Review: Afterworlds

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Afterworlds was such a great read! I can’t believe how much I enjoyed it. I had no idea what the book would be about until I finally began reading it and, let me tell you, I adored it. It may have been a bit slow at times but it never got boring, it was real. The way it alternates between Darcy and the book she is writing is just brilliant. I love the fact that you get to read the novel and follow the author in her process of actually publishing a novel. This made the book such a unique experience that would’ve definitely been completely different otherwise. I loved the characters and how Darcy and Lizzie are both (accidentally) from the same Jane Austen novel, or at least their names were. I adored how at times I wanted nothing more than to continue reading the novel but there were times when I wanted to know what happened to Darcy as well. I never got hooked by just one of the story arcs, but equally by both. There is one amazing bit where the characters discuss what is more important in a novel: plot, characters, conflict or setting; which was so amazing to read. This book felt so relatable as only Fangirl ever has been. True, you can feel related to several characters but there is a small amount of them that you could actually BE. Darcy was one of them, for me. I feel like she expresses the stress and uncertainty about writing a novel, and how it would feel like to get published one day. That is what won me over about this book, its realness. The characters, on the other side, I adored. At times I got annoyed at Darcy, Imogen and Lizzie but they were small bumps in the road, nothing that would make me hate any of them. I absolutely ADORE how Darcy’s friends are named Carla and Sagan. The amount of jokes you can make with their names is unbelievable. Well played, Westerfeld, well played. I also think that the characters grew so much during the novel. Adulthood is one of the main themes in Darcy’s storyline and I just love how she constantly says it cannot be real, that she is a kid playing at being an adult. I think that is something that most of us feel and that constantly shapes our lives. After all, becoming an adult is scary. Something else I truly enjoyed was that behind-the-curtains look we got at the writing and publishing process. It made me realize, New York may be in my future too, and like Darcy I will need to learn to survive it and, at the end, love it.
4.5/5

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