After the Parch

by Sheldon Greene

It's 2075. California is nothing like we know it. The USA has broken up and California has become an independent refuge dominated by a single omnipotent corporation. Eighteen-year-old Bran, a shepherd, is given a mission to traverse the California republic in ten days, in order to save his rural community from forfeiting its land. On the way, he teams up with a seventeen-year-old girl who has the skills and prowess of a warrior, an eleven-year-old wild boy with uncanny survival skills, and a wandering musician with a secret revolutionary agenda. After the Parch is a fast-paced, vivid, dystopian fantasy with a chilling resemblance to the way we are, and a vision of what we might become. It's a well-crafted story and the plot flows naturally from one crisis to another, with three-dimensional characters right up to the taut and positive climax. Sheldon Greene has been called "a born storyteller" by the Los Angeles Times for his book Lost and Found (Random House). This is his fifth novel.

220 pages, Paperback

First published March 21, 2014

About the author

Sheldon Greene started young. He was appointed Warden of Insurance of the State of Ohio at age 23. A public interest lawyer, Greene pursued seminal issues literally decades before they achieved national attention, such as our flawed health delivery system, the impact of illegal immigration on the economy, renewable energy, and our public land policies. Greene was a participant in the first Obama national policy team for both immigration and energy. He was one of the founders of the New Israel Fund and helped formulate its unique structure drawing on his experience as General Counsel of California Rural Legal Assistance. He is an executive in a wind energy development company and has been actively engaged in renewable energy for over 25 years. He advocates the formulation of a God concept derived from the life process, stripped of anachronistic anthropomorphic characteristics. He has developed personal guidelines for a balanced, seamless life with spiritual, intellectual, social, and creative dimensions. He is the author of seven published novels.

Of the seven novels already published six have strong Jewish content. The topics range widely from fact based to flights of imagination. Topics explored include aid by Jews to the American Revolution,(Pursuit of Happiness) Jewish influence on Pre-Columbian culture, (The Seed Apple) World War II Jewish partisans, the illegal immigration to Palestine, the Israeli War of Independence (Prodigal Sons) , small town Jewish values,(Lost and Found). One of the novels, (Burnt Umber) moves from Pre World War I Germany to Berkeley during the Viet Nam war with the German artist, Franz Marc and a fact-based Jewish artist and Cal professor as the principal characters. A major theme is the empowerment of women in the 20th Century. Yet another novel (After The Parch) describes California in the near future after the dissolution of the United States.

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from Bostick communications for a honest review

This book starts out in California in 2075. After the U.S has broken up. Bran an eighteen year old shepherd, is picked to travel across California to get the patent to save his small town from foreclosure. As he travels along on his journey he meets June a beautiful warrior girl and Ephus a wild child, who helps them survive more then once . They also meet up with Nikanor a beautiful musician and also a rebel leader. He comes in quite handy with some of the situations that poor Bran finds himself in. They only have ten days to get to where they are going. Will they make it in time to save his rural town and will they survive the journey.

Sheldon Greene takes us on a fast paced, journey through a post apocalyptic U.S in the year 2075. Where there has been a deadly drought. It is a face paced book that takes you to a place in the future. It takes you to a place where things go from bad to worse for the people. The transportation is well if it is there . It is bad . You have factions that are ruling and people are poor . People are rounded up and if can't be contracted out for work . Are put down. There is poverty and homelessness. The church is at the heart of helping out the disadvantaged . People are fighting to keep what they have and rebels trying to fight for what is good . Trying to bring down the big evil that is running the show .

This book moves at a fast pace and flows nicely from one event to the other , good or bad. The characters are well written and you can feel the emotions of the characters. You want to cheer for Bran and his traveling companions cause they go through so much . You just want to help them and cheer for them . Also you just want to wrap them up and hug them close , when they are put through the torture. There is an adventure ride throughout this book with lots of thrills and a few goosebumps

So if you are into apocalyptic , dystopian book . This is the book for you . A great read for anyone 15 to 85 . A great summer read for the beach or lake. So take a chance you won't be disappointed

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

UGH!! I feel like I need to bleach my brain after reading this. Seriously, not one character had a spark of character, they were all despicable, horrific creatures, and this book is so beyond inappropriate that it's not even funny.

