Review: World After by Susan Ee

World After
Author: Susan Ee
Genre: Young Adult, Scifi & Fantasy
Published: November 19th 2013
Publisher: Skyscape
Find: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

WAIT! This review may contain minor spoilers for Angelfall. Don't continue if you haven't read it yet and want to avoid spoilers. Unless, of course, you don't mind spoilers. In that case, continue~

Waiting for this book was like waiting in line for over an hour for that one roller coaster at the amusement park. It's long, agonizing, and you begin to wonder if it'll all be worth it halfway through the line. When it's finally your turn, you're thrown in a fast-paced thrill ride of many ups and downs and maybe a little loop de loop that makes all your worries fly away. Even before you finish the too-short ride, you already know you want to do that again. Yeah, reading World After is kind of like that.

"You broke me out of the grasp of a living horror when I thought all hope was gone. You gave me the opportunity to crawl back to life when no one else could." She glances over at me, her eyes shining in the dark. "You're a hero, Penryn, whether you like it or not."

At first, I was afraid that World After was going to be a rehash of Angelfall considering Penryn was once again on a search to find her missing sister, Paige. I have trouble with the common trope of using younger siblings as plot devices, but luckily, it wasn't too much of a problem in this book. Paige is a lot less helpless now compared to Angelfall, considering what happened to her at the end of the first book. Paige's transformation also adds a tension to her relationship with her sister as Penryn struggles to even look Paige in the eye. I'm really curious to know how the two of them will develop further in the next book, because for me, the book is just as much about family relationships as it is about romantic relationships, if not more. 

Speaking of romance, if you expected a lot of new Raffe/Penryn interactions, you might be disappointed since there isn't a whole lot of Raffe in general until the second half of the book, but that's too be expected from the second book in a series. Seriously, it is just me, or is there some implicit rule of all sequels that the main love interests must be separated in some way for a while? Just me? Okay. Anyway, I didn't mind all too much as it allowed several things to happen:

• Penryn kicks (more) ass on her own. If you were to ask who my favorite book heroine is, I'd have to say that without a doubt it's Penryn, no matter how much she'd like to deny that she is one. She's equal parts caring, witty, and badass. She has her soft moments, and she mopes about once in a while missing Raffe, but she doesn't let that define who she is. She's independent and has her own missions to accomplish. Ugh, I just love her.
• More time for other characters. Aside from Penryn and her family, we'll also see the reappearance of certain people. For example, Dee-Dum are back, and they're as sneaky, troublesome, and mud-fighting-obsessed as ever. They have a special place in my heart since I like to think of them as a cross between the Weasley twins and the Hitachiin twins.
• It makes Raffe/Penryn's actual reunion 10x more satisfying. There's really nothing I want to add to this point, because I don't want to spoil it for anyone and also YOU HAVE TO READ THE BOOK YOURSELF, IT'S WORTH IT.

Plotwise, I'm also glad there's the return of the Rebellion and the angel politics, especially all the talk of Apocalypse. There were some great reveals in this book, and between Penryn's personal struggles and the overall backdrop of a possible war coming up, I just can't wait for the third book in Penryn and the End of Days.  

Also, Pooky Bear.

Wait, what? What the hell is a pooky bear? Why is everyone who read this book mentioning it? You'll have to read the book to find out. I promise it will all be worth it.