She’s searching for answers to her past. They’re hunting her to save their future.
World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.
At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.
When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.
Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.
***
After The End is about a world where "it has been destroyed by World War III". Except it's not. It's fully functioning and good. Juneau's clan is in danger. And she sets out to find them, only to find that her whole world -- her whole life -- is a huge lie. She has to depend on a boy who might be the last trustworthy person to find them. And uncover all the secrets behind her abilities.
What I like about After The End is Juneau. She's very smart, cunning, and intelligent. It's almost impossible to fool her because she has her way to find out the truth and evade danger. She's also wary too, which is something can't be said to some other heroines in other books. Normally they'll have a internal emotional breakdown and lower their guards when it comes to a boy they like. Not Juneau, though. She keeps her guard, and thinks carefully before trusting someone with her secrets. She's a little bit cold. But for some reason that just raise the level of her awesomeness.
But there are some stuff that I have problems with. Miles is a problem. It's not like I don't like that guy, because he's pretty nice when he wants to be. But he's surprisingly close-minded for a person living in a city. Just because you can't see something or something sounds really ridiculous doesn't mean they don't necessarily make sense, right? And yet it takes him a loooooooooooong time to open his mind and truly listen to what Juneau says about her life. If you ask me, it's pretty annoying.
The plot itself is predictable. Not that I don't enjoy it. But I just want something unexpected, something dynamic. And... there are not much of that in this book. Which is a little disappointing, because I'm expecting quite a lot from this book. I guess next time I'll have to refrain from my expectations and actually judge the book based wholly on the synopsis alone when it comes to a new book.
The ending of the book is what I like the least. It's a sort-of cliffhanger ending. Normally I like cliffhanger endings even though it will bring me anticipation as well as the pain to wait for the next book. But this time, the cliffhanger pisses me off a lot. I understand that it's not the author's fault. And I also know the significance of the ending because I have a feeling the actions Juneau takes at the end will definitely change a dying certain someone. But I'm also pretty sure that certain someone is not going to die that soon (otherwise there will be almost no use continuing to read the series, unless you pull a "The Crown of Embers" thing on this book). And that assumption, for some reason, outweighs the significance of the ending and pisses me off. It's kind of unreasonable, but that's what I feel.
I think the book is okay, actually. But there are flaws that I can't ignore. I'm also curious about the next book, but I'm quite certain I will not have the "I need this book now or I will cut a bitch" syndrome.
Rating: 6/10
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