Afterworlds (Afterworlds, #1) in What's the Name of That Book???

Jun 17, 2014 Jessica rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, contemporary, youngadult

This is a big, fascinating, ambitious book, and if anyone could pull something like this off you'd think it would be Westerfeld. But . . . I was really a little shocked at the things that just didn't work for me. I wondered if it was just me, but a quick scan of other readers shows similar reactions.

So, back up, let me explain.

This is not one book, it's two.

The odd-numbered chapters are about a girl named Darcy Patel who wrote a book for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, which is Novemb This is a big, fascinating, ambitious book, and if anyone could pull something like this off you'd think it would be Westerfeld. But . . . I was really a little shocked at the things that just didn't work for me. I wondered if it was just me, but a quick scan of other readers shows similar reactions.

So, back up, let me explain.

This is not one book, it's two.

The odd-numbered chapters are about a girl named Darcy Patel who wrote a book for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, which is November, if you aren't in the know), actually sold it, and uses her advance money to move to New York and be an author. The even-numbered chapters are bordered in black and are Darcy's novel, which is about a girl named Lizzie who has a near-death experience and can now see the dead. So, pretty cool, right? And the novel-in-the-novel (entitled Afterworlds, of all things) is at times very creepy, and there is a hot romance, and it actually could have stood alone as a book.

But I almost wish it hadn't. Part of Darcy's story is that she's dealing with working with an editor for the first time. Freaking out over changes suggested to her ending, worrying that she's used the word "veins" too many times, that she's commandeered parts of her parents' Hindu faith for the sake of hot YA romance. I kept waiting to see changes to Afterworlds, like a character suddenly having an accent, or even reading the same chapter twice, but now it ends differently. But halfway through I realized that the Lizzie chapters were already edited, and what we were seeing were the final, polished, product. Which sort of robbed the book of some of its impact, for me anyway. Now I was just reading a straight up YA paranormal romance, which isn't really my thing. Also, Darcy freaks out over the fact that the copyeditor can find almost no physical descriptions for the characters in the books, and I agree. I couldn't picture most of the people (but the settings are great and very creepy) in Afterworlds, and didn't care that much about them by the end. Also, one of the characters is an eleven-year-old girl. It's a good thing that they keep saying her age, because from her behavior I would have pegged her as being six. It became increasingly grating to read about someone who acted like a six-year-old but kept stating her age as eleven. Did no one in or outside of the book notice this? Have any of them ever spoken to an eleven-year-old?

So the novel-in-a-novel was a bit disappointing, in that I would have loved to have seen the editorial process. And the novel-outside-of-the-novel, Darcy's story, was a bit . . . well . . . I loved some of it, and some of it annoyed me. I loved that she wrote and sold her NaNoWriMo novel. I loved that her sister, a math genius, figured out her budget so that she could move to New York and be a writer. That's the dream, right? I still have that dream! I loved her reactions to the publishing world, finding out about book tours, about editing, about sales numbers and all the nitty gritty that no one tells you about.

But then it was like Westerfeld pulled his punches. Yes, she's really seeing what's inside the writing world. But she's not failing, she's hitting one streak of awesome luck after another. She sells her novel in less than a year. Her agent lets her stay in her fancy New York apartment while she finds a place of her own. She finds an amazing apartment with awesome views in one day of looking. She falls in love. Even though she's repeatedly saying she's way over her budget, she just keeps going, shopping and eating out with her new friends. Despite her worries and her writer's block, her book is still getting great buzz. I just kept waiting for it to all come crashing down. And I couldn't believe that she was getting all this, at eighteen. Sure, maybe it was jealousy on my part . . . but still. It was like she never struggled with anything for more than five minutes. Her publisher has no qualms about throwing an eighteen-year-old out into the world of publishing, or that she can't follow through and do edits and turn out a second book in less than a year. She worries about breaking the news to her parents that she's not going to college next year, but they accept it. She puts off telling them about her relationship, since her partner (who pretty much moves in after one date) is FIVE YEARS OLDER THAN SHE IS AND SHE IS BARELY LEGAL (Sorry, sorry, Mom-instinct), and her parents smile and say, How wonderful you're in love! She drinks beer bought with her fake ID and never gets caught. The adults around her buy her drinks and see her in a relationship with an older, wiser person and living on her own in New York fresh out of high school and are like, Isn't this amazing? Yes, it's amazing, it's also, in a way, more of a fantasy than the story of Lizzie walking among the dead! It's also highly problematic in terms of audience: While "Afterworlds" is totally suitable for teens, Darcy's exterior story is . . . really pushing the envelope. She's a high school grad, eighteen years old, in a relationship with a twenty-something. There's plenty of profanity, as in, copious amounts of the f-word, underage drinking, and Darcy pretty much living as an adult in an adult world. I would hesitate to give this to a teen, just because of that.

