In the End

June 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-This sequel picks up the action right where In The After (2013) leaves off. After escaping the eugenic horror of New Hope, Amy finds her way to another survivor's camp, the former Texan prison complex of Fort Black. Instead of fleeing from monsters on the outside, Amy has to protect herself from many dangerous people seeking dubious refuge behind prison walls. It has a complex social structure where the few surviving women (with one exception) need to be claimed by men in order to survive, and while Amy balks at the idea of being property she plays along, allying herself with a kind young man with powerful connections. She's on an intelligence mission, tries to protect her little sister left behind in New Hope, and keeps uncovering truths about the engineered apocalypse. The previous book is a thrilling monster story with an exciting, twisting, conspiracy-driven plot. This entry continues in this style while delving deeper into far more disturbing themes, including addiction, human testing, and sexual predation. This novel is somewhat more intense than the first title, mostly due to the violence (sexual and otherwise), however none of it is gratuitous, and is well suited to the plot. The writing is clear and immediate, and the suspense is tightly crafted. It ends on a satisfying note, with room for hope, but not tied up in too neat a package.-Kyle Lukoff, Corlears School, New York City

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2014
Surviving an alien apocalypse (check). Escaping repressive, fanatical scientists (check). But that is hardly the end for Amy, as this sequel to In the After (2013) demonstrates.Having escaped the "safe" enclave New Hope with the help of friends, 17-year-old Amy keeps her sonic emitter close to ward off Floraes, which, it turns out, are humans zombified by a bacteria rather than aliens. Amy isn't sure she wants to travel to Fort Black, another enclave of normal humans, until she gets a communication from her friend Kay that the evil Dr. Reynolds, who nearly killed Amy, now has her foster sister, Baby, and is experimenting on her. Kay indicates that Ken, her brother, who is at Fort Black, may be able to help. When Amy arrives, she finds Fort Black was actually a prison, and conditions haven't improved much. She must try to find Ken while dodging homicidal maniac Tank. She has the help of Jacks, the Warden's nephew, but she must pretend to be Jacks' possession, which doesn't sit well. Can she find Ken and maybe help with a vaccine to end the Florae menace? Lunetta's conclusion to her duology is not as twisty or enthralling as its predecessor (all the good reveals have been revealed), but it does extend Amy's tale with action and romance.Fans will enjoy this greatly, but the real punch was in the first. (Science fiction. 13-18)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.