The Other Life - Susanne Winnacker

The Other Life – Susanne Winnacker

Pages: 315 (ARC)

Publisher: Usborne

Release Date: 1^st February 2012

From Goodreads: 3 years, 1 month, I week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98, 409, 602 seconds had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world.

Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.

When Sherry’s dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua – and Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.

But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?

I flew through The Other Life. I do love a good dystopia and Susanne Winnacker’s debut definitely is one.

 One the elements of The Otehr Life that I enjoyed the most was the brief glimpses of Sherry’s life from before the rabies epidemic. The stark differences in her life before, during and after living in the bunker were rather shocking actually and it easily cemented the novel in the very near future; it made Sherry’s life a scarily possible future. The Weepers were an unusual threat compared to those I’ve come across previously as they have evolved into something dangerous from something fatal to humans.

I did think there were a few moments that were a little too convenient in popping up in the right moment to drop an info-bomb. There was the early appearance of Geoffrey and then another unexpected character delivers a crushing blow to the rest of the characters near to the end that perfectly sets up the second book in the series. Though I noticed these things and I saw them as devices, they really didn’t bother me all that much. The pace of the story and the involvement I had with the characters was more than enough to allow me to ignore it.

Susanne Winnacker delivered a solid debut that I really enjoyed and I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes out for the sequel, The Life Beyond, when it’s published next February.

Thank you to Usborne for providing me with a review copy.

Sophie