In Waypoint, twin brothers trek across the country to fix the country’s power outage. In Anna and the Apocalypse, high-schoolers battle zombies on Christmas. In The Rains, all the adults get infected by a zombie-like virus, and a boy tries to save his brother who will be turning eighteen soon. Enjoy my mini reviews for these three post-apocalyptic books!
Waypoint by Deborah Adams, Kimberly Perkins
*I received an ecopy of this book from the authors. This has not influenced my review.*
This book was kind of a YA thriller/action & adventure story about a cross-country trek with a vaguely post-apocalyptic feel, due to the premise of the power grid being down. Not quite as SFF as what I usually read, but I enjoyed it! There was danger, secrets, survival, romance, bad guys, twins---a little bit of something for everyone.
All four POV characters were ones you could root for, but I especially loved Alex---she was endearingly awkward, but she thought on her feet and fought her way out of bad situations instead of giving up, and she always wanted to pull her own weight. She was very down-to-earth and relatable. I thought the romance between Alex and West was cute, although I wasn't as big a fan of the blossoming romance between Simon and Riya because it felt a little forced. Another thing I liked though was the anxiety rep and how the book touched upon online friendships and how a lot of people don't understand them and believe they're not real friendships even though they very much can be.
Overall, I think this is something that fans of twisty YA books might really enjoy.
Anna and the Apocalypse by Katharine Turner
This Christmas zombie apocalypse story was a great idea, but the execution was a letdown for me. This was adapted into a book from a movie musical, from what I understand, but I don't think it translated very well into this medium. And maybe that's not even the author's fault; there are certain elements and types of humor that work better in movies than in books, and vice versa. But since this is a book review... The POV was omniscient, but I was constantly being thrown out of the story while trying to figure out who's thoughts I was getting. Some of the characters were TSTL, and their actions/reactions were not believable. None of the characters were particularly developed and it felt like not much happened because the book was such a quick read; it kind of just skimmed the surface of everything. And in the end, it was a real downer. As a movie musical, I think this could be fun. As a book though, this wasn't right for my taste as I prefer more depth to my stories. But if you just want a quick read about some high schoolers slaughtering zombies on Christmas, you may enjoy this more than I did.
The Rains by Gregg Hurwitz
*I won a copy of this book in a giveaway. This has not influenced my review.*
I really liked the touching family aspect in this book since the main character really looked up to his brother, and his brother was the one who was there for him. The whole brotherly love thing even added a bit of emotion to the story. I also thought the author chose a good setting and used it well; if ever there were a group of kids and teens who would be able to survive an alien invasion apocalypse, it would probably be kids from a small farming town. And I liked Chance as a protagonist. But the main issue I had was that there were too many action scenes that went on for too long, at least for my taste, since a lot of them were just the same thing---the character running from and fighting off Hosts. And just a warning for anyone who doesn't like cliffhangers, there was a complete story in the sense that the main goal of this book was addressed, but there was a cliffhanger ending that will lead into the next book. So this wasn't quite for me, but it might work better for anyone who likes action-packed books with lots of zombie-esque fight scenes.
Have you seen the Netflix Series of this? I enjoyed that, but from what you say here it sounds like it might be pretty different. First off, in the series, the MC is a girl. Also, I don’t think the virus had anything to do with age in the series. I bought this book awhile back because I was interested after watching the show, but now I’m a bit scared I won’t be a fan. Drawn out action sequences are usually not for me either. Anyway, thanks for these reviews!!
I haven’t, but I don’t think the Netflix is based on this. I think the titles are just coincidence, or maybe it’s based on a different book? I’ve heard a bit about the series though, it sounds interesting!
For some reason I thought Anna and the Apocalypse started as a book! I am tempted to see the movie, I heard its hilarious 😊
Nope, it’s the other way around, which is unusual! I am tempted to see the movie too, even though it looks rather gory for my taste lol.
Kristen, so glad you enjoyed reading Waypoint! Thanks for being such a great blogger to follow and collab with. Also, was so excited to see that you were the 30th review on Amazon. It feels like a lucky number 🙂
Thanks, it’s been a pleasure working with you as well!
There should DEFINITELY be more Christmas zombie books. Absolutely. Like maybe that Trump supporter relative turns zombie and wreaks havoc? Okay that’s not nice I guess.
Waypoint sounds pretty good and I like the power grid being down thing. I haven’t read a lot of those. Too bad Anna and the Apocalypse wasn’t better. 🙁
For some reason I thought you had reviewed The Rains already. Oops. But I agree- not bad. It’s one of those books I liked a lot at the time, but since then m,y regard for it has slipped a little- not sure why. Maybe the arbitrariness of the 18 year old cutoff point isn’t sitting as well with me now that some time has passed. I haven’t read the sequel yet either…
Right? There def should be! That’s why I was so excited for AatA, so it’s too bad it wasn’t better. Side note, does everyone just have at least one Trump supporter in their family? Lol.
I read The Rains like two years ago, so you prob just saw me mention it in my update post. The 18-year-old cutoff was highly unrealistic, one of those things you just have to accept if you’re going to enjoy the book. I didn’t care for the book enough to read the sequel, though I was kinda curious about the cliffhanger.
I like that different forms of friendship are addressed in Waypoint. Sorry these weren’t better reads for you!
It is nice to see online friendships!
Waypoint sounds pretty interesting, especially the focus on online friendships. It always frustrates me when I hear people say that online friendships aren’t real friendships.
Same! I love that that was included.
Post apocalyptic books can be a bit hit or miss for me. Waypoint certainly sounds good, I’ve had a lot of luck with YA thriller type books, they’re fun and it’s good you can root for the characters. I loved the cover for Anna and the Apocalypse so I’m sad that didn’t get a higher rating. I’ve watched the trailer for the film though and that looks like a laugh at least.
Same. I like post-apoc that focuses on how the characters react and feel when they’re pushed to the brink in the post-apoc situation. Ones that are just a bunch of fighting/running/hiding don’t really work for me. I love the Anna cover too. I’d still like to see the film, it looks fun!
I have read The Rains and I loved it! Do you think you’ll still read the second one, because that is the end of the series… I really liked the brotherly feelings which you mentioned, and Chance worked out well for me as a protagonist. I can see what you mean about the action scenes though. I know it worked for me because I don’t read a lot of books with action like this as I cross so many genres, so I didn’t get bored of them! I feel like it could translate well into a movie.
I’m always wary about books which are movies/musicals and then made into books. But it sounds like it didn’t quite work out for Anna and the Apocalypse. Waypoint sounds like a decent read but nothing ground breaking…
No, I wasn’t into it enough to continue. I’m glad you loved it though! I really did like the brother relationship. And it is a book that might work well as a movie.
I don’t know if I’ve read any other movies/musicals made into books. This one just sounded so great though, so it was too bad it wasn’t better :-/
I want to see Anna and the Apocalypse so bad. It was supposed to go straight to video years ago then got bought by a studio who then released it this year but not anywhere near me 🙁
I got offered the book to review but it did sound thrown together so I passed. Seems like a good choice.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
I do think that was a good choice. But the movie looks like a lot of fun, I wanna see it too!