I was told to expect a PG-13, fast-paced, beautifully written book. I got a pile of misspelled, grammatically unsound paragraphs that should be NC-17.

Awful.

[Mara · Rating 1 out of 5]

A copy of After the Parch was provided by the Author. I was not obligated to write a positive review. This is my full and honest opinion.

Cover Blurb: Yes or No? The cover is quite boring, and I don't quite understand it. Is it supposed to be cracked dirt? Dry twigs? Veins?

Characters: The back of this book promised three-dimensional characters, and thus presumably characters that I would love and care about. The back cover lied. Big time. I did not care one iota about Bran the protagonist, June the seventeen-year-old slut, Nikanor the fiddler with a secret rebellion, Ephus the twelve-year-old wild boy, or Jonah the less-than-honest traveling actor and magician. I just plain didn't care! They all blended into one, or in the case of June (and Bran, for that matter), they were slutty. The Author tried to go for a strong rebel leader type personality in Nikanor, and if it had been someone else writing him, I think I could have really come to like him. June, at least, didn't have a bitchy attitude or a chip on her shoulder, but that was a small favor given everything else. There are no real villains in this book; none that you can remember the name of or even what they're trying to accomplish. The "all powerful" corporation is even entirely forgettable, as is their agenda, because the Author never tells you.

The Romance: There is no romance; it's all lust. Love and commitment have nothing to do with it. It's all down to repopulating the earth and all that. Does it take up a lot of the story's time? Oh yes. Bran notices June's superior body, right along with every other dirty male in this book, and the only reason he doesn't succumb to sleeping with June sooner is because . . . . well, it actually doesn't say. Maybe it can be assumed he feels some very minor commitment to his current girl, but I doubt it.

Plot: Quite honestly, I don't know what the plot was. Bran is traveling to Los Angeles (I think) to buy some sort of land permit for the little community he lives in, so some random corporation doesn't push in and start mining the land. Along the way, he runs into some people that tag along and have their own storylines that go absolutely nowhere. The world building in After the Parch sucked, to be quite honest. It simply wasn't there. It was like the Author assumed that if you read the synopsis (which obviously you did), then you knew all you needed to know about this 2075-era USA, and he didn't need to do any further explaining in the actual story. The synopsis says there's this all-powerful corporation controlling California now, but that's never actually made clear in the book, nor is it ever made clear what the corporation is even trying to accomplish. The origins of the massive drought are explained in a totally convoluted, insensible manner. There's some talk about a giant earthquake, which caused a nearby nuclear power plant to go into meltdown, which then somehow led to a flu outbreak that couldn't be cured. So California was quarantined, and then everyone started shipping their criminals down there, and that all somehow led to how California is now in the book. However, it's never at all made clear if any of those disasters are linked. Did the nuclear meltdown cause the drought? Did it cause the flu? Did an overpopulation of criminals make the rain dry up? The Author had a couple of really good ideas in the story, but didn't do anything with them. There was, for instance, the school that Bran and his friends find June. It's a school where they train girls - and young boys - to be companions to rich people. Totally creepy; doesn't go anywhere. Then they run into these people that steal other people and sell them as labor, and if the person is too old, they harvest their organs and use the ashes of their burnt body for fertilizer. Totally creepy; doesn't go anywhere. The rebellion doesn't go anywhere, either. Their sole purpose seems to be to bail Bran out when he gets into a tight spot, and then give him a lift home so he gets the permit in time. How boring!

Believability: I don't even know where to begin. None of it was believable. Corporations don't have private armies. There is no rhyme or reason for the government to suddenly ship their criminals to California. The massive drought isn't explained, and therefore makes no sense. Everyone is supposed to be starving, and yet there seems to be an awful lot of obese people.

