The Other Life
The Other LifeSusanne Winnacker
Publish Date: May 15, 2012
ARC from Around the World ARC Tours
Published by: Marshall Cavendish
Reviewed by Michelle
3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world
Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation…and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.
When Sherry’s dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua – an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.
But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all? –Goodreads
I was very excited to get on the blog tour for this book – anything dystopian-ish and zombie-ish I’m all for reading. While it didn’t fully live up to my expectation – this book review of The Other Life is about why I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one to find out what happens with Sherry and her friends.
The World has Changed
Sherry has been living with the same five (technically six but her grandpa died a year ago) people for the last three years in a bunker under their house. They know something bad has happened above ground but haven’t been able to find out what is going on since closing the door three years ago. When their food runs out, Sherry and her dad are forced to venture out of the safety of the bunker to look for food so they don’t starve to death. When they emerge from the bunker, they find a world that has been completely destroyed and nothing like the one that was in existence when they went underground. When Sherry’s dad is taken by the Weepers, she is saved by another survivor, Joshua, and her eyes are opened up to a whole new world.
Keeping Up with the Story of The Other Life
Once Sherry meets Joshua, The Other Life takes off at a fast pace – which isn’t necessarily a good thing. I felt like a lot of world building was left out – I wanted to know more about the world that Sherry had stepped into but instead I was left trying to figure it out while the book sped on. Joshua takes Sherry to Secret Haven – a hideaway out in the middle of nowhere where he lives with a handful of other survivors. From there, Sherry and Joshua must rescue her family from the bunker, find her dad, and stay alive. While The Other Life read fast, I just wanted some more details.
About the Characters
As for the characters, we are introduced to so many but really don’t get much of a back story. With the book ending how it did, I’m pretty sure we will be getting at least a sequel – so hopefully we find out a little bit more about all the interesting characters that Winnacker introduces us to. As for Sherry and Joshua, I could get behind their friendship but not so much the love story. The book is just so fast – the majority of the stuff happens in a matter of days – and their relationship felt forced. But, then again, if I had been living with just my family for over three years and there was a cute boy around I would probably think I was in love with him too after a week. So, there’s that.
An Interesting Read
The Other Life is a fast, entertaining read. I liked the direction that Winnacker went with the Weepers and think the world that she created would be very interesting if I knew more details. I’m a details person, y’all. I love them – so I need that in my books, especially my dystopian books. The Other Life is definitely more character driven and I definitely want to know more about the characters in the book and find out what happens next.