So, to sum up, and I really didn't mean to get into this so much, but . . . I loved the idea of this book. I loved the insider look at publishing, which I do recommend (with a grain of salt) to those interested in publishing. But at the same time I just need you to remember: This is fiction. Also, swearing is bad. ...more

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Aug 02, 2018 Wealhtheow rated it liked it

Shelves: paranormal_romance, fantasy, queer-characters, ya, pocmaincharacters

This is really two books in one. One is the story of Darcy Patel, who wrote a YA paranormal romance while in high school, had it immediately accepted by an agent and publisher, and is now spending the year writing in New York City instead of going to college. Her first year as an independent adult contains a lot of learning about the city, herself, the publishing industry, falling in love for the first time...I quite liked Darcy and her friends, although I didn't always believe in them. They fel ...more

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Apr 01, 2014 Emma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned, bea

Darcy Patel has put everything on hold to be a writer. A real, published writer. She moves to New York City with a contract to publish her novel "Afterworlds" and its as yet unwritten and untitled sequel, part of her advance, and the dazzling title of soon-to-be debut author.

Darcy does not have plans for college. She does not have an apartment. She does not have any idea what happens next.

But somehow, in the world of writers--both seasoned and new--Darcy finds her people. Over the course of one Darcy Patel has put everything on hold to be a writer. A real, published writer. She moves to New York City with a contract to publish her novel "Afterworlds" and its as yet unwritten and untitled sequel, part of her advance, and the dazzling title of soon-to-be debut author.

Darcy does not have plans for college. She does not have an apartment. She does not have any idea what happens next.

But somehow, in the world of writers--both seasoned and new--Darcy finds her people. Over the course of one tumultuous year in the city Darcy will learn about writing, publishing and even love. More than anything, she'll learn if she has what it takes to really do this thing that she loves so much.

Interspersed with Darcy's story is the story that brought her to New York in the first place: Afterworlds. After surviving an unthinkable attack, Lizzie realizes she has the ability to slip into the afterworld--somewhere that exists between life and death. With her new ability, Lizzie discovers that ghosts are everywhere as are other, darker things. Everyone seems to want something from Lizzie but even her new gifts might not be enough to keep those she loves safe.

Darcy and Lizzie's worlds blend together in this story about facing your fears and finding yourself in Afterworlds (2014) by Scott Westerfeld.

The first thing to know about Afterworlds is that it reads like two books. Odd numbered chapters focus on Darcy's "real world" story of moving to New York and revising Afterworlds. Even numbered chapters detail the "story within the story" of Lizzie and her journey into the afterworld. While this book clocks in at over 600 pages (hardcover) really it's two stories--two books even--in one both told to excellent effect.

In addition this book features a truly diverse cast in a casual/accepted way. While it's important to the story, the diversity never becomes the story.

The premise sounds too lofty. It sounds highly un-writerly. A novel about writing a novel? With the full text of that self-same novel? Surely it can't work. Yet Westerfeld pulls it off beautifully. Although the story is highly self-aware (and often very meta), every detail works here. Darcy's new experiences feed into her revisions of Afterworlds. Her growth as a young woman and author mirrors Lizzie's growth. Both girls, in their respective arcs, accomplish great things.

While not for everyone, Afterworlds is astonishingly successful on every level. Sure to have high appeal for all aspiring authors or sci-fi/fantasy fans. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley, The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst, The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, The Strange Maid by Tessa Gratton, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, The Archived by Victoria Schwab, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

*This book was acquired for review from the publisher at BEA14* ...more

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Jun 27, 2014 Laura rated it liked it

Shelves: mt-bookpile-2011-2015, old-reads

There were moments when I really loved this, and moments when I thought it needed work. Example? Darcy, the 18-year-old writer, felt like the author had a character checklist he went through as he created her (lesbian? check. non-white? check. insecure? check.). Another example? Darcy's sister, supposedly 14, was one of those "overly wise beyond her years" types. The budget Darcy has, with $3500/month in rent and then $17/day for food was completely unrealistic: what happened to utilities?

The in ...more

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Oct 18, 2016 Maria Elmvang rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016, not-owned, ya, 2-stars

A 2.5 star review.

"Afterworlds" is really two stories mixed together. Every odd chapter tells the story of Darcy Patel, her life in NYC and her experiences as a debutante author, and every even chapter is the book Darcy wrote.

I'm finding it extremely difficult to figure out what I think of this book and how to rate it. I enjoyed the chapters about Darcy - appreciating this look into the book publishing business and the life of an aspiring author, not to mention that I really liked Darcy, despite ...more

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