Writing Style: Third person, present tense. The style itself wasn't necessarily bad, though the Author seems to have some personal vendetta against the comma, and his accents were totally inconsistent and absurd. The Author also took every opportunity he could to use the word "groin," "buttocks," "thigh," and "breasts." Some of his similes were seriously disturbing (example below), and never, ever should the word "scrotum" ever appear in a book. There's just some words you don't write. Oh yes, and peeing scenes. Again, another example below. "I sure try to," says Nikanor with the embryo of a laugh. (pg. 119) "Excuse me," says June and she walks away, drops her pants and relieves herself. [Bran] sits down on a soft hummock of dried grass and listens to her stream sizzling against a rock. (pg. 154)

Content: Ephus, the eleven-year-old boy, has sex with one of the girls at the school (pg. 42). I do not care how you try to explain it away; it is purely disgusting to have an eleven-year-old boy have sex. He is a child! Not only that, but of course Bran and June sleep together (pg. 154). And it's graphic. On top of these scenes, the Author takes every opportunity he can to describe June's perfectly formed buttocks, breasts, and thighs. Dude, stop being a pervert! We don't want to read it!

Conclusion: As boring as the rest of it. One thing surprised me about this book: considering the Author is a lawyer and an executive in a wind energy company, I expected a lot more bashing of corporations and green talk. However, the Author was too busy writing sex scenes and being perverted that he didn't have time. After the Parch annoyed me. It was boring, it was sleezy, it had no good characters, and it fell more in the category of New Adult than Young Adult. And as my Review Policy states, I don't do New Adult. This was a waste of my time.

Recommended Audience: I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, and certainly not teens. And to close this review off, I'm going to share one more "favorite" quote:

The ascent grows steeper and the switchbacks in the path pass through groves of live oak yielding to sparse fir and sides of a bowl into a wide, mutilated valley. Earth slides and erosion have taken great bites out of the hills, leaving pocks from which protrude the torn muscle and bone of the earth. Skeletons of fallen trees, their roots twisted in anguish, lay upturned on the slopes or in great tangles. In the notch of the valley a river, yellow with mud, moves like sludge over the surface of its stone and silt-filled bed, watched over by isolated laurels and cottonwoods. To Bran it is like discovering a body abandoned and decaying by the road. Nikanor explains that the forest was clear-cut after the Parch to provide housing for the homeless and never replanted. (pg. 33)

Where's the crying American Indian?

[Huda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It's 2075, and the California we once knew is no more. In this gripping dystopian novel, the United States has crumbled, leaving California under the control of a powerful corporation. In this unsettling reality, we meet Bran, an eighteen-year-old shepherd who embarks on a critical mission to save his rural community from losing their land.

As Bran journeys through the California republic, he forms an unlikely alliance with a skilled warrior girl, a resourceful eleven-year-old wild boy, and a secretive musician with revolutionary aspirations. Together, they navigate a treacherous landscape, facing one crisis after another in a race against time.

"After the Parch" is a thrilling and vivid dystopian fantasy that serves as a haunting reflection of our current world and a warning of what could lie ahead. The story is masterfully crafted, delivering a fast-paced plot that seamlessly moves from one gripping situation to the next. The characters are multidimensional, bringing depth and authenticity to the narrative, culminating in a tense and satisfying climax.

With its chilling resemblance to our present reality and its thought-provoking vision of a possible future, "After the Parch" immerses readers in a captivating tale that will keep them on the edge of their seats. Brace yourself for a journey through a world that feels all too real, as you witness the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity."

[Marina Lujan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheldon Greene transports us to a bleak and terrible future. Greene gives us a harsh dystopia where the United States has disintegrated and an oppressive corporation has assumed total control of the region in the year 2075, set in a broken and drastically altered California. The author takes us to a scary and repressive world where hope seems to be slowly vanishing through his engrossing story.

