fuonlyknew

MY REVIEW

It’s such great fun when you find a series and it keeps getting better book by book. How does that happen? Maybe it’s your attachment to the characters. Maybe it’s what events are focused on. Or, perhaps it because you begin to grasp the author’s vision. Begin to see where she’s taking you. Or, maybe something else entirely. Regardless, The After series is one of those that gets better and better.

The After, the first book, was the introduction to a dystopian way of life. Then the characters start to take hold of you. That’s where the anxiety sets in. Will things get worse? They do. How will two young teenage girls manage to survive? Can’t tell you that. The spoiler thing. But you’ll be wanting to reach the end and find out. Then you’ll be wanting more. Relax. The second book, Survival continues the series.

And then theirs the third book, Invasion. I think it’s the most intense in the series. Things get harder, darker, more serious. But the characters shine light through all that. Sometimes hope builds. Faith in humanity rises. I love character driven stories and these characters will stay with me.

5 STARS

1) There are many books out there written for teenagers and featuring teenagers. What makes yours different?

As a teacher, I often struggled to find clean adventure reads (for 10-14 year olds) featuring strong female protagonists. Don’t get me wrong, Hatchet and Percy Jackson are fantastic reads, but I wanted an adventure series centered on two teenage girls who problem-solve—embrace adventure, show compassion while remaining strong, balance humour with seriousness, take risks, and ultimately act heroically. Those types of series are hard to find.

I also believe the Canadian setting is one of the elements that truly sets my series apart from many others.

2) If you were a character in your series, who would you be?

Ha, ha! I love this question. No doubt about it, I would definitely be Anna. I’m an action oriented problem solver who speaks her mind (sometimes without thinking—my husband would say) and jumps in feet first!

3) Do you have another profession besides writing?

Yes, I’m a teacher. I entered the profession excited about teaching and after 30+ years I still love what I do! Not many people can say that about their career!

4) What is the last great book you’ve read?

I am obsessed with my latest read:

    What She Said 

by Elizabeth Renzetti 

(Conversations About Equality). 

A snippet from the book:

“The fight for women’s rights was supposed to have been settled. Or, to put it another way, women were supposed to have settled—for what we were grudgingly given, for the crumbs from the table that we had set. For thirty per cent of the seats in Canada’s Parliament; for five per cent of the CEO’s offices; for a tenth of the salary of male athletes; for the tiny per cent of sexual assault cases that result in convictions; for tenuous control over our health and bodies. “Aren’t we over it yet? No, we’re not,” Elizabeth Renzetti writes.”  

5) If you’re a mom writer, how do you balance your time?

Although my five children are now adults, my youngest has Prader-Willi Syndrome, lives at home and requires 1:1 support 24/7, so my writing is often in fits and starts. It does make it a bit tricky when I have an idea or feel the urge to write, so I keep a notepad in the kitchen to scribble down ideas when I can’t get to my computer.