This week's review book, Robert C. O'Brien's Z for Zachariah, takes place after a nuclear apocalypse, so we're picking our favorite post-apocalyptic books!
Which is really really hard for me, because this is easily my favorite genre ever. There are so many books I want to tell you about! The Handmaid's Tale, Good Omens, World War Z, Divergent, Ashes, 1984, Boneshaker, Brave New World... I can't even... ack. So here's one I've been thinking about a lot this week.
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff was recently adapted to film. (Unfortunately, it's on limited release in the US, so I probably won't be able to see it until it's on DVD.) It's also the book from which I chose my favorite quote from a book last month.
One thing I really like about this book is that it doesn't dwell on the fact that it's post-apocalyptic.
Sure, you know - quite clearly - when the war causes devastation and irreparably changes these kids lives, but it starts with Daisy moving to England because of irreconcilable differences between her and her dad & stepmom, and it focuses on her personality, her thoughts, her trying to fit in with her cousins and how unusual it is to move to another place and suddenly everything is different. Then the whole world becomes different because of the war, so it's like it parallels Daisy's life in a weird way. It's just a backdrop for everything else going on.
And I know a lot of the discussion that surrounds this book is "omg it's a YA book about incest." No it isn't. It's a YA book about a girl trying to figure out who she is and she happens to be in love with (and yes, have sex with) her cousin. It isn't about incest by any means. There's so much more to the book, and it's all great.
Which is really really hard for me, because this is easily my favorite genre ever. There are so many books I want to tell you about! The Handmaid's Tale, Good Omens, World War Z, Divergent, Ashes, 1984, Boneshaker, Brave New World... I can't even... ack. So here's one I've been thinking about a lot this week.
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff was recently adapted to film. (Unfortunately, it's on limited release in the US, so I probably won't be able to see it until it's on DVD.) It's also the book from which I chose my favorite quote from a book last month.
One thing I really like about this book is that it doesn't dwell on the fact that it's post-apocalyptic.
Sure, you know - quite clearly - when the war causes devastation and irreparably changes these kids lives, but it starts with Daisy moving to England because of irreconcilable differences between her and her dad & stepmom, and it focuses on her personality, her thoughts, her trying to fit in with her cousins and how unusual it is to move to another place and suddenly everything is different. Then the whole world becomes different because of the war, so it's like it parallels Daisy's life in a weird way. It's just a backdrop for everything else going on.
And I know a lot of the discussion that surrounds this book is "omg it's a YA book about incest." No it isn't. It's a YA book about a girl trying to figure out who she is and she happens to be in love with (and yes, have sex with) her cousin. It isn't about incest by any means. There's so much more to the book, and it's all great.
I'm with Alex. I could tell you about a million and one absolutely fantastic post-apocalyptic books. I mean, there are PILES of them (and The Handmaiden's Tale is pretty high up on that list, believe you me.) But I'm going to pick one that has never been mentioned on this blog ever.
There are robots, guys. And did I mention the ROBOTS. It's all rather epic. These three siblings have to go into the city (despite having lived in the woods, essentially free, all their lives) and find their parents, who have been captured.
BY ROBOTS.
There was a war between robots and man, and the robots won. So now they control everything and it's literally impossible to escape from them. People are tagged with chips, and if you're not, they'll know it. There is so much machinery and regulation that it's impossible to escape.
The book was just well written and you don't get a lot of good robot stories these days (or robots stories in general.) Besides, the main character's name is Cass, so you really can't go wrong there.
I read How I Live Now for my adolescent lit class in college and I don't remember it being post-apocalyptic. I didn't even remember the story line until you mentioned some of it. I have no idea what my favorite book in this category would be, since I often lump them in with utopian/dystopian fiction.
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