[Book & Audiobook Review] In the After by Demitria Lunetta

AUDIOBOOK
In the After
By Demitria Lunetta
Narrated By Julia Whelan
Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
Scheduled Release Date: 06-25-13
PUBLISHER
Harper Audio
Buy the Audio
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Attack.

Not isolated.

Fate of Americans: unknown.

Amy is watching TV when the world is attacked by Them. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to survive - and even rescue "Baby" - a toddler she finds in an abandoned supermarket.

Then, after years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream, with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she'll lose Baby - and much more.  

At a Glance:

In the After was a fantastically intense post-apocalyptic thriller.   When zombie-like aliens invade the world, eating their way through humanity, Amy has to learn how to survive, and how this could have happened in the first place.  The story is fast-paced and exciting, and the mysteries, though not all that mysterious, are still worth discovering.  This book is perfect for fans of aliens, zombies, mysteries, and post-apocalypse survival.

The Audiobook:

I really enjoyed this audiobook!  Julia Whalen did an incredible job of thrusting me into this thriller and making me forget anything and everything but Amy and her plight.  Her narration was great, and the voices she had for each of the characters were believable, and unique for each person.  The male voices were really well done, also!  If you're looking for an exciting audiobook, definitely give this one a shot!

In the After:

"The After" is what Amy calls the world she lives in after the zombie-aliens invade the earth.   This world is one messed up freaky-creeptastic world.  It was so scary to think about! *Shivers*  It reminded me of I Am Legend, and the previews I've seen for World War Z.  When the invasion happens, Amy is fortunate to be safe in her house which is protected by an electric fence.  She often has to leave to scavenge for food and supplies, though, and that's when things get so freaky!  The aliens have incredible hearing, so Amy has to be incredibly quiet when she goes out.  Any noise at all, a twig snapping, shoes squeaking, an inadvertent sneeze, will bring them snarling.  And if they find you, there's no escaping.

Oh Baby:

On one of these raids, Amy finds a toddler that she calls Baby.  Baby may only be a toddler, but she has learned to be quiet.  In fact, Amy and Baby are so quiet, that for the years they're together, they don't speak a word.  They learn to communicate through sign language.  I found this to be incredibly fascinating.  I also really loved the relationship between Amy and Baby.  It isn't often that a YA book is focused on family relationships, but if there was one thing that defined this entire book, I'd say it was the love of Amy and Baby.  Amy practically adopts Baby, and she is a fantastic older sister.  I loved to see the way they loved each other.  Fantastically done!

A New Hope:

The second half of the book took a completely different direction.  I didn't like it as much as the first half, but I still really enjoyed it.  Amy and Baby are rescued and are brought to a survival camp called New Hope.  There they learn that humanity is trying to fight back, but Amy isn't sure she agrees with all their methods.  This is, of course, where Amy meets a boy, Rice (long story), but surprisingly the romance doesn't take over.  In fact, it's barely even a thought.  Normally, this might bother me (I'm pretty high on the romance part) but this book was so interesting and full of action that I hardly noticed.  There are some mysterious happenings, but they're not too hard to figure out.  Still, I enjoyed watching Amy uncover them, and I'm looking forward to finding out more about some of the things that weren't explained yet in the next installment.

Book Doppelgangers:

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy (so good!), The Forest of Hands and Teeth (also so good) by Carrie Ryan

Content:

• Profantiy: Mild/Moderate
• Sexual Content: Mild
• Violence: Heavy

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