Apocalypse Watch Book Review — The Other Life

Title:  The Other Life
Author:  Susanne Winnacker
Genre:  Post-apocalyptic
Pages:  Hardback, 254
Published:  May 15, 2012
Publisher:  Marshall Cavendish
ISBN:   978-0-7614-6275-0
Opening Lines:  "3 years, 1 month, 1 week, and 6 days since I'd seen daylight.  One-fifth of my life."
Rating:

"Sherry has live with her family in a sealed bunker for more than three years. Her grandfather's body has been in the freezer for the last six months, her parents are at each other's throats . . . and two minutes ago, they ran out of food. Sherry and her father must leave the safety of the nunker. What they find is an empty Los Angeles, destroyed by bombs and haunted by "Weepers"—savage humans infected with a rabies virus.

"While searching for food, Sherry's father disappears and Sherry is save by Joshua, a hunter. He takes her to Safe-haven, a vineyard where a handful of survivors are picking up the pieces of their 'other lives,' before the virus changed everything. Sherry must find a way to help her family, stay alive, and decide whether Joshua is their savior or greatest danger as his desire for vengeance threatens them all."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts:  To be honest, I knew absolutely nothing about this book.  When I decided to do an apocalypse themed reading month, this book came to my attention.  The idea of a virus turning most of the population into mindless killing machines is awesome!  It is close enough to zombie fiction that you will get me every time.  However, when I read about a savage rabies virus, I instantly thought of Quarantine with Jennifer Carpenter (And, yes, I was the only person that laughed when that was revealed.  I got rather strange looks from the other two people in the audience . . .).

 The book opens with Sherry counting the years, months, weeks, days, etc. since she has last seen daylight, and the startling realization that her family of six has just ran out of food.  During the next few pages, the audience learns that the citizens of L.A. were told to barricade themselves in their bunkers until the military told them everything was safe.  However, it doesn't appear as though they fully know why.  Regardless of that, after the military radio message has stopped, Sherry's family remained in their bunker.  Unfortunately, with the last can of food already gone and the family facing slow starvation, Sherry and her dad must leave the safety of their bunker to brave an unknown L.A. in order to find food for the family.  What they didn't expect is coming across weird, furry humanoid creatures with a milky white substance leaking from their eyes and an insatiable desire to ingest their flesh.  And, if that isn't bad enough, Sherry's father is abducted by these creatures and taken to their food stores.  However, Sherry is lucky to be rescued by Joshua—the typical Byronic Hero of YA fiction—and taken to a Safe-haven of other survivors.  This begins their quest to save Sherry's family and rescue her father from the Weepers.

Honestly, even though this book was rather formulaic and predictable, I enjoyed it!  Sherry's constant counting of time started to get on my nerve; however, after being locked in a bunker for over three years, it seemed inside the realm of possibility.  Further, it kind of appealed to my OCD.  In a lot of ways, Sherry was the classic teen figure in YA fiction.  However, I did appreciate that the author didn't make her perfect.  Her inability to fire a gun under pressure, using too much ammo, etc. was believable to me.  Even going through a lot of target practice, faced with shooting somebody, especially in an intense situation, does not guarantee that you will be a good shot.  However, that did improve as the story progressed.

I wish the author had spent a little more time developing the supporting characters.  Their lack of development made them feel more like scenery.  It was worse with Sherry's grandmother.  When one of the characters died in the book, I didn't feel any real loss.  And, sadly enough, I felt Sherry and the other people had the same reaction.  That really distressed me as a reader.  Further, since Joshua was important to Sherry, the author should have spent a lot more time on him and fleshing out his back story.  Granted, I understand that she was pulling the classic Byronic Hero, but he needed more.

Despite its formulaic plot, this book was enjoyable!  I loved where Safe-haven was located, the surveillance was awesome, and it was just fun.  It appears that the next book should be published in March, and I honestly cannot wait that long.

Current Pages:14,817
Current Progress:

48/50 books

Apocalypse Watch Book Review — This World We Live In

Title:  This World We Live In
Author:  Susan Beth Pfeffer
Genre:  Post-apocalyptic
Pages:  Hardback, 239
Published:  2010
Publisher:  Harcourt
ISBN:  970-0-547-24804-2
Opening Lines:  "I'm shivering, and I can't tell if it's because something strange is going on or because of the dream I had or just because I am in the kitchen, away from the warmth of the woodstove."
Rating:

"It's been a year since a meteor collided with the moon, catastrophically altering the earth's climate. For Miranda Evans, life as her knew it no longer exists. Her friends and neighbors are dead, the landscape is frozen, and food is increasingly scarce.

