Book Review: The Other Life by Susan Winnacker

The Other Life by Susan Winnacker

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish

Publish Date: May 15, 2012

Hardcover, 352 pages
Fiction, Young Adult, Dystopian, Zombies
 ISBN: 9780761462750
The Other Life #1

My Review:

I now realize that although I seem to like zombies, I haven't read many zombie-type books.  However, The Other Life is not completely about zombies, they are just part of the story.  The part of the story that keeps Sherry and her family sealed in a bunker until the food runs out and the story begins.

As you know since reading The Hunger Games I am completely sucked into the dystopian young adult or post-apocalyptic genre, both are similar, yet different.  I guess this falls more into post-apocalyptic, but both feature something bad happening and the world changing.  Here it seems that there are zombie-type people who were infected roaming the streets and those that weren't infected want to avoid them at all costs.  But Sherry and her father need food.  Then things go very wrong and Sherry's life changes.  While reading I was envisioning the life of the TV show Survivors from Britain.  We watched it on Netflix and it was great.  The book had that feeling, but Survivors didn't have zombies of course.  I think it was the living arrangements of the people that Sherry meets that gave me that feeling and the fact that I read this not long after I finished watching that show.

I enjoyed the story and kept turning the pages to see what would happen next.  I also felt invested in the characters.  I liked Sherry and watching her develop and grow more brave in the outside world.  I also liked Joshua and learning about him and look forward to learning more in the next book.

The plot moves along quickly.  It kept me interested from beginning to end and I definitely want to read the next book.  There are some interesting developments that make this really stand out to me even a couple of months after reading it.  I love the conspiracy feeling and even though that part doesn't come up until later in the book, I was already reeled in so Ms. Winnacker had me in  even deeper when she introduced these extra levels to the plot.

A very interesting post-apocalyptic read with fascinating characters and a well-paced plot.  Lovers of the dystopian/post-apocalyptic genre will want to read this one and then be on the lookout for the next book in the series as well.

My Rating: 5.0/5.0


About the Book:
3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life.

Sherry and her family have lived sealed in a bunker in the garden since things went wrong up above. Her grandfather has been in the freezer for the last three months, her parents are at each other’s throats and two minutes ago they ran out of food.

Sherry and her father leave the safety of the bunker and find a devastated and empty LA, smashed to pieces by bombs and haunted by ‘Weepers’ - rabid humans infected with a weaponized rabies virus.

While searching for food in a supermarket, Sherry’s father disappears and Sherry is saved by Joshua, a boy-hunter. He takes her to Safe-haven, a tumble-down vineyard in the hills outside LA, where a handful of other survivors are picking up the pieces of their ‘other lives’. As she falls in love for the first time, Sherry must save her father, stay alive and keep Joshua safe when his desire for vengeance threatens them all

About the Author (from Goodreads.com): 
Susanne Winnacker studied law and lives with her husband, a dog and three bunnies in the Ruhrgebiet, Germany. She loves coffee (in every shape and form), traveling and animals.

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FTC Information: I received this book from through Teen Book Scene for an honest review.  I do make money from purchases made at The Book Depository, Alibris and B&N.com, but all money is used to fund giveaways and shipping for giveaways from the blog.