is what made Lizzie's story more appealing to me, but once we got further into Darcy's story, she did become more interesting to me and I began to enjoy her story just as much as Lizzie.
One of the things that is really weird to me is how throughout Darcy's story we hear about Untitled Patel and she even writes the draft of it in this book. But then Afterworlds ends and we never learn the conclusion to the story between Lizzie, Yama, Yami, and even Mindy. I really loved these characters and the ending of those chapters left their stories very open. As far as I know there is no sequel in the works for this book, so I'm slightly annoyed that we will never learn what happens to Darcy post publication or what will happen to Lizzie and Yama.
I'm not really sure how to review this book because it really is two books in one. On the one had we have Darcy's story that focuses on her journey to publish her debut novel Afterworlds. Then we have Lizzie (the main character in Afterworlds) and her story after the attack in Dallas. These stories are clearly separated since odd chapters are Darcy and even chapters are Lizzie with the black top and bottom bars. The top and bottom black bars on Lizzie's story were incredibly helpful when it came to reading this book, since there was not a huge different in the writing style between the two stories.
The idea for this story was absolutely fascinating. I really enjoyed how we got to see Darcy on her journey to publication and seeing how she worried about all the little things in the book. We even got behind the scenes information about the book and what was going to happen to Lizzie. However, while I loved this foray into the publishing industry, I feel like things went a little to easy for Darcy. She did not really have the hardships I associate with the industry. Imogen kind of touches on this luck towards the end of the book, but there were still some aspects of the book that seemed too good to be true when it came to Darcy's journey.
As for Lizzie's story, from the start when the attack happens at the airport, I was drawn into what would happen to her and Yama. I loved the world that was created with the Underworld and the ghosts. I think my preference toward the supernatural, fantasy type books is what made Lizzie's story more appealing to me, but once we got further into Darcy's story, she did become more interesting to me and I began to enjoy her story just as much as Lizzie.
One of the things that is really weird to me is how throughout Darcy's story we hear about Untitled Patel and she even writes the draft of it in this book. But then Afterworlds ends and we never learn the conclusion to the story between Lizzie, Yama, Yami, and even Mindy. I really loved these characters and the ending of those chapters left their stories very open. As far as I know there is no sequel in the works for this book, so I'm slightly annoyed that we will never learn what happens to Darcy post publication or what will happen to Lizzie and Yama.
girlreading's review against another edition
4.0
3.75* There are a lot of mixed reviews for Afterworlds, so I was a bit hesitant about picking it up but I'm glad I did. I really enjoyed reading all about the publishing world and having a little glimpse into authors lives during Darcy's chapters. I found that so intriguing! I thought Lizzie's chapters were fun too, but over all, I felt the book as a whole was a little bit disjointed. It's described as 'a novel within a novel' which is defiantly is, although I found that it just felt like two totally different books (which I'm guessing was the point). I'm just not entirely sure how well it worked! I enjoyed both stories but I felt as though whenever I was getting into a chapter, I was very quickly pulled away from that world into a totally new one. I don't feel I got to know the characters and their stories as well as I could have. It just left me wanting to know more about both Lizzie's and Darcy's stories. I almost wanted a separate book for the both of them. Overall, I did enjoy Afterworlds and I'm glad I read it, but I now understand why the reviews for this book are so mixed.