Vivian Apple Needs a Miracle

Vivian Apple #2

by Katie Coyle

“GET ANGRY. We should all be so pissed at the Church of America that we’re willing to break our hands in the metaphorical punching of its metaphorical face.”   — Harpreet Janda, fugitive
 
The predicted Rapture by Pastor Frick’s Church of America has come and gone, and three thousand Believers are now missing or dead. Seventeen-year-old Vivian Apple and her best friend, Harpreet, are revolutionaries, determined to expose the Church’s diabolical power grab . . . and to locate Viv’s missing heartthrob, Peter Ivey. This fast-paced, entertaining sequel to Vivian Apple at the End of the World challenges readers to consider how to live with integrity in a disintegrating world.
 

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Dystopia, Audiobook, Romance, Contemporary, Religion

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 4, 2014

About the author

Katie Coyle's debut novel VIVIAN APPLE AT THE END OF THE WORLD was named one of the forty best YA novels of all time by Rolling Stone, and was followed by a sequel, VIVIAN APPLE NEEDS A MIRACLE. Her short fiction has won the Pushcart Prize, and has been featured in BEST AMERICAN NON-REQUIRED READING, One Story, The Southeast Review, and Critical Quarterly, among others. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, and blogs at katiecoyle.com.

Reviews

[Katie]

I'm biased, but I think it's aight.

[Arielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had a Harp in my life.

Dear Katie Coyle, please keep writing these for my daughters and my daughters' daughters.

[Marjolein (UrlPhantomhive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

And the award for most confusing book titles goes to - you may have guessed-: Vivian Apple Versus America.

I definitely was confused because the American and UK names for this duology are completely different from each other and it doesn't make the slightest of sense with me.

Just to make things clear:

The first book is either Vivian Apple At The End Of The World or Vivian Apple Versus The Apocalypse.

The second and concluding book is either called Vivian Apple Needs A Miracle or Vivian Apple Versus America.

Vivian Apple seems to be the only constant part, the rest seems mix-n-match.

However, I can't tell too much about the story without spoiling the first book. But it takes of rights where we left it and the characters still have the same goals. The book does focus, or so it felt to me, more on the friendship between Vivian and Harp, and unfortunately also dwells more on the romance of some of the main characters than in the first book.

While it was a very enjoyable read and the overall setting was quite original, it did suffer a bit from the usual dystopian heroine tropes (not sure I should call them tropes but those of you who have read dystopian YA will definitely find them familiar).

The ending is quite open, and while I sometimes complain about cliffhangers, this wasn't one of those books and I quite liked that it was more open. I mean, the story seems finished but it's just unsure what's going to happen now.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

"just because we're not as loud doesn't mean that we're alone."

I love Vivian Apple. Completely selfless and reckless, she and Harp are off again to try to figure out what's going on with the Church of America, the rapture and what has happened to Peter.

I love that this idea - this new church and rapture - feels new. It has a twist I haven't read before. I also love the humor. There's a serious part where Harp is explaining to Vivian what happened and Harp says something so funny she has to stop telling the story and laugh. AND so did I. It was hilarious. I like that all the doom and gloom is mixed with humor.

What a fun 2 books. I'm sad to leave them.

[Shannon Miz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
Confession time! I was expecting to not like this book. Is that bad? That's probably bad. I mean, I didn't love the first one, but I was curious and needed to know how it ended so... you understand. But guess what?

I really liked it! See, my problems with the first book were mostly believability issues. In the sequel, the groundwork was already set, so I didn't really have time to dwell on those things, as they weren't present in this one. I guess if I had spent time dwelling on the believability problems with the first book while reading the second it would count, since the plot of this one is obviously a continuation of the first but.. I didn't.

The things I liked, while trying to be as non-spoilery for the first book as possible:

-The characters were much improved for me this time around. Vivian was more likable, Harp was as awesome as always, and there were some great newcomers that really added a lot to the story. Vivian has grown up this time, and doesn't spend all the livelong day whining. Even though I still like Harp better, Vivian was certainly easier (much easier!) to read this time around. And the villains were pretty awful too, and not always who or what I'd thought they'd be. Quite interesting.

