Details
Title: Afterworlds
Author: Scott Westerfield
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Year: 2014
Language: English
Genre: Young Adult, Authorship, Future Life, Death, Ghosts, Fiction, Romance, Same Sex, Paranormal, New York
Rating: 9.5/10
Continuation: No continuation yet.
Pages: 599
Author: Scott Westerfield
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Year: 2014
Language: English
Genre: Young Adult, Authorship, Future Life, Death, Ghosts, Fiction, Romance, Same Sex, Paranormal, New York
Rating: 9.5/10
Continuation: No continuation yet.
Pages: 599
Review
Afterworlds tells us the story of Darcy Patel. A teenage author whose dreams are coming true. Instead of going to college as planned, she's moving to New York City, beckoned by the dazzling world of publishing. Her novel is receiving adulation and attention like she never expected and it's up to her to navigate through the highs and lows of life in New York - including a passionate romance with a fellow writer.
Told in alternating chapters is the thrilling story of Lizzie Scofield, the fictional protagonist of Darcy's novel - Afterworlds - who wills herself into the afterworld during a terrorist attack. Surviving the attack comes at a cost, including helping a young, restless ghost with whom she shares a personal connection. Assisting her through her journey is Yamaraj, a handsome spirit guide, torn between his responsibilities and his attraction to Lizzie.
First off, let me forewarn you. This book would seem to most like a massive undertaking, what with the considerable amount of pages. However, I'm here to tell you that this book is anything but a task. The book, I will not lie, was a part of the Red Dot Award reading list for Mature Readers, which I was - am determined to work my way through. Once I picked up the book, it took me forever to rack up the courage to start it - as once I begin a novel - no matter how awful, I stick through to the end! Contrary to my first impression, this book turned out to me a major page-turner. The proof is in the fact that I sat down and finished a 600 page novel in less than two days, a feat even for me!
From the very first chapter, I was hooked. When a novel is this long, one would expect plot holes and muddled timelines. Not this one. From the very beginning, Westerfield weaves a web of words. Despite being told in alternating chapters, neither story lost its flow. It was surprisingly easy for me to follow the two major protagonists, even though they existed in completely different worlds.
Firstly, I appreciated the way the same sex romance was addressed. In popular media, whenever there is a same sex couple, chances are there will be overdramatic scenes of tearful confessions - painful and pathetic. In that sense, I appreciate the delicate way in which Westerfield handles the couple, neither making Darcy and Imogen seem insignificant nor hyping their presence.
Personally, I loved the fact that finally a non-Indian author was has not one, but two, Indian protagonists in his novel. Being Indian myself, I rarely find an accurate representation of my culture in most YA novels. Either the protagonist is overly traditional, virtually non-existent or inaccurately detailed. It pleased me to have finally read a book I could not only relate to, but also be content with the cultural references. It was obvious that Westerfield had taken the time to research and read about the mythical culture in India, so hats off to his dedication and the fact that he chose not to take the easy way out by writing about a more familiar culture.
Now I'm been raving about this book, but why didn't I give it a perfect score? Well, the one thing that bothered me was the unrealistic situation Darcy was in. Every writer, even the great ones, face rejection at some point but Darcy seems to be floating on a cloud of good times. She is easily able to publish her very first novel and even receives a massive sum for it. Her parents are accepting of her sexual orientation and even though she is facing financial issues, she is never starving or in a bad living situation. The biggest conflict she faces is a tie between her love life and a new ending for her aforementioned novel. This said, at no point did I find the novel badly written or incomplete. After all, the thrilling scenes, ripe with conflict, in Afterworlds more than make up for the lack thereof in Darcy's life.
That brings me to the Lizzie's story. Don't you just love it when paranormal fictions dares to stray from the norm? Or is that just me? YA novels, films and TV shows these days are full of cliche romance stories of vampires and werewolves and such, that I am, personally, quite sick of. When I discovered that Westerfield had taken a leap of faith and decided to explore one of the many mythical gods in the Vedas, I personally was excited to see where it would lead. As Darcy mentions herself, she modifies the God of Death for purposes of 'YA hotness'. While this offended some, I was delighted because who doesn't like to read about a smoking hot God, broody and mysterious in ways that makes most teenage girls squeal with delight. If this was to be made into a movie, can I please just suggest casting Siddharth Malhotra (hot Bollywood actor - deserves Googling) as Yamaraj? Back to the point, I loved the characters a whole lot and the novel was overall, a perfect blend of supernatural and normal.
