Afterworlds

by Scott Westerfeld

4/5 stars

In a novel you always knew the moment something Happened, when someone Changed. But real life was full of gradual, piecemeal, continuous transformation.

Darcy has just sold her first YA novel, a paranormal romance titled Afterworlds, for a hefty advance. She’s also eighteen years old. Putting her first year at Oberlin on hold, Darcy moves to New York to do the writer thing. As she goes through edits of Afterworlds, and the writing of Untitled Patel, she also finds herself and begins to figure out what it means to be an “adult,” all while living in YA heaven. Darcy’s story is alternated with her novel that follows a girl name Lizzie who after a near death experience discovers she can see the dead.

Westerfeld deftly handled the structure of this novel. He would plant something in Darcy’s world that she was working on, or stressing over, and it would pop up in Afterworlds and I would just be like, “Bravo Mr. Westerfeld. This is why I love you.” Additionally, especially toward the end, the themes and journeys of our two heroines matched up very nicely.

At times, in the middle of the novel the narrative, feels a little slow. I lost some sight of the propelling action. Part of this may have been that I was less invested in the paranormal romance than I was anticipating. I was sure that would be the plot line that drew me in the most, but then Darcy completely stole my heart (Even if she could insecure and needy at times. But then again, who isn’t insecure and needy at times? Especially at 18/19?). The paranormal romance part didn’t really speak to me. I didn’t necessarily buy it. But every time I thought about this I also thought about the weird meta thing where the paranormal plot is Darcy writing Lizzie’s story, and Darcy is an 18-year-old first time novelist who wouldn’t have been the most skilled writer yet. So, her plot shows us the promise every character who reads her book talks about, but also leaves in the bumps. Which makes it more believable and honest. I believe that it’s Darcy’s story. Anyway, I tried not to think about it too much because it was going to mess with my brain.

This is a coming-of-age tale (Which I’m a sucker for, and I know, I know, a coming-of-age tale in YA, shocker!) that packs a lot of heart in it’s simple honesty. I personally relate to Darcy’s budget struggles brought on by her love of good ramen and her disinterest in buying a mop. I also have some real estate envy.

This also reads as a love letter to those within the book business and fans of YA. There is discussion of YA genres and the inside of the book business. There are book tours and BEA, and the appearance of a YA superstar of John Green-like internet fame. This book is an ode to the YA community, writers and readers alike. And who knows, maybe Afterworlds will invite some more faces into the community.

It was great to have Scott Westerfeld back. I mean, he didn’t go anywhere. And I just got around to reading the Leviathan trilogy this summer. I still find it weird that the Leviathan series comes first in his blurbs now. I spent my HS years devouring the Uglies trilogy, and Peeps, and So Yesterday. If at the time the means had been available to be as rabid a YA fangirl as exist today, I probably wouldn’t have been far off of the fans seen in the book tour scenes. Or the scene at BEA, because that’s what dreams are made of. Regardless, I can only continue to look forward to the diverse and compelling work Westerfeld continues to produce. I wonder what genre will be next?

Other quotes I liked (I got really paranoid about this after a writer character in the book intimated that writers should make sure their quotable pieces stayed within the character confines of twitter.):

• The world was haunted by the past.
• But I’d seen enough horror movies to know that you didn’t check out scary noises in the basement all alone. Especially if your house didn’t have a basement.
• “Sometimes it’s like I’m only pretending to be an adult.” Carla smiled. “I think that’s how it works. You pretend for a while, and eventually it’s real.”