The Darkness After I Read More of the Book

Sooo... remember how last time I was complimenting this book like no other and was really trying to remain unbiased and pretty positive? Well, about that, the seas of change are upon us and everything has differed now that I've truly gotten the feel about what this book truly is, or even better, what it isn't. Now I'm not going to say I hate it, not even loathe, despise, or ultimately abhor The Darkness After, but if I am to remain the transparent author I wish to be I might as well say...

I can't stand this book.

Don't get me wrong or anything, it is an okay novel, but that is all it is. It is a mediocre tale of something that could be much more memorable and how should I put it, exciting. The plot has gone static which is the equivalent of rye toast going stale. It's crunchy in all the wrong places and you just want to regurgitate the pages you've read in the hopes you'd get some time back for the time you spent eating it all up. It would definitely not be on my "Best Books Ever" list nor would it be on the "You Must Read This NOW!" list, hell The Darkness After is only on one list right now and it's the "I Wouldn't Mind If You "Borrowed" This From Me and Never Gave It Back" list. 

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but once an author mistakes "its" for "it's" or "were" for "wear" I'm already close to shutting the book forever. Perhaps it's an editor's mistake, maybe the publisher didn't notice, whatever excuse I don't want to hear it because it shouldn't happen over three times. That's right, call me a snob, but it is perfectly fine for any reasonable person to expect meticulous grammar from something they waited two weeks and spent around twenty dollars in total for.

I started this book optimistically until my friend Julia warned me of the road ahead, I took heed of the warning, yet I didn't expect this road to be so bumpy. If you truly want an unbiased (and probably less dramatized) version of this story, look for the Superwoman, bright and cheery blog of Madame Molly. Jules' warnings were simple, like "oh the plot gets stationary" and "April becomes a cry-baby" (we book nerds are blunt in our character analysis) but at least I didn't go into this book expecting a miracle child. Unfortunately, I gave this book more hope that I should have leaving me disappointed. Here are a few of my reasons:

1. Badass or Just Stereotypical Teenage Mom?
• April Gibbs started off as a dynamic, strong, and mysterious character whom the readers were interested in. I mean, c'mon, who wouldn't be interested in a gal who kills a guy with only a knife and her pure courage within the first few chapters? Unfortunately her motives seemed to be holding her back. She needs to get to her baby. Oh yep she has a baby to get to. Oh did you hear about April? She has a baby to save! I. Get. It. Already. Maybe it's a lack of empathy considering I am no teenage mother, but do you really have to say "I need to get to my Kimberley" in every other sentence? I think not Scott B. Williams!
• April was strong! She was almost at a Katniss level of emotional detachment... but the writing style has made her seem basic and almost prepared for a post-apocalyptic world? Who is truly ready for a solar flare hitting the earth? Not me, that's for sure but that doesn't give the writer any right to make her static just because she knows how to wield a knife.
2. Just Kiss The Girl!
• Do you ever read something or watch a TV show and you just want to shove two characters together and make them kiss because they have so much unnecessary sexual tension? Yeah, that's Mitch in a nutshell with his one-sided relationship with April. Buddy, either you get over it and realize you'll never be a thing (so I don't have to hear the same whining over and over again) or kiss her already. It shouldn't be this hard just to tell a girl who you're practically rooming the apocalypse with that you have feelings for. It isn't middle school Mitchy-poo, if you're strong enough to kill two men with a bow you can build up the courage to talk to her about your feelings.
3. The <shudder> Writing Style

   

   My reaction to unrealistic dialogue

• I read monologues and dialogues all the time, it's an actor thing I guess, but that's what I do! I've read plays kids have written and some of the pros of the industry. But what really gets me is when dialogue doesn't sound even slightly realistic. You want proof? I handed the book over to my eleven year old brother and even he agreed with me that it didn't sound human, "slightly robotic" were his words. He said he'd probably read it for a while, but it would bug him too. Humans need to sound human. Period.

I guess I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to reading whether it be assigned or not. Either way, I hate to say it, but I'm rushing through this novel in the hopes of finishing it. I started off optimistic, but now it just can't get any worse. Perhaps you could say I'm heartbroken with all the opportunities this book missed. Maybe even a bit disheartened, but overall I'm just disappointed <insert disapproving parental look> but I will still maintain that slight sliver of hope that it will get better!