I loved the uglies series but haven't been able to get into his other books but I pick this one up bc of the girlxgirl aspect and I have to say it is now one of my all time favorites<3 Two amazing stories on their own but combined makes a book you'll never want to put down.

This is my first Scott Westerfeld book and I was really excited to read it. I’ve heard great things about his books but I haven’t heard much about this one in particular. I wasn’t disappointed, I definitely enjoyed this book, but the ending was a little bit disappointing. While this book satisfied my desire to read one of Westerfeld’s novels, and I enjoyed the premise of reading two books at once, I don’t think I will pick up any other Scott Westerfeld books and if this were to become a part of a series, I probably wouldn’t continue. I’m content and satisfied, but not craving more, which means this book didn’t have that lasting effect on me. Having two stories in one story was something really different and I don’t know if I’ve ever actually read a book like this. It was an awesome idea and really appealed to me as a reader. I got the contemporary, real world story that I love from Darcy and then I got to explore the adventurous, ghostly, supernatural story from Lizzie. It was like reading two books at once, which is never a bad thing. Westerfeld did a really great job executing the two stories. I felt like both were given the attention they deserve and both had time to develop. They were two complete stories that complimented each other very nicely. In fact I think it added a whole new level to Afterworlds (Darcy’s written book within Westerfeld’s entire book). We got to see Darcy struggle with the writing process, doubting herself and her work. We got to see into the world that is Young Adult writing and it was a really intriguing to read about. I might want to move to NYC and become a writer myself. Although reading about Darcy writing the new ending might have been part of the reason I’m slightly disappointed with it. Little things that I loved included Lizzie’s story, and the two romances. Lizzie’s story was also a lot creeper than I thought it was going to be! I won’t say anything more but if you’re like me, and you don’t do scary very well, don’t read this book at 1 am. The romantic in me loved that we got two romances. A supernatural one and a LGBT one. This was my first LGBT young adult book I’ve read and I thought Westerfeld did a really great job. The last hundred pages or so I was definitely waiting for this to wrap up. Darcy got a little whiny for my taste and while I saw her growth throughout the story it seemed like she relapsed back to this 17 year old girl in high school and I didn’t enjoy that. Things also just seemed to be going on for a lot longer than necessary. But overall, I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary but wants the action of the unknown and supernatural.

Received a copy from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. HOLY WOW! The first two chapters of this book are amazing. Afterworlds is a legit page-turner. The dual storyline concept of a debut author completing their first novel (which you read alongside) could have gone horribly wrong, but Scott Westerfeld nailed it. I LOVED the juxtaposition of Darcy’s (the author) journey alongside Lizzie’s. It was incredibly clever to watch the editing process affect the outcome and style of the Afterworlds story throughout. I was also majorly impressed with Westerfeld’s ability to write the young female voice so honestly and without the cliched traps many older authors fall into. These were human beings living their lives. It didn’t matter what their gender, race, or sexuality was. Very nicely handled. I’m not sure if I enjoyed this book more because I’ve been working with authors for the past year… but I found the process thrilling to experience on the page. I feel like I was totally in the know about the life of a writer. Some really good *wink wink nudge nudge* Would be interested to know how fellow writers feel about this piece… One of my favorite reads of 2014. Thanks for the opportunity to read/review the ARC, Simon Pulse!