"Miranda and her two brothers spend their days scavenging for food and household items, while their mother stays at home and desperately tries to hold in to the ordinary activities of their previous life. But they all know that nothing is truly normal in this surreal new world they live in.

"The struggle to survive intensifies when Miranda's father and stepmother arrive with a baby and three strangers in tow. One of the newcomers is Alex Morales, and has Miranda's complicated feelings for him turn to love, his plans for his future thwart their relationship. Then a devastating tornado hits the town of Howell, and Miranda makes a decision that will change their lives forever."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts:  Wow, what a difference it makes going back to Miranda being the narrator through diary entries.  Honestly, it was hard to tell the difference between this book and Life As We Knew It.  Aside from adding Alex and Julie to the story, I felt as though the transition between the first book and this one was pretty seamless.

According to Miranda's first diary entry, this book picks up about a month after the first one ended.  The family is still getting weekly food deliveries; however, survival is extremely hard.  In some ways, I didn't feel that the characters developed too much beyond the end of the first book.  Even though he is now 15, I found Jon to still be extremely juvenile and babyish.  Matt continues to be a asshole, and he still tries to exert control over the family.  As time goes on, I think he is more hell bent on running the family.  It was obvious that he tried to step into his father's role when he left; however, he just ends up being an ass.  That being said, their mom isn't always the most logical thinker.  And, on top of that, Miranda is still struggling with her new life and identity.  She can no longer be a kid, but she is desperately trying to keep some sense of normal.  While I might be able to see the argument that all the characters are seen from Miranda's view point, I felt that the character development was either stunted or non-existent.

It seemed that the author was trying to throw a few things into the mix and spice the story up a little; however, she didn't really have good follow through.  The addition of Syl seemed extremely frivolous.  Near the end, it becomes apparent why she was there; however, it almost would have been better if she had just been someone passing through.  Unless it dealt with things like Horton and the catalyst for the occasional fight, she lived in her bedroom.  As one review pointed out, it almost appeared as though she was meant as a sinister element; however, nothing came of that.  In addition, her rapid religious conversion had me extremely confused from quite some time.  It wasn't until Miranda mentioned it several chapters into the book that it was marginally explained.  Even then I wondered why she would so quickly change from worshiping Diana to being a born again Christian.  It was rather odd.    

Aside from the weather changes, the inconvenience of biking into town for the food, and the addition of new people, there really was no danger.  In a post-apocalyptic world, I would think there might be bands of roaming maniacs, disease popping up when the weather got warmer, etc.  There was nothing.  It was rather anti-climatic.  Honestly, I think the tornado was the only big event in the book, and that lasted only about a page.

In some ways, I found Alex to be far more anal and unbelievable in this book.  Granted, I understand holding onto his religious upbringing—especially living in a post apocalypse world—but his insane goal to bring Julie to the convent was a little out there.  Even though Carlos was adamant about Julie going to the convent, I think he might have agreed that Julie was better off with Miranda's family.  At least there she was guaranteed some measure of safety, she had a family, and she was looked after.  There was no way to even be sure the convent would take her.  Further, for someone who is supposed to care of the well being of his sister, Alex was a major ass.

Even though I had some issues with this book, I did end up enjoying it.  Had life not happened in abundance, I would have tore through it in about a day.  It was nice that Pfeffer was able to return to the same mood of the first book.  After the horrible disappointment of the second, I was extremely reluctant to read this one.  And, despite my issues, I was pleasantly surprised.

Current Pages:14,563
Current Progress:

47/50 books

Apocalypse Watch Book Review — The Dead & the Gone

Title:  The Dead & the Gone
Author:  Susan Beth Pfeffer
Genre:  Post-apocalyptic
Pages:  Paperback, 308
Published:  2008
Publisher:  Graphia
ISBN:  978-0-15-206311-5
Opening Lines:  "At the moment when life as he had known it had changed forever, Alex Morales was behind the counter at Joey's Pizza, slicing a spinach pesto pie into eight roughly equal pieces."
Rating:

"Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life as We Knew It enthralled and devastated readers with its brutal but hopeful look at an apocalyptic event--an asteroid hitting the moon, setting off a tailspin of horrific climate changes. Now this harrowing companion novel examines the same events as they unfold in New York City, revealed through the eyes of seventeen-year-old Puerto Rican Alex Morales. When Alex's parents disappear in the aftermath of tidal waves, he must care for his two younger sisters, even as Manhattan becomes a deadly wasteland, and food and aid dwindle.

