Kari's Corner

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Scott Westerfeld’s (author of the Uglies series) latest novel flips between two different characters. 

One story is about Darcy Patel.  She just graduated from
high school and already has a contract to get her novel published.  Her novel is expected to do well.  She moves to New York to work on editing the final draft of her novel. 

Told in alternating chapters is Darcy’s novel, a thriller about a teen, Lizze, who survives a terrorist attack.  Scared that she will die, she pretends to be dead and slips into a different world, the afterworld.

I enjoyed the alternating between the two different stories.  If the novel had just been one story or the other, it would not have been as interesting.  Also, on one of the stories, the chapters looked different (black on bottom of page) which helped you keep straight on which story you were currently reading.  Overall, an enjoyable young adult read.