The Other Life

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Pages: 352
Publication Date: May 15, 2012
Type: E-galley from publisher, via NetGalley

3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 

Sherry and her family have lived sealed in a bunker in the garden since things went wrong up above. Her grandfather has been in the freezer for the last three months, her parents are at each other’s throats and two minutes ago they ran out of food. 

Sherry and her father leave the safety of the bunker and find a devastated and empty LA, smashed to pieces by bombs and haunted by ‘Weepers’ - rabid humans infected with a weaponized rabies virus. 

While searching for food in a supermarket, Sherry’s father disappears and Sherry is saved by Joshua, a boy-hunter. He takes her to Safe-haven, a tumble-down vineyard in the hills outside LA, where a handful of other survivors are picking up the pieces of their ‘other lives’. As she falls in love for the first time, Sherry must save her father, stay alive and keep Joshua safe when his desire for vengeance threatens them all.


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A quick read, an enjoyable read, and nothing particularly grating, but nothing that stands out as particularly new or exceptional.


This was not, by any means, a bad book.  I enjoyed it.  I liked the main character, who could actually fight for herself and those she cared about.  I liked Joshua, who was a far healthier and more likable love interest than you'll find in many YA novels today, though I was not particularly fond of how long (chronologically) it took them to fall for one another.  I liked the fast plot and tense action sequences, which were most likely why I got through this in less than day.  I liked that family was such a constant presence in this, something of real importance, not something to be brushed aside in favor of a hot romance.


But despite those, there wasn't that . . . spark in this, that extra something that demands my full attention, captures my emotions, convinces me that I am not a reader, but rather an invisible spectator to the fantastic events unfolding before me.  I was never fully invested.  There was the idle hope that things would turn out alright, but that tends to be a constant presence in any book I read, unless I really, really loathe the characters.  In this case, while I passively wished for things to turn out dandy--for Shirley to find her dad alive, for her and Joshua to get together, for all of them to emerge with their livelihood and humanity still intact--I wasn't devastated when things didn't go as planned.  I wasn't elated when they did.  I just couldn't bring myself to care, beyond cringing at Shirley's wounds.  And that, I'm afraid, resulted more from my squeamishness than genuine sympathy.


Also, the concept, while readable and fairly interesting, never felt like anything particularly shocking or new.  It's not that it was especially similar to any one book out there; it's just that I couldn't find any elements I'd never seen before.  While I was intrigued by both the idea and execution of the Weepers, and I enjoyed the setting, it never wowed me.  


And, quite honestly, I think that is the best way to sum up the book in general.  It was a quick, enjoyable read, and nothing more.  Would I recommend this?  Yes, I suppose.  It's short, it's entertaining, and I think many out there might find it far more special than I did.


3 stars.

Warm Bodies

R is a young man with an existential crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. His ability to connect with the outside world is limited to a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing.

After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and stragely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a blast of color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that surrounds R. His choice to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.

Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies explores what happens when the cold heart of a zombie is tempted by the warmth of human love.

First, I want to say that I absolutely loved this.

Second, I want to say that if you do not like flowery writing and a lot of philosophical pondering in your zombie novels, you will not love this.

Fortunately for me, I love both of those.  I love beautiful writing more than I can possibly express, and I love books that can make me think, genuinely think.  I love that Marion was able to turn a zombie novel into something haunting and introspective and beautiful.

When I first read the summary, I had two problems with it.  One, that the main character's name was R.  I mean, I've stumbled upon some pretty bizarre names in my reading experience (dystopias, i c u) but this kinda took the cake.  However, once you start reading, the reason for this "name" is revealed. Quite simply?  He does not remember his name.  He knows it began with an R, and since one letter is better than being a nameless entity, that is what he calls himself.

The second problem was that I simply could not fathom the idea of a zombie main character, and more importantly, a zombie romance.  In my head, zombies were brainless, revolting creatures, creatures never seen as anything but monsters to run from.  The idea of being inside a zombie's head, and of this zombie having some sort of relationship with a human girl, was unfathomable.

Until I started reading.

The romance . . . was beautiful.  It was different and it was real and it was beautiful.  It was a girl with ideas and a zombie who wanted them to come true.  It was a girl fighting against her world and a boy fighting against his own nature.  It was two people with thoughts and flaws and emotions, with a relationship as complex as it was unbelievable, who genuinely cared about one another. Two people trying to change the world as much as they were trying to change themselves.

Don't go into this expecting a fast-paced, zombie thriller.  This book is small, yes, but leisurely in that way thoughtful books often are.  It's one of those books that'll keep you thinking for days after you turn the final page.

“There's no benchmark for how life's 'supposed' to happen. There is no ideal world for you to wait around for. The world is always just what it is now, it's up to you how you respond to it.” 


5 stars.

Dark Inside

Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies.

Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever. Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police--who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd.

Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

This was a really fantastic read.

I've been wanting this book for months.  I mean, Jeyn is awesome, the premise is awesome, the cover is awesome, the reviews were awesome, so that all led me to think this would be a pretty freaking awesome book.  And I was not wrong.

There are many things I liked about this book.  It was horrifying and haunting and thought-provoking.  The writing was powerful and even beautiful in certain places. 

But possibly the thing I liked most about this book is one of the reasons I like dystopian/apocalyptic novels in general: I loved seeing just how people, real people, reacted to such a horrible and devastating situation.  Jeyn really took us to the heart of the human spirit and showed us how some can be so courageous in the face of danger, and others so cowardly, and how sometimes, they can be both.  Not all of our characters are heroes.  One of the main characters even commits an extremely selfish act that hurts many others, but the thing is . . . I didn't hate him for it. I thought I would, but I didn't.  Because when I think about it, really think about it, if I had been in that situation . . . would I have done any differently?

The answer is no. No, I probably wouldn't have.

And that's what's so great about this.  There is no pretty sheen to Jeyn's characters.  They are real, intensely flawed human beings, and I love them for it, and I loved seeing just how people changed when tragedy came calling.  Who became the leaders, who became the followers. Who became the heroes, and who became the cowards.  Who couldn't be quite sure what they were.

I only had two problems with this novel.  The first is that some of the dialogue was a bit awkward. The majority of it was actually very realistic, but there were a few lines--mostly ones by Daniel or Chickadee--that just sounded awkward when I tried to say them.  However, I'm going to be lenient here, because despite being unrealistic the lines were really powerful/intriguing.

The second problem is that I still feel a bit left in the dark.  I mean, it's made 100% clear on the last page who Nothing is, though it isn't directly spelled out, but we still have very little information about the Baggers and the evil that's possessed them.  I realize this is only the first book in a series, I just would've liked a bit more information.

But really, overall, this was a stunning debut novel. Harsh, gritty, and surprisingly deep, Dark Inside is a book I would recommend to anyone who likes their books dark.  (That makes me think of coffee.  "Harsh, gritty, in a surprisingly deep cup, Parkland Coffee is a coffee I would recommend to anyone who likes their coffee dark.")

Final note--the cover! I freaking love the cover.  It's so, so fitting.  With the fading, dusty city in the background, the shaded forms, the deep earthquake cracks, the eyes with black veins like the Baggers--it's perfect, and very eyecatching. Bravo, Simon & Schuster!

4 stars.