So do I recommend y'all read this? Hell yeah! The book is well written, interesting and most definitely worth a read. I know that for sure!
Told in alternating chapters is the thrilling story of Lizzie Scofield, the fictional protagonist of Darcy's novel - Afterworlds - who wills herself into the afterworld during a terrorist attack. Surviving the attack comes at a cost, including helping a young, restless ghost with whom she shares a personal connection. Assisting her through her journey is Yamaraj, a handsome spirit guide, torn between his responsibilities and his attraction to Lizzie.
First off, let me forewarn you. This book would seem to most like a massive undertaking, what with the considerable amount of pages. However, I'm here to tell you that this book is anything but a task. The book, I will not lie, was a part of the Red Dot Award reading list for Mature Readers, which I was - am determined to work my way through. Once I picked up the book, it took me forever to rack up the courage to start it - as once I begin a novel - no matter how awful, I stick through to the end! Contrary to my first impression, this book turned out to me a major page-turner. The proof is in the fact that I sat down and finished a 600 page novel in less than two days, a feat even for me!
From the very first chapter, I was hooked. When a novel is this long, one would expect plot holes and muddled timelines. Not this one. From the very beginning, Westerfield weaves a web of words. Despite being told in alternating chapters, neither story lost its flow. It was surprisingly easy for me to follow the two major protagonists, even though they existed in completely different worlds.
Firstly, I appreciated the way the same sex romance was addressed. In popular media, whenever there is a same sex couple, chances are there will be overdramatic scenes of tearful confessions - painful and pathetic. In that sense, I appreciate the delicate way in which Westerfield handles the couple, neither making Darcy and Imogen seem insignificant nor hyping their presence.
Personally, I loved the fact that finally a non-Indian author was has not one, but two, Indian protagonists in his novel. Being Indian myself, I rarely find an accurate representation of my culture in most YA novels. Either the protagonist is overly traditional, virtually non-existent or inaccurately detailed. It pleased me to have finally read a book I could not only relate to, but also be content with the cultural references. It was obvious that Westerfield had taken the time to research and read about the mythical culture in India, so hats off to his dedication and the fact that he chose not to take the easy way out by writing about a more familiar culture.
Now I'm been raving about this book, but why didn't I give it a perfect score? Well, the one thing that bothered me was the unrealistic situation Darcy was in. Every writer, even the great ones, face rejection at some point but Darcy seems to be floating on a cloud of good times. She is easily able to publish her very first novel and even receives a massive sum for it. Her parents are accepting of her sexual orientation and even though she is facing financial issues, she is never starving or in a bad living situation. The biggest conflict she faces is a tie between her love life and a new ending for her aforementioned novel. This said, at no point did I find the novel badly written or incomplete. After all, the thrilling scenes, ripe with conflict, in Afterworlds more than make up for the lack thereof in Darcy's life.
That brings me to the Lizzie's story. Don't you just love it when paranormal fictions dares to stray from the norm? Or is that just me? YA novels, films and TV shows these days are full of cliche romance stories of vampires and werewolves and such, that I am, personally, quite sick of. When I discovered that Westerfield had taken a leap of faith and decided to explore one of the many mythical gods in the Vedas, I personally was excited to see where it would lead. As Darcy mentions herself, she modifies the God of Death for purposes of 'YA hotness'. While this offended some, I was delighted because who doesn't like to read about a smoking hot God, broody and mysterious in ways that makes most teenage girls squeal with delight. If this was to be made into a movie, can I please just suggest casting Siddharth Malhotra (hot Bollywood actor - deserves Googling) as Yamaraj? Back to the point, I loved the characters a whole lot and the novel was overall, a perfect blend of supernatural and normal.
So do I recommend y'all read this? Hell yeah! The book is well written, interesting and most definitely worth a read. I know that for sure!
