Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 664

Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK Children's Books

Released: 24th of September 2014

Darcy Patel has put college and everything else on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. Arriving in New York with no apartment or friends she wonders whether she's made the right decision until she falls in with a crowd of other seasoned and fledgling writers who take her under their wings…

Told in alternating chapters is Darcy's novel, a suspenseful thriller about Lizzie, a teen who slips into the 'Afterworld' to survive a terrorist attack.

But the Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead and as Lizzie drifts between our world and that of the Afterworld, she discovers that many unsolved - and terrifying - stories need to be reconciled. And when a new threat resurfaces, Lizzie learns her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she loves and cares about most.

What I Have To Say

I wasn't sure how this book would really work. I honestly thought that Darcy's book would be the only interesting parts. But it was by Scott Westerfeld, who's one of my favourite authors so I thought I'd give it a shot. 

It actually really surprised me. At times I was more into Lizzie's story and was reading quickly through the Darcy parts to get back to it. But at other times it was the other way around. And then there were times when I got so into each part that I forgot that something dramatic was happening in the other part.

On the whole, I think I liked Darcy's story the best as it showed a lot of Darcy's worries about being in the adult world. I was especially interested in the fact that it showed someone who chooses a path other than university, as this isn't something that's seen often. 

The way this was written just made it so much more interesting. It wasn't a contempory romance about a young debut author, it wasn't a paranormal thriller about hot hindu death gods. It was two books in one. And it did it brilliantly.