Afterland

by Lauren Beukes

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

Ah, another book that hits wayyyy too close to home, I personally kind of love it. Plague? Check. United States being awful to immigrants and kids? Double check. Literally taking people captive for arbitrary crap? Oh all the checks. Ironically, that last point hadn't been front page news when I read the book, so it's just a fresh, horrific tie in to add to the mix.

Afterland hit me right in the motherly feels, guys. Cole will do anything, absolutely anything, to save her son Miles from being taken captive. As one of an incredibly small number of genetically male humans left in the world, Miles is a terrifyingly hot commodity. So, Cole and Miles (as "Mila") go on the run from those who would do... well, Cole doesn't know what they'll do to Miles but she doesn't intend to find out. She just wants to get them back to their home in South America, near friends and hopefully safety. Meanwhile, Cole's sister Billy is one hundred percent awful and is basically willing to also do anything... to capture Miles and the reward she'll get for bringing him in.

I loved that they were basically running across the country, trying to get out of it, and that was a great adventure. We see Cole's and Miles' perspectives as they traverse and dodge, and as they encounter others along the way. Miles feels pretty much like you'd expect a terrified thirteen year old on the cusp of hitting puberty and having to dress up as a girl, all while being chased. My one gripe is that for all the excitement of the chase, the ending felt a bit easy. I guess I wanted a bit more from it, though it did end on a satisfying note.

I found the pandemic interesting in itself, and I liked that the author addressed the issue of other genders and such, which I find can always be a worry with this sort of book. I also liked that there were bits of world status updates interspersed, especially because they contained a bit of dark humor and levity in an otherwise downright depressing world. Overall, definitely a win!

Bottom Line: A great look at the lengths a mother will go to in order to keep her child safe... and the depravity some people will inventively choose at the end of the world. Realistic and quite close to home, I definitely recommend!