Through his rich and in-depth portrayal of the California of the future, Greene is able to create a picture that is oppressive and depressing. Every page produces a real sense of hopelessness and a lack of freedom, which keeps the reader on edge throughout. It's difficult to put the book down because the author's writing is quick and engrossing, keeping a rapid pace.

In addition to his ability to create a compelling setting, Greene presents memorable and complex characters. Bran is a compelling and courageous protagonist whose determination and courage make him a natural leader. The secondary characters are also well developed, each with their own story and motivations that transcend the typical stereotypes.

Sheldon Greene delivers a masterpiece that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very end. A must-read for fans of the genre and for those looking for an exciting and thoughtful story.

[Santiago Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Gripping Journey Through a Dystopian California

In Sheldon Greene's After the Parch, readers are transported to a bleak vision of the year 2075, where California has transformed into an independent refuge controlled by a powerful corporation. In this gripping coming-of-age adventure, eighteen-year-old Bran, a shepherd, embarks on a pe rilous mission to traverse the California republic within a tight timeframe of ten days. His goal is to save his rural community from losing their precious land.
Along the way, Bran forms an unlikely alliance with a fierce seventeen-year-old warrior, a resourceful eleven-year-old wild boy, and a secretive musician harboring revolutionary aspirations. As the group navigates this harsh and unforgiving landscape, the story unfolds with relentless pace, painting a vivid dystopian fantasy that serves as a chilling reflection of our own society and a cautionary glimpse into our potential future.
After the Parch is a well-crafted tale, seamlessly transitioning from one crisis to the next, all while introducing three-dimensional characters who evolve amidst the chaos. Greene skillfully builds tension and delivers a satisfying climax. This fast-paced and thought-provoking novel is a must-read for fans of dystopian fiction.

[Ivan M · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the Parch is a fantasy book written by Sheldon Greene. I think it's the perfect book for a teenager who enjoys adventure since the characters in this novel are between the ages of 11 and 18 years old. The book follows the story of Bran, a young man who needs to travel to the new republic of California to save his community. On the way, he will join forces with other teenagers, but will this be enough to save his people?

Overall, it's an easy-read book; perfect for a fun afternoon. The author excels in keeping the intensity over the pages; and the story, even though it's fantasy, doesn´t go too far away from reality.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dystopia California

In California in a year 2075, a young boy named Bran, a shepherd, is tasked with traversing California in order to save his small community from being taken over by a big mining conglomerate. Along the way he meets up with a girl and another young boy and three of them have to survive the dystopian landscape that they live in. The story is a coming of age, but also a survival story. There is betrayals, building of trust and relationships and a whole lot of grit from Bran and his new friends. Highly recommend this book.

[Nicole M. Hewitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 Stars.

This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction

This is one of those books that's a little bit hard for me to review because there was nothing tangible that held me back from really enjoying it, but I just didn't connect with the characters as well as I wanted to.

The story follows Bran as he travels to purchase the rights to the land his people live on before a mining company takes over. The book takes place in the future after a worldwide drought has caused chaos. Bran has lived most of his life in a small self-sustaining community and has been taught to trust no one on the outside. But when his journey goes wrong, he finds that he has to depend on strangers if he wants to complete his task - and survive.

The negatives:

Lack of connection.
Like I said, the main reason that this book doesn't get a higher rating from me was because I just didn't connect to the characters all that much. I'm not exactly sure why. I think that the characters were relatively well-developed, but I just didn't empathize with them. I wish that I could give solid reasoning why, but unfortunately, this was just one of those cases when I can't really define the issue. I simply didn't feel anything for these characters much of the time (at least not strongly). June was the one exception to this.

Attitude about sex.
Sex is handled very cavalierly in this book. In this version of the future, re-population is important, so sex is seen as something necessary and natural. I suppose I understand this, but I just wasn't crazy about it. At one point an 11-year-old boy has sex and it's noted with little comment (a slight thought that he was kind of young). Bran has sex with June (the girl who is traveling with them - who was being prepared to be a prostitute) even though he's supposedly devoted to his mate back home. He says that the sex doesn't matter, but then also wonders what his mate would think if she saw him - and June obviously feels something for Bran. I just couldn't quite get on board with the idea that sex meant nothing.

