REVIEW & GIVEAWAY! IN THE AFTER by Demitria Lunetta

This is a review of the audiobook for IN THE AFTER by Demitria Lunetta. First I'll review the book itself, then the 'audiobookness' of the book. THEN I'll give away a SIGNED copy of IN THE AFTER!

BOOK
Blurb from Audible:

Amy is watching TV when the world is attacked by Them. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to survive - and even rescue "Baby" - a toddler she finds in an abandoned supermarket.

Then, after years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream, with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she'll lose Baby - and much more.

Oh man, I loved this book. Maybe more so because I didn't think I would. I had shied away from it because I *thought* it was like a lot of other dystopian books that I've read lately (to remain nameless) all action no depth. But Amy is a deep character. She is not just reacting to situations - attacks by flesh eating 'them', having to become completely silent so as to not attract 'their' attention. She's got a rich internal life, and moral struggle. Should she leave Baby behind? Should she just save herself? When she reflects on what her life was like 'in the before' she realizes that the world she used to live in is gone forever.

Or is it? When she's rescued and brought to New Hope - a colony that tries very hard to replicate life 'before' - Amy is skeptical. She's an intriguingly prickly character with conflicting motivations and feelings. This makes her strong and real - she's no cardboard cut out heroine.

The scenes I love best are the ones between Amy and Baby. Their bond is amazing and I love the way Lunetta conveys so much emotion between the girls as they live in a silent world - using sign language, walking on bare feet, always hyper vigilant against the slightest sound that could bring 'their' attack.

The twists and turns in IN THE AFTER are unexpected and when they come, and you cast back in your mind to see if there were any hints that came before, you realize they were there, you just missed them. I didn't know how Amy would survive, not just physically but emotionally and the end made me impatient for more.

The good news is 'more' is coming. IN THE END the sequel to IN THE AFTER comes out June 24th. I can't wait.

AUDIO
I listen to a lot of audiobooks - it's how I get to read as many books as I have to/need to. If I had to wait to have some quiet, alone time in my household of crazy, I'd still be waiting. Audiobooks allow me to read while I'm cutting the lawn, driving, running and ignoring my kids caring for my children.

But the nature of audiobooks is such that the narrator becomes nearly as important as the book itself. A very good narrator is practically invisible, a voice in your head that stands in for you. A bad narrator - or even one that just rubs you the wrong way - can kill your book-enjoying buzz. I could not finish listening to FLORA & ULYSSES by Kate DiCamillo because the narrator got on my very last nerve. Hopefully, I'll be able to pick up the paper version soon and have a better experience.

The narrator for IN THE AFTER is Julia Whelan and she does not disappoint. She captures the tone and character of Amy perfectly, managing to convey the girl's fierceness and vulnerability at the same time. She also does a very good, seamless job of speaking in a slightly different voice when speaking another character's dialogue. Some narrators do this with a very heavy hand. They try to put on a 'voice' or accent so you know that the person speaking is someone other than the main character (especially in a book that is first person like this one.) I think Julia Whelan does this effectively but subtly. I never felt taken out of the story by the narration.

GIVEAWAY!

This is the lovely swag I have for you! A signed copy of IN THE AFTER along with a bookmark and sticker. All you have to do is leave a comment below and, if you'd be so kind, follow me on twitter if you don't already (@magpiewrites)

I'll select a winner at random on Monday June 2nd. Good luck!

Listen to the Sound of My Voice (Audiobooks that are Aural Candy)

Well, don't. I actually hate the sound of my voice. But lately, I've been recording myself reading my WIP (on my iphone, with voice memo) and playing the excruciating music back. Why? Because I trust my ears.

This is probably not new advice to you. I heard "read your work out loud" a lot at my first writers conference. It seemed a bit gimmicky, you know? And I did that anyway, with any sentence that was giving me trouble. I'd read it a loud and hear the clunking word right away, fix it and move on.

But since I've been listening to a lot of books lately - I have an Audible subscription - I realize that words read out loud are a lot less forgiving than words read on the page. There are books I won't listen to as audiobooks because I can't get lost in them. I get stopped by repetitive phrasing, by too many dialogue tags, too may 'sighs.'

So listening to books is a kind of litmus test. There are books that I want to read (and enjoy reading) that will go directly to my Kindle. Other books, usually books that I've been waiting to read and want to hold in my hands and ONLY concentrate on reading, I buy, then wait twitchily until the kids are asleep and I can delve. And there are some books that I know are going to be best as voices in my head.

When you can read on your phone, on an e-reader, via your car stereo and more, how do you decide which way you'll read a book?

Below are some of the best audiobooks I've read lately.

CODE NAME VERITY - Elizabeth Wein
Like the book wasn't genius enough. The two actresses who trade off the narration are brilliant. They are able to slip in and out of spot on accents and go from the dizzying heights of flying a plane to the horrific lows of being tortured by Nazis. All without a drop of self indulgence. I would listen to this again in a heart beat because it's so rich.

THE HANDMAID'S TALE - Margaret Atwood
I read THE HANDMAID'S TALE in college and liked it fine. But hearing Clare Danes read it made me love it. She imbues the narrator's story with so much depth and realness, that I easily slotted myself into her oppressive, mundane life. It made the story much more terrifying.

THE NEVERENDING STORY - Michael Ende
Another story I read in book form when I was younger. Now, hearing it I have the amazing feeling that I'm in the story, I'm 'watching' Bastian as he watches Atreyu and the unfolding story. It doesn't matter that I know what is going to happen, I'm happy to be along for the ride.