Author: Demitria Lunetta
Genre: Young Adult, Post-Apocalyptic
Release Date: 24 June, 2014
Source: HarperTeen via Edelweiss
Goodreads
The thrilling conclusion to In the After, the survival story of Amy and Baby, set in a near future where Earth has been overrun by vicious, predatory creatures.Review by Nara
It’s been three months since Amy escaped New Hope, and she’s been surviving on her own, like she did in the After. Until one day, her former fellow Guardian’s voice rings out in her earpiece. And in a desperate tone, Kay utters the four words Amy had hoped she would never hear: Dr. Reynolds has Baby.
Now it’s a race against time, for Baby is in imminent danger, her life threatened by the malevolent doctor who had helped start the end of the world. In order to save Baby, Amy must make her way to Fort Black, a prison-turned-survivor-colony, where she will need to find Ken, Kay’s brother. He alone holds the key to Baby’s survival.
One small slip-up on this quest could spark a downward spiral that would not only cost Baby and Amy their lives, but threaten the very survival of the people in the After.
Okay, let's start with the bad things: I really didn't like how the ending was so open. I suppose you could see where things were probably going to go, but Lunetta didn't show us where things actually went. WHYYYY. I probably wouldn't have minded if the main story wasn't completely resolved (since it's kind of difficult to do that in post-apocalyptic/dystopian books) but the thing that annoyed me was that the romance wasn't resolved. There was a love triangle, and while it was quite obvious who she ended up with, the author didn't show it to us. And also didn't explain how Amy got out of the triangle i.e. what Amy said to the other guy. WHYYYY. Another point- I do think that the ending was a bit rushed, but that was secondary to the whole open ending thing.
However, I did like how Amy was entirely focused on her goal for the whole book. She wasn't derailed by a random hot guy, she wasn't (too) shaken by the psychopath living in the vicinity, she wasn't suppressed by the environment of the male dominated Fort Black- the whole time, she continued her search for the person who could help Baby. I feel like that ought to be a cause for celebration.
The world building in this series is pretty decent. In this book, it was especially so in setting up Fort Black. Fort Black just sounded like such a terrible place to live. All the females have to be tattooed with the names of their male "claimers" in order to be protected from sexual assault/rape and since the majority of people in Fort Black were prisoners before the fall of society, it honestly just sounded like a scary environment. Imagine being locked up with murderers and rapists and thieves (which I suppose aren't as bad lol).
The world building in this series is pretty decent. In this book, it was especially so in setting up Fort Black. Fort Black just sounded like such a terrible place to live. All the females have to be tattooed with the names of their male "claimers" in order to be protected from sexual assault/rape and since the majority of people in Fort Black were prisoners before the fall of society, it honestly just sounded like a scary environment. Imagine being locked up with murderers and rapists and thieves (which I suppose aren't as bad lol).
All in all, a pretty solid (albeit slightly unsatisfying) conclusion. This duology is certainly one that I'd recommend to fans of gritty post-apocalyptics.
Ratings
Overall: 9/10
Plot: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
World Building: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Really liked it
Ratings
Overall: 9/10
Plot: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
World Building: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
