Mini reviews: McMann & Plum

Gasp (Visions #3) by Lisa McMann

Rating: 5 stars

Summary: After narrowly surviving two harrowing tragedies, Jules now fully understands the importance of the visions that she and people around her are experiencing. She’s convinced that if the visions passed from her to Sawyer after she saved him, then they must now have passed from Sawyer to one of the people he saved.

That means it’s up to Jules to figure out which of the school shooting survivors is now suffering from visions of another crisis. And once she realizes who it is, she has to convince that survivor that this isn't all crazy—that the images are of something real. Something imminent.

As the danger escalates more than ever before in the conclusion to the Visions series, Jules wonders if she'll finally find out why and how this is happening—before it's too late to prevent disaster.

For an ending to a trilogy, this is great and I will venture to say it's better than the last one (it's not fair to compare though because it's so different.) It's a literal page-turner with the aid of short chapters and I couldn't put it down till I knew how it all ended. The stakes are at an all time high in Gasp; with an outside source to the visions and a high possible body count. Thankfully the Scoobies now have a system down to figuring out these premonition disasters.

My review: 

I think what I love most in these three books are the sibling relationships. It's not done enough in YA. Jules has an older brother (who is gay and not a single family member blinks to this and so that is just amazing) and a younger sister, and between the three of them it's hilarious to watch them interact just with the small things, as in rushing to take the bathroom first before school in the morning. Though this is a thriller story, she manages to keep a balance of actual present-family- going ons in play and not in the backseat like a leftover thought. Her parents are alive, and the five of them are very close. There was also a non-vision-related twice that really caught me off guard, and was necessary for some side-character development which didn't happen in the first two books. All in all, I'll miss these characters but it was a wonderful, if heart-stopping farewell.

After the End by Amy Plum

Rating: 5 stars

Summary: World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.

At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.

Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

My review:

Should I dare say dystopians are getting better again? This doesn't really count though. It's pseudo-dystopian. I'm not even sure what genre to classify it, but it's super unique and awesome. If I didn't know the author, I would never have recognized Amy Plum's writing; it's good but completely different than her Die For Me series. (don't get wrong, I liked those!)

If you're looking for a one-stop adventure/spiritual journey, you've gotta read After the End. Juneau is a character I immediately felt for, and she's strong. Juneau believes her whole life that she lives in a post apocalyptic world (from WWIII in 1984,) when suddenly she finds herself stepping into the streets of Seattle with a fully functioning modern society. Her whole way of thinking is turned around. I admire her talent to adapt, she's smart and a quick learner, and her naiveness is hilarious from a present-day point of view.

The chapters alternate between Juneau and Miles, the new friend she picks up along the way. I think the dual third person storytelling is well done--I could definitely tell the difference between the two. Especially when Miles gives her a hard time for blanching at practically everything from the modern world.

The spiritual aspect, the "Yara" fascinates me. It's so normal for her to connect to the universe and manipulate things, even as normal people think it magic. Hell, I think it's magic. (it's not magic.) And what a cliffhanger. I would really love the next one right now please!

Jane :)