"With haunting themes of family, faith, personal change, and courage, this powerful new novel explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities."

~ Goodreads

Thoughts:  After reading this book, I have one question: what happened?  When I finished reading Life as We Knew It, I was desperate to read the next books in the series.  Once I started this book, I constantly found myself wondering what happened.

The Dead & the Gone follows Alex and his two sisters fighting for survival in New York City following the asteroid knocking the moon out of it's orbit.  Like Miranda in the previous book, the Alex and his sisters struggle with food shortages, no electricity, no communication, and just about everything that goes along with an apocalypse.  However, unlike Miranda, Alex and his sisters are alone; they must rely on each other for survival.  Throughout the book, Alex is trying to find ways to provide for his sisters and find an escape from the city.

Unlike the first book, this one is not written in journal entries.  Further, it is not told from Alex's POV.  The author takes a third person limited perspective.  The story follows Alex, his thoughts, concerns, and motivations.  To me, the impact of the first book was primarily due to POV.  I couldn't figure out why Pfeffer decided to take such a huge step back from the main character.  In addition, the first book did a good job giving the supporting characters some depth.  This book really lacked in that regard.  At some level, Alex was fairly one dimensional.  His sisters were stock characters, the priests were too stereotypical, and so on.  To me, the only character that stood out was Kevin.

From the start, this book was rather stilted.  The conversation was too forced, canned, and scripted.  Really, if I am too be honest, the whole story was too formulaic.  There was nothing that surprised me, I never felt impacted by the events in the book, and didn't feel anything for the characters.  Honestly, I could have cared less whether they lived or died.

The ending was extremely anti-climatic.  I found myself flipping through the extra material in the book, because I was convinced I had missed something.

This book was extremely disappointing.  Life as We Knew It was amazing, well thought out, and brilliant.  With this book, I am not sure what happened.  At some level, I wonder whether Pfeffer should have just started and finished the series with the first book.  After finishing this book, I am very timid about picking up the third book . . . If you're looking for an awesome continuation of Life as We Knew It, be ready for disappointment.  Unless the third one really makes up for this book, I would suggest not reading The Dead & the Gone.

Current Pages: 14,324
Current Progress:

46/50 books

Theme Song Saturday (36)

Welcome to Theme Song Saturdays, a new weekly meme, hosted by yours truly, in which we share our love of music and books! Since I love books and music, this meme is for fun to try to incorporate those two loves! Whenever I read a book, a certain song -- kind of like a soundtrack or theme song -- plays through my head.

Want to know how to play? Head over to this post to read the rules and get the code.

Here's my pick this week:

Join Me in Death by HIM is kind of a macabre choice for this book; however, it keeps playing in my mind whenever I think about it.  It is especially weird when I am not overly fond of HIM. Hmm, I guess if I were to try and find meaning, I might link it to the fact that the teens are surrounded by death and Sloane desperately wants to end her life.  However, she is lucky enough to find someone through all of her hardship.  So, in some ways, maybe it is about this world they live in, death on all sides, etc.  But, then again, I could be completely full of shit ^_~

Well, that's my weird and macabre pick this week!  What's yours?  Leave a link in the comments to your post ^_^

Apocalypse Watch Book Review — This is Not a Test

Title:  This is Not a Test
Author:  Courtney Summers
Genre:  Post-apocalyptic
Pages:  Oversize paperback, 322
Published:  June 2012
Publisher:  St. Martin's Press
ISBN:  978-0-312-65674-4
Opening Lines:  "Lily, I woke up and the last piece of my heart disappeared.  I opened by eyes and I felt it go."
Rating:

"It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?"

~ Goodreads

Thoughts:  Honestly, I wasn't sure to expect when I started this book.  Reading the description, it looked as if it might be an interesting adventure.  It seems as though a lot of young adult books are focusing on the apocalypse and/or the aftermath.  To me, that it an intriguing concept.

