A review by beetective
The After-Room by Maile Meloy
3.0
A few months have passed since the Apothecary’s death, Benjamin now lives with the Scotts in their brand-new household (apartment or house I cannot remember, it’s not important), moved once again because Janie’s parents are having a hard time with finding work. Ben then discovers a new use for the powder that he had invented in the last book to communicate with Janie: talking to the dead in a place he dubs the ‘After-Room’. Using this powder, he talks with his recently deceased father to help clear his conscious, but to also help their friend Jin-Lo find a rogue American determined to get back at the Chinese by exploding a bomb near their leader.
While I did not find this installment as weak as The Apprentices, The After-Room still has its sore spots. The Apothecary remains the peak of the series, mainly for lack of direction. I felt that the story wasn’t that consistent or concise, leaping from one point to the next. Again, like in the last book, so much was happening yet so little. There is also still the aspect of little consequences: Janie pretty much comes back from the dead by getting kissed by Benjamin, with only slight shivers to show for it. It’s not a huge complaint, I don’t expect her to be permanently disabled or die, it just feels too light of an ending when Benjamin essentially played with death. Another nit-pick was with Jin-Lo, the sudden wedding with Maddox (Ned Maddox? the isolated stationed American soldier, you know the one) and the overall relationship felt somewhat…forced. The chemistry there felt stiff, but maybe that’s just because of how Jin-Lo is written: hard and analytical. The only other complaint I have is with Janie, again. Throughout the novel she somehow learns telekinesis, this in itself is another underexplained aspect. So far we’ve had everything explained with somewhat of a grounding, everything they do like turning into birds (drinking a solution that changes the structure of the body) or turning invisible (bathing naked in a solution) has had proper steps and explanation on how to achieve it, Janie just knows. It’s not like it’s really important anyway, nothing comes of it, so it's really a mute addition.
My feelings towards the characters are much of the same as before. Janie continues to be put in danger, though she actually tries to help the situation instead of actively making it worse this time. She and Ben are pretty…meh. Didn’t really care whether they ended up together or not, the only time their relationship felt like something rooting for was two books ago. Pip is…there. Mr. Danby isn’t much of a threat, nor feels like a proper final villain for a trilogy. He just straight up disappears at the end, with no real conclusion to be seen. Janie’s parents are painfully unaware of their child, though I understand they are more of a ‘free roam’ type of parent.
Overall, I think The After-Room is in the middle ground of quality. Worse than The Apothecary, better than The Apprentices. It leaves much to be desired, though could be much worse in how it was handled.
Rating: 6/10
While I did not find this installment as weak as The Apprentices, The After-Room still has its sore spots. The Apothecary remains the peak of the series, mainly for lack of direction. I felt that the story wasn’t that consistent or concise, leaping from one point to the next. Again, like in the last book, so much was happening yet so little. There is also still the aspect of little consequences: Janie pretty much comes back from the dead by getting kissed by Benjamin, with only slight shivers to show for it. It’s not a huge complaint, I don’t expect her to be permanently disabled or die, it just feels too light of an ending when Benjamin essentially played with death. Another nit-pick was with Jin-Lo, the sudden wedding with Maddox (Ned Maddox? the isolated stationed American soldier, you know the one) and the overall relationship felt somewhat…forced. The chemistry there felt stiff, but maybe that’s just because of how Jin-Lo is written: hard and analytical. The only other complaint I have is with Janie, again. Throughout the novel she somehow learns telekinesis, this in itself is another underexplained aspect. So far we’ve had everything explained with somewhat of a grounding, everything they do like turning into birds (drinking a solution that changes the structure of the body) or turning invisible (bathing naked in a solution) has had proper steps and explanation on how to achieve it, Janie just knows. It’s not like it’s really important anyway, nothing comes of it, so it's really a mute addition.
My feelings towards the characters are much of the same as before. Janie continues to be put in danger, though she actually tries to help the situation instead of actively making it worse this time. She and Ben are pretty…meh. Didn’t really care whether they ended up together or not, the only time their relationship felt like something rooting for was two books ago. Pip is…there. Mr. Danby isn’t much of a threat, nor feels like a proper final villain for a trilogy. He just straight up disappears at the end, with no real conclusion to be seen. Janie’s parents are painfully unaware of their child, though I understand they are more of a ‘free roam’ type of parent.
Overall, I think The After-Room is in the middle ground of quality. Worse than The Apothecary, better than The Apprentices. It leaves much to be desired, though could be much worse in how it was handled.
Rating: 6/10