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Some things are never as they seem, and After the End, by Amy Plum is no exception. A story within a story that leads to another story, this is one post-apocalyptic tale you haven't heard before... because nothing is as it seems.
Juneau was raised to be the next Sage for her community. Using the earth and its energy, the Sage can communicate in a way completely foreign to the humans of the past. Then again, much of the post-apocalyptic landscape after devastating World War III would be foreign to the humans of the past. Juneau's parents, among others, escaped the war-torn wasteland to hide and survive in an isolated area of Alaska. They live off the land and with the land. But when Juneau's entire community disappears while she is on a hunt, along with the sighting of a helicopter- a piece of technology that should be long gone with another way of life, she knows she must find them.
Meanwhile, there are a lot of people looking for Juneau. When she makes her way back into the United States, she doesn't find what she expected. Life is carrying on normally. In fact, it appears there never was a war. Determined to find her parents, cynical, skeptical Juneau picks her way through the country looking for her people. When she comes across Miles, she has no use for the disrespectful boy, but he has a reason to go along with her- he wants to help capture her and curry his father's favor. While Juneau doesn't trust him, she also isn't aware of the depth of his deceit. The only thing she cares about are her people.
I was totally surprised by this book! I expected your typical post-apocalyptic story (clearly didn't read the description too carefully before starting it) and I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and differences of the story. I even really liked Juneau- a girl completely out of her element in the modern world after growing up surviving in the Alaskan wilderness. It was refreshing and even comical at times to see her trying to make her way with so little knowledge of survival in a world of technology.
My one confusion was Miles. There are these moments when Juneau really feels drawn to him, and I just don't get. Usually I like the wise-guy with a heart of gold character, but Miles didn't have that redemption for me. Instead he seemed like a pompous, self-serving little twit most of the time and his few moments of unboorishness were so few and far between they left me undeterred in my original opinion of him. Overall, I liked this story and there were a lot of unanswered questions that I look forward to exploring in the sequel. I just hope Miles stops being such a darned twerp!
If you have followed the Gallagher Girls from their inception, you know Bex, Macey, Liz and Cammie are not your average young adults. But still, you are sad to see them go, sad to see them graduate, and secretly you hope there will be a follow up series after United We Spy that brings them all back together from their super secret government spy agencies to foil another plot to destroy the world! (Hint, Hint, Ally Carter!!).
Everyone knows the Circle is up to no good, but when the original members of the Circle start disappearing or them and their families start showing up dead, Cammie and the girls immediately worry about Zach and Preston. Preston should be safe in the embassy, but the people who are after him are scarier than anyone had imagined. But the government wants Preston and his father more than the people who are offing the circle. The girls insist Preston doesn't know anything about his father's business in the Circle, but no one wants to believe a young girl. Even if that girl is a Gallagher Girl.
When Cammie witnesses just how far the reach of this group killing off the Circle can be, and almost becomes collateral damage, the girls realize something bigger is afoot. But the scariest part of it all is that Liz, the brainchild of the group, may have set in motion the most terrifying series of events the world has ever seen. Now the girls have to figure out the connection of this secret group, the Circle, and the world atrocities that are pushing dangerous nations into World War III. But how can four girls figure this all out and stop the events from happening? Well, your first mistake is underestimating a Gallagher Girl!
This series started out as your basic Middle Reader. Fun, playful, and silly, it wasn't the most serious of series, but it was darned enjoyable! But then the series started to grow. It got darker, more serious, and the Gallagher girls matured with their readers. And finally we land in this finale, ready and waiting for the girls to graduate and simultaneously foil a plot to start WWIII. It was so perfect, so exciting, I can't believe I have to say good bye to the Gallagher Girls! I can only hope we can convince Ally Carter to start pumping out some "New Adult" Gallagher Girls stories about their adventures in their agencies so we don't have to lose them from our lives!
But the important thing about this series is the absolutely empowering message it sends to girls everywhere. You want to be a spy? Do it! You are brilliant at deciphering codes? You can do it! You are so smart you stump the people around you? Don't hide it to impress some stupid boy who should be attracted to your smarts, not intimidated by them. Use them! Be proud of them! I love the message this series sends to middle readers and young adult girls alike. It tells them there is nothing they can't do, even become a spy! And it really is a message we need to send to our young women. How many girls don't raise their hands because they are afraid their peers will catch onto how smart they are? How many don't join the science club or the math club because they will be made fun of for being a nerd? If we want more women to take charge in these typically male dominated fields, then we have to start right here. We have to be like Ally Carter who tells her readers, "I believe in you!" *climbs off her soapbox* Thank you, Ms. Carter!
