In the After by Demitria Lunetta
Release Date: June 25, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult Sci-fi, Young Adult Post Apocalyptic
ISBN: 978-0062105455
Source: Bought
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Amy is watching TV when it happens, when the world is attacked by Them. These vile creatures are rapidly devouring mankind. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to escape—and even rescue “Baby,” a toddler left behind in the chaos. Marooned in Amy’s house, the girls do everything they can to survive—and avoid Them at all costs.

Rebellious, courageous, and tender, this unforgettable duo will have you on the edge of your seat as you tear through the pulse-pounding narrow escapes and horrifying twists of fate in this thrilling debut from author Demitria Lunetta.

I read In the After in 5 hours. It was glorious! Plainly put, In the After is the best YA alien/post apocalyptic book I have ever read! Everything about this story, these characters, this world is fascinating and the execution of all of the above is outstanding! Where do I even begin? I am so in love with this book and I am on such a high after reading it that I don’t even know if anything I say right now will do this book justice because it’s left me almost speechless.

These characters were so rich and so full of life and the will to survive and that fight… watching that fight is always disturbing and heartbreaking but the will to survive… it’s something one, I at least cannot turn away from. It fascinates me to no end and in every sentence, I was physically immovable but internally moved beyond the measures of the typical good read. This was so much more than just a good read. This was exceptional.

Following Amy on this journey, this scary journey and watching her face life or death decisions like picking up a baby in an empty supermarket and taking her under her wing and welcoming a seemingly helpless girl named Amber into her safe haven… it was nerve wrecking. It was thrilling and terrifying and so incredibly engulfing. I felt like I was right by her side at every step and these are just the first of many life or death decisions Amy is faced with and at every turn, I was rooting for Amy. At every turn, I was rooting for quiet. At every turn, I was rooting for humanity. But humanity is hard to hold onto before and after they begin, before and after the world ends.

The relationships that were formed in this book, be it with Amy and her loved ones or Amy and the survivors she meets along the way, these relationships bring us to a very alarming truth that when pushed, people will do anything for the greater good. And that anything often times means sacrifice and lies, as you can probably guess but also detachment and denial among so many other things. Watching all of this play out on top of Amy’s survivor skills being tested, underestimated, and scrutinized made for one of the most heart pounding few hours of my life.

Even when she is integrated with other survivors and is much safer than she was before, her freedom is essentially revoked. There’s a great price to pay for living in the post apocalyptic world and it doesn’t make it right and certainly doesn’t sit well with Amy, so what is she going to do about that? What are the others around her who feel the same way to do? The others who may not be torn to shreds by the creatures outside of the safe zone of New Hope but are suffocating inside this safe haven too. Amy questions who decides what’s right and wrong, what’s best for the future of humanity, as she should. New Hope may give the survivors hope but under what conditions and why, especially in the end, is hope conditional?

I absolutely loved the revelations and twists throughout the book. The action never subsided. The knowledge of danger was ever present. I was hooked on every word of every page. This story was so fluid, written at the perfect pace and with just the right amount of all of the right elements making this story captivating from the first line with the momentum kept up on every single page, every single paragraph, every single line after. I have nothing but good things to say about this book. In fact, I am mad it took me so long to read it. It’s been on my radar for some time now and I bought the book in December but am just now getting to it. On the plus side, the sequel, In the End released last week so I don’t have to wait too long to read that! I know what I’ll be reading this upcoming weekend! In the After is creepy and intense and all consuming so when you sit down to read, make sure you’ve put aside time to finish it in one sitting. I am truly in awe of Demitria Lunetta and I cannot wait to see what she writes next because I will be reading everything of hers. In the After is brilliant so don’t say I never told you!

In the After by Demitria Lunetta is available today.