Monday, 16 April 2012

REVIEW: The Other Life (The Other Life #1) by Susanne Winnacker

 
Author: Susanne Winnacker
Series: The Other Life
Pages: 315
Genre: Young Adult - Dystopian
Publisher: Usborne

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world

Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.

When Sherry's dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.

But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?

REVIEW: 4 out of 5 stars

The Other Life is a dystopian which shows a world where humans sought shelter in their bunkers when a dangerous outbreak of rabies hit Los Angeles.

Sherry has spent 3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days in her family bunker but when they are unable to make any contact with the outside world through radio communication and when their food runs out she is forced topside with her father.

When Sherry's dad is snatched by what she finds out are weepers – humans affected by the rabies virus she is forced to go along with her savior, Joshua in the hopes he will help her find her dad before it is too late.

I absolutely loved Joshua, an avenger who is fearless and reckless with a sole focus on destroying the weepers – I adored the way he protected those close to him. I also liked the bond he shared with Sherry, they were sweet together.

The world Ms. Winnacker has given us is terrifying and the creatures gruesome to read about but also fascinating because of their intelligence; you couldn’t help but feel for what the humans had been turned into. I enjoyed the action scenes which were fast paced and conveyed the imminent danger clearly. I was shocked by the revelation at the end; it was definitely not what I had expected so I am keen to see how it all pans out in the next installment.

I liked each of the secondary characters especially those residing at Safe Haven but I would have liked to know more about a few of them, specifically Tyler whose ordeal was terrible and had affected him in the worst possible way.

We are also given flashbacks to the way life was for Sherry which I thought was a great way of showing how drastically her life had changed – the past snippets were completely different to the way she was now living.

Ms Winnacker did a wonderful job of showing us the characters emotions; you feel their fears, their desperation, struggles and their hopes. I couldn’t help but wish for a happy ending but with the twists and turns we are given it is sure to be a difficult road ahead.

Although The Other Life is a tad bit predictable, and actually reminded me of a book I read most recently – Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi, it was still extremely well written and enjoyable none the less and there was never a dull moment.

I really enjoyed this story; it was engaging and entertaining and left me wanting to know so much more. The sequel, The Life Beyond has an anticipated 2013 release.



1 comment:

  1. Sounds like a good read, not over the top fantastic like Partials, but I do love dystopians!
    Love your review!

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