At the start of the book, the audience meets Sloane while she sits in her bathroom thinking about her sister and the veins in her wrists.  From her internal dialogue and her father's reaction to her, the audience learns that Sloane lives inside a nightmare—she is abused by her father, her sister left her, and she has decided to kill herself.  As she puts it later, she died a long time ago, her body just hasn't caught up.  And, from there, the zombie apocalypse hits her. She finds herself with a group of five teenagers trying to survive in their old high school.  All the while, she is struggling her with her own internal battle, her desire to end it all, and whether there really is a reason to continue trying.

This book was raw, heartbreaking, gritty, and real.  In some ways, out of all the books I have read this year, This is Not a Test has been the hardest.  Since the book is all written from Sloane's perspective, the audience is inside her head.  It was hard to live inside her nightmare, watch her relive her abusive past, struggle with trying to love someone, and trying to work out a way to die.  When she is offered a kind, gentle touch or some love and compassion, she is quick to shy away from it.  She makes comments that it is so foreign to her, she is unsure how to even respond.  On a deep level, I was able to connect with her.

I felt the author did a good job trying to flesh out the other characters and their interactions.  It was apparent that the teens really didn't know each other before they were thrust together.  While Sloane had spent the night at Grace and Trace's house, they were, at some level, still strangers.  They all knew Cary was a dealer and a slacker; Rhys hung out on the corner and smoked; and no one really knew Harrison.  However, even though they didn't know each other, they were all able to form some sort of bond due to the circumstances they were facing together.  The author did a wonderful job portraying that.  Even though it got hard to read and a little annoying, the tension between Trace and Cary was well done.  Honestly, at times, I wondered whether they would end up killing each other.

Most of the book is spent inside the school.  While the teens usually didn't stray too far from the auditorium, it was obvious that the author had a full blueprint of the school in her mind.  I loved how the school—and their previous classmates—became pseudo characters.  When they were going through the lockers, I found it a nice touch that Sloane and some of the other teens felt as though they were doing something wrong.  The fact that the classrooms were still a big part of their life and their identity, showed how they were still attached to their old life.  And, as a way to highlight this, the teens still called their English teacher Mr. Baxter.

However, aside from all the good things in this book, there are some things that really stuck out to me.  Even though her father was obsessive about hiding his abuse, I couldn't understand why the teachers didn't notice Sloane's behavior.  At some level, I think she wonders the same thing.  Further, I wish the author had stuck with Mr. Baxter a little longer.  While I liked his introduction and the story around it, I felt it ended all to quickly.  Finally, the grammar started to annoy me.  Honestly, it felt as though the author didn't understand compound sentences.  

Thinking about it, for me, this book really wasn't about zombies or the end of the world.  This book was about Sloane, her journey, and what needed to happen in order for her to wake up.  And it takes her until the end of the book for Rhys' comment to finally set in, "We're still here."  If you're looking for a book with a lot of zombie violence or horror, this book is not for you.  That being said, it was well written and wonderful.

Current Pages: 14,016
Current Progress:

45/50 books

Welcome to Apocalypse Watch 2012

Welcome to Apocalypse Watch!  As you all know, December 21, 2012 is the predicted end of the world.  In celebration of the completion of the Mayan calendar, Sinnful Books commits to reading, watching, and listening to everything related to the apocalypse/post-apocalypse. 

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Books

• The Knife of the Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
• Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden
• The Dead and the Gone by Susan Pfeffer
• This World We Live In by Susan Pfeffer
• One Second After  by William R. Forstchen
• This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
• The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
• The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe
• The Maze Runner by James Dashner
• The Diary of Pelly D by L.J. Adington
• The Weepers: The Other Life by Susan Winnacker
• Sudden Independents by Ted Hill 

If you want to join in the festivities, grab the button, read along, and post about it!  If you're a survivalist, tell us your story!

<div align=center> <a href="http://www.sinnfulbooks.com/2012/05/apocalypse-watch-2012.html"><img src="http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i46/eternal_synn/apocalypsewatch_button.png" border="0" /></a></div>

Happy Halloween!

Aside from Christmas, Halloween is my favorite holiday!  What other time of the year can you dress up and act crazy?  Okay, besides Fat Tuesday and conventions ^_~

Instead of dressing up and hitting parties, I plan to hand out candy to the neighborhood kids, eat frozen pizza, watch the season three finale of Face/Off, and finding horror movies on Netflix.

What are you dressing up as this year?  Also, since this is Halloween, what is your scariest experience?