Title: In the After Series: In the After #1
Author: Demitria Lunetta
Published: May 27, 2014
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Page Count: 480
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Amy Harris's life changed forever when They took over. Her parents—vanished. The government—obsolete. Societal structure—nonexistent. No one knows where They came from, but these vicious creatures have been rapidly devouring mankind since They appeared. With fierce survivor instincts, Amy manages to stay alive—and even rescues "Baby," a toddler who was left behind. After years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope. On the surface, it appears to be a safe haven for survivors. But there are dark and twisted secrets lurking beneath that could have Amy and Baby paying with not only their freedom . . . but also their lives.
If anyone were to ask me what one thing I had no more need of in my life, it would certainly be YA dystopia. The market in that subgenre is completely oversaturated, and it’s a bit hard to come up with a new spin on things. Enter In the After. Demitria Lunetta’s debut might not be entirely original, but it’s very well-written, engaging, and takes an alien-invasion route that I’ve not read before. All in all, I was quite impressed with this book.
In the After can be divided into two “sections”. The first is when Amy and her adopted sister, Baby, are alone in the post-apocalyptic wasteland the world has become, hiding in the daytime from the ravenous aliens who’ve descended upon the earth in search of a new food source. The second part, taking up about two-thirds of the text, details what happens after Amy and Baby arrive in New Hope, a survivors’ colony governed by a disquieting set of rules. Both “sections” of the book are worthwhile, for different reasons, though I was far more drawn to the survivalist aspects of the former than I was the often familiar aspects of the dystopian New Hope.
Readers will find many familiar elements in Lunetta’s story, such as forced impregnations, sadistic politicians, evil science, strictly enforced societal roles, and biological warfare gone wrong. I found that in many ways, the novelty of the beginning, where it’s just Amy against the world, faded away once In the After began to delve into familiar dystopian territory.
View Spoiler »Which isn’t to say that Lunetta didn’t handle the portrayal of New Hope very well—she did. But it wasn’t really “original” or a new spin on a very overwritten subgenre.
Another thing I questioned a bit was how the last half really dragged. Amy arrives at New Hope, and obviously everything is not as it appears, but Amy didn’t seem to be quite as curious as she might have been. Sure, nobody will talk with her, but surely there were other ways she could have gone about finding information? In the After is a fairly long book, and it seemed like for a good portion of the time, the reader is simply waiting around until Lunetta gathers her plot threads for the big reveal at the end. I don’t want to say that made things boring, exactly, but it did pull me out of the narrative.
What I did especially like, though, was Amy’s narration. This is a protagonist with a strong, confident voice that’s easy to sympathize with. Even in dealing with a nonlinear time frame or a complete lack of dialogue for the first half (speaking attracts the aliens), Lunetta carried it all off very well. I believed in Amy as a character, and was emotionally invested in her story; I was also impressed by the talent with which this was accomplished. Debut or no, Lunetta is very good on a technical skills level.
From where I sit, In the After is a very admirable book. The strength of Demitria Lunetta’s writing helps the reader push through too-familiar territory, and the confidence of Amy’s narration helps the reader find someone to root for. In a world overrun with YA dystopian fiction, In the After certainly stands out.
