Reviews

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

nyxaslan's review against another edition

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4.0

4 stars
This was an amazing read tbh. I had a few minor problems with it though. First and foremost, they spoiled the different endings of Darcy's book before you read it. Second, because of the fact that you are reading the final draft while also hearing edits to the first draft, it's very easy to get confused. Third, it seemed like the relationship between Yama and Lizzie went from 0-100 just like that. I also would have liked more clarification on who Jamie is. However, I loved the both stories and I loved how they played in to each other. It gave me a better understanding of YA Heaven is like, and also the struggles of being an 18 year old trying to balance work and love for the first time. I loved the relationship between Darcy and Imogen. It seemed very real and intense. The book was also original. I have never heard about a book within a book before, not until reading this. Both stories were captivating and suitably brutal. Overall, an amazing read for fans of reality and fantasy in one.
FROM NOW ON JAMIE, I'M GOING TO TELL YOU EVERYTHING

lanica's review against another edition

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3.0

Two stories told at the same time, every other chapter.
One - a young girl writes an amazing novel and has to learn how to deal with the expectations of greatness, even though the book is a first draft.
The other - A young girl gains paranormal powers after surviving a terrorist attack.

PERSONAL REVIEW:
I LOVE Scott Westerfeld's books. I do. But this one was...soft. It had a malleable plot, a bunch of fuzzy characters, a wishy-washy setting. It was good, but not great. Unfortunately for this book I have come to expect greatness from Mr. Westerfeld. I enjoyed the book, but as I finished it I was left with a feeling of sadness that it was not as good as it could have been. He has a few amazing ideas, but they don't grow into anything...they fizzle. Sigh.

LIBRARIAN REVIEW:
A book I think would be great for many young adult readers. It is an interesting way of explaining the realities of the publishing world. I would love to book-club it with some of my more mature kids. There are some amazing discussions that could come from reading this. I love his writing style, and a few of his characters are great. I like the setting of the underworld in the paranormal sections, and I think that a young reader would enjoy the book more than I, an older and more jaded reader, did.

Notes to those who are thinking of adding it to their library collection without reading it. You need to know...
Spoiler The main female character is gay and has a wonderful (although not graphic) relationship with another woman. (I'm not hiding this because she is gay, I'm hiding it because finding out she is gay is a wonderful little scene in the book.)

Also, there are a lot of the word 'Fuck' in this book, a few in the early chapters, and more often as the book goes on.

maresuju's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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everthereader's review against another edition

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4.0

When I first started reading, I found it pretty cool that the author instead of going to college she was going to publish a book.Many people were confused a irritated with the whole two worlds thing where tehy were swiching between the book and Darcy. I actually found it pretty cool.

paizliibubs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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nduhr10's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

esppperanza's review against another edition

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2.0

This book is very unique and unlike anything I have read before. It only took me two weeks to read because Darcy loved to talk about her book and never let Imogen talk about Pyromancer. Also, Lizzie and Yamaraj's relationship annoyed me. I didn't ship them at all.

jnlletrry's review against another edition

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3.0

http://youprobablywontagree.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/afterworlds-scott-westerfeld/

jadziadax's review against another edition

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Ugh. I loved, loved the Leviathan books...but this? Nope. A. The love interest is five years older than the barely legal protagonist. Not really romantic. B. A 18 year old got an agent/made money? I wish. C. The writing just wasn't as strong.
Disappointing.

somarostam's review against another edition

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3.0

I've heard about Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series ever since I started blogging. It had a lot of fans, but I never got around to reading it. But when I was given this book for review, I thought it was finally the time to find out what all the hype about the author was.
Darcy is a writer. She's just written her novel, Afterworlds, and now she is moving to NY to fulfill her dreams. But being an author comes with a lot of expectations and insecurities that Darcy doesn't think she can handle. Lizzy's life changes when she survives a massacre by playing dead. Now, she can see ghosts and wondering things from other planes. It is definitely not what she expected her senior year to be.
This book is divided into two stories. There is Darcy's story, her normal natural life as an author in NY. And then, there is her novel, Afterworlds, which is told in alternating chapters throughout the novel. So we have Lizzie, the main character in Darcy's novel, and we read her story alongside Darcy's. That was kind of fascinating. Since one chapter, you are in a normal mundane world, then you are transported to a paranormal world filled with spiritual beings.
The thing is, I found myself liking Darcy's story much more than I did Lizzie's. Which is the reason I gave this book 3 instead of 5. I found myself reading Darcy's story and being intrigued with her. But when it was Lizzie's chapter, I couldn't wait to get it over with. I didn't want Darcy's chapters to finish just so I wouldn't read Lizzie's. And that really stopped me from enjoying this book as much as I hoped I would.
Another part that I loved was the references to the publishing industry in NY. It felt real, there were all these authors, and these reading parties, and launch parties, and author signings, and debutantes. It was so fascinating reading about all that. But the whole afterworlds and ghosts and paranormal beings didn't intrigue me.
The romance also plays a huge part in this novel. There is Darcy''s romance with her fellow author, which I am not going to mention. In order not to ruin the story, but the potential love interest was definitely not who I expected. Lizzie's love interest, Yama, was just as shallow as she was. I found their chemistry unbelievable and just plain weird.
Overall, I found myself really enjoying some parts of this book and despising the others. But I am pretty sure that there are readers out there who absolutely loved Lizzie. Now, I am definitely disappointed for Scott Westerfeld but I will be reading his Uglies series soon.. Although his book won't make it into my favorites, it was still a very enjoyable read.