What I enjoyed:

The worldbuilding.
I thought that Greene created an interesting dystopian world and did a good job at worldbuilding. The breakdown of the government felt realistic and there was plenty of explanation about how the world got to its current state.

June.
June (the 17-year-old girl who is mentioned in the synopsis) is the one character in this book who I truly liked. She had spunk, strength and character. She had been in an interesting environment - on the one hand, she was educated and fed and treated well, but she was being groomed to basically be sold to a man. In this dystopian society some girls might have been happy to be taken care of, but June wanted her freedom. But she was also willing to risk that freedom to help Bran and the others in their group. June wasn't perfect, but she was trying her best in a world with few options. June was the one character in the book that I truly cared about.

The ending.
The ending of this book is sort of introspective, leaving Bran with some lessons learned and a new sense of what it means to be a citizen of the world. I really liked the note that the book ended on. It has stayed with me. I liked the overall message that Greene put forth in the book - that we cannot stand alone, or even just in our own little communities, that we need to reach out and think about the needs of others - even those we may not know and may never know. A worthy message.

So, overall, I enjoyed this book, but I would have enjoyed it more if Greene had been able to give me a deeper connection to his characters. I give After the Parch 3.5/5 stars.

***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***

[Karyn H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly Remarkable Dystopian Adventure About the Future of America
if you are a fan of fast paced adventures, After the Parch by Sheldon Greene is one exciting novel that will keep you on your heels. The story is set in the United States—which is no longer was no longer as it is today in the Year 2075. The country has broken up into several factions with California as the largest area dominated by a single omnipotent corporation.
A young eighteen-year old boy Bran is the central character of the story. Bran was a shepherded who was on a tough mission to traverse the entire California lands in ten days or risk losing his rural community. On his way, he makes a couple of friends, who will come handy through his journey.
One is seventeen years old girl with the dexterity of a warrior, a wild boy who is just eleven, but is equipped with uncanny survival skills, while the third is a traveling musician whose secret dominance agenda. The friends continue on this fast paced dystopian adventure that seeks to look into the future in ways that are both relatable and imaginary. It is a mirror into what we might become.
Excellent and well-crafted plot—After the Parch is an interesting read.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this novel by Bostick Communications in exchange for an honest review

2.5 Stars

After the Parch by Sheldon Greene is a YA dystopian novel that follows the hero, Bran’s travels and his attempts to save his tiny, unobtrusive community, the Glade. Along his travels, he teams up with a couple of eclectic characters, including Ephus, a young boy that Bran brought into the Glade after find him alone in the wilderness; a prostitute-in-training warrior lady, 17 year old June; and a mysterious - Nikanor. During his travel, Bran meets members of Unity America, a shadow government who's attempting to help society in secret.


Recently, I’ve been hesitant about YA dystopian novels, because there are just so many out there now, and it feels like I’m reading the same plot/settings/ideas over and over again. However, I really wanted to try a novel suggested by Bostick Communications, and when I received an e-mail summarizing After the Parch, I decided to request it. Although I had my reservations about another dystopian novel that followed another teenager, I always hope that the next one I read will be the one that breaks the mold. This wasn’t it.

It took me forever to connect with the main character, Bran, and I'm not sure if it was because he's not the smartest MC, or if it was because there wasn't that much meat to the novel. Or it could have been that on Day 3 of his 10 day journey, he meets up with the pretty, young thing June, and seems to just go right into an insta-loveish/lust kind of deal with her. At the same time, the reader is reminded of his girlfriend back in the Glade, Mavis, but since we didn't really meet her, I didn't care all that much about her anyway.


I just felt pretty apathetic to Bran's entire situation while reading this, and I'm sure that's not what I should have felt.

[Lekeisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t like to dish out half ratings, so I just round it off to the nearest whole number. This is definitely a 2.5 read. That being said, I had to give it a 3 for this review. This book could have been so much more, but I felt like I was reading a whole lot of other dystopian books that I’ve already had the pleasure of reading. Not the story itself, just words that made me think of those other books. Glades, Districts, ….. need I go on?

I couldn’t, for the life of me, connect with the MC Bran. His mission seemed so far fetched that I could not cheer him on as a character. He soon finds himself with a slue of other characters; one in particular, June, I just did not like. From her tough-like exterior and Bran’s immediate attraction to her, I was just not sold. Hello? Mavis? He totally forgot about her back home. There was like maybe a few sentences with Mavis’ character, and then she was no more.

So why the 2.5-3 stars? This has the potential to be great. The story itself is something original, but certain terms were like the author just plucked them from other published books. I love when an author is original, and uses terms that are unique to the world that they’ve created. This book did not do that, and sadly It was not what I thought it would be. But, don’t let my thoughts on this book deter you from reading it, it was just not for me.

*I received this book from the author via Bostick Communications, in exchange for an honest review*

[Kristen Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. After the Parch is a dystopian book, set in California in 2075. According to the author, it is a representation of what our country could become. I have always enjoyed reading books like this, with a more realistic approach to the future as opposed to the whole zombie idea.

I have to admit that in the beginning, I had a hard time getting into the book. It just didn't grab me right away. BUT as I normally do, I gave the book a chance, stuck with it, and sooner than later it DID pick up and I was definitely glad I stuck with it.

After the Parch has an interesting plot, with lots of action and some romance. The action was great and the characters really drew me in. I felt disgust toward Jonah and nervousness and anxiety for Bran as he made his journey through parts of California. The romantic scenes, I could have done without them. I don't know why but I just wasn't that crazy about June.

And one thing that well, didn't really strike me as odd, but stood out to me was the fact that everyone seemed so much older than they were. I mean Bran was 18, June was 17, Ephus was 11......I imagined people I knew that are around those ages and tried to imagine them in their places and I just couldn't picture it.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. Even though it's not Sheldon Greene's first book, it is the first one that I have read. And I am open to reading more.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This dystopian novel takes place in the not too distant future. California is dried up, parched. Earthquakes have done a lot of damage. The people who are left live in enclaves tending to stay by themselves or live in what is left of the large cities, most of them in total poverty. California is no longer part of the United States and what government it has--well there is one big business--

This is the story of a young man who was brought up in a remote location. His group really only believes in nature and teaches that strangers are bad. Then the 'big Business' decides they want to take over the land lived on by this group. This Shepard must leave his home and travel clear across the state to apply, pay for and receive the land rights for his people. Along the way he meets some good people and so not so good people. He finds that maybe not everything he was brought up to believe is correct and that there is more to the world then his safe home.

Just as I was about to start today--I noticed an article in passing--part of our country is Parched!

I received a paperback copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions are MINE!After the Parch

[Athena Nagel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love dystopian and apocolyptic adventures and this one is no different. There is so much turmoil and if you are not able to be a productive member of society - you can no longer exist. The story really draws the reader in - grabbing their attention and maintaining it very well. I didn't feel as attached to the characters as I would have liked. I have read so many dystopian novels and this one has some similar references. The story line is a decent one with a good backbone. Some characters were not fully developed so it was not possible to connect to them emotionally. All in all it was a good story and I am happy to have read it.


I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Lisa Dess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the Bostick Communications for an honest review.

I gave this book 3 stars. This book was a struggle for me, for several reasons. Firstly, I couldn't connect with any of the characters. I think it's because I didn't get to find out much about them, outside of what was occurring.

Secondly, the pace seemed rather slow. This may be due to the lack of connection with the characters and not the writing. This may also be a result of limited dialogue within the book.

Lastly, some action parts lacked in intensity. These scenes could have been expanded which would have resulted in higher intensity.

Overall, it just wasn't a book for me.

[Reading For Sanity · Rating 1 out of 5]

For this review, and more, please visit us at: http://readingforsanity.blogspot.com/...