AFTER THE RED RAIN by Barry Lyga // Strugglin

Review by Kaitlin

AFTER THE RED RAIN
by Barry Lyga
with Peter Facinelli and Robert DeFranco
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (August 4, 2015)
Language: English
Goodreads | Amazon

A postapocalyptic novel with a cinematic twist from New York Times bestseller Barry Lyga, actor Peter Facinelli, and producer Robert DeFranco.

On the ruined planet Earth, where 50 billion people are confined to megacities and resources are scarce, Deedra has been handed a bleak and mundane existence by the Magistrate she works so hard for. But one day she comes across a beautiful boy named Rose struggling to cross the river--a boy with a secretive past and special abilities, who is somehow able to find comfort and life from their dying planet.

But just as the two form a bond, it is quickly torn apart after the Magistrate's son is murdered and Rose becomes the prime suspect. Little do Deedra and Rose know how much their relationship will affect the fate of everyone who lives on the planet. 

I feel conflicted about After the Red Rain. There were some great parts, but there were big weak points. The book started off really cool! Rose was peculiar, which I really liked because I don't find many male main characters who are like that. There was a cinematic feel to the world and writing. (I'm not entirely sure why, though. That's just the vibe I got.) The world was intriguing, despite the flaws in it. It felt a little different. My interest was piqued early on. There was some action packed scenes, good twists, and neat technology. All these things made the book enjoyable.

Then, somewhere in the second half, things became . . . odd. It was a bit ridiculous at times and sometimes the concepts seemed gimmicky. It could've been pulled off better. The world building was loose--not strong enough. I would've liked to see more history. I didn't get a good grasp on why the world was the way it was. This sure contributed to the gimmicky feeling of some of the concepts. If the world building was stronger, then maybe I would've liked the ideas of the world and characters more.

I was left with a poor impression of the book because the ending was meh. The conclusion was weak. It could've been better.

After the Red Rain is one of those books that initially seems awesome, but over time, the cool feel to it pales. I didn't think it was that great after a while. I still liked the book (because of the good first half), but at the same time, I didn't (because of the last half). If you're really interested in this one, I say go for it. It's not a must read, though.

 Kaitlin

Book Blogger at Reading is My Treasure