-The social commentary I'd expected in the first book was much more present in the second book. Obviously there is not a lot I can say on that front without all the spoilers, but there were a lot of social issues brought up, far beyond religious ones- in fact, I felt that the religious piece ended up being portrayed quite fairly.

Vivian made some dumb moves. "Wait!", you say. "Wouldn't this be a negative?" No, dear friend, because it was realistic! I kind of hate when a "regular girl-turned revolutionary" is suddenly flawless. And Vivian was not flawless. At all. A lot of times, I was just shaking my head at her, but you know what? I bet if you or I were in the same situation, we'd act like dolts half the time too.

-The story moves at a nice pace. There's action, certainly, but there is also time for relationships to build, and friendships to flourish. It's a nice balance of angst-filled, action packed moments and fun lighter ones.

-The ending worked for me. I won't say anything spoilery, but because I know some people (like me!) don't love to hear about endings, so I will spoiler tag it since I know a lot of people also do like to know about them! It wrapped up, but not completely. There were a ton of questions answered, but some that remained unanswered, but it worked in this story. I don't always love when ALL the things aren't answered, but in this case, it worked. Hopeful, yet not rainbows and unicorns. And the message that the ending sent was nice too. But for those of you who want a vague analysis, I wasn't throwing the book in rage, so job well done, Ms. Coyle!

The things I didn't like as much:

-While some of the twists were good, there was one big one that I saw coming from the start. So the element of surprise wasn't there for me at all, since I knew exactly what it was leading to. But, aside from this one "big" twist, I was surprised about quite a few others!

-There were times where I will admit, the unbelievability did come back to keep my eyes rolling a time or two. While I think the author did a really good job for the most part dispelling some of my qualms about book one, there was just that tiny voice in my head in certain spots yelling at me "but this couldn't, wouldn't happen!". Again, this was minimal, but worth mentioning.

Bottom Line: I am so, so glad I gave this book a chance! It definitely redeemed the series for me, and I am really quite glad to have read it. A lot of my concerns from the first book were wiped away (which, if you haven't read the first book, is a good thing to know going in!) and it ended up being quite an enjoyable story!

[Book Riot Community]

This book is the sequel to Vivian Apple at the End of the World. In general, I always get nervous about sequels to dystopian novels because things so often take a nosedive from bad to worse to just plain unreadable.This sequel, however, did not disappoint. The amazing characters from the first book were back in full force, the plot made sense as a follow-up to the first book, and the two part series hangs together beautifully. These books both had me laughing out loud and groaning because Coyle’s depiction of a post-apocalyptic America is sometimes a bit too real to be swallowed easily. This was probably the best YA dystopia I’ve read, and definitely the best YA dystopia sequel.

–Amanda Kay Oaks



from The Best Books We Read In July 2016: http://bookriot.com/2016/08/01/riot-r...

[Rachel Holtzclaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!! VIVIAN!!!!!!!!!!! APPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

reread edit: was this the right to reread this series? maybe not! maybe it's a little too close to home right now! it's still very very good and holds up tho!!!!

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kept putting this book down as I neared the end because I didn't want it to be over. I know Katie Coyle is busy making a new human being but I really hope she's also busy writing the third Vivian Apple.

[Miranda]

VERY disappointed. Everyone's holding the Idiot Ball in order to progress the plot, and I have no patience for it.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, good rule of thumb: if you liked the first Vivian book, you'll like this one too. Same plot, just advanced a bit. Vivian Apple and her friends are trying to defeat the megachurch that has captured the nation.

If criticizing organized religion and corporatocracy is your jam, and you can suspend your disbelief a leeeetle bit, these books are probably for you. There certainly is a good deal of, let's say, implausibility, but that's what makes these books fun. They're sort of an atheist teenage f-the-police fantasy.

(Which IS my jam.)

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

THAT ENDING!! I WANT TO KNOW MORE!! WHY YOU LEAVE ME HANGING LIKE THAT??

Okay, so it wasn't a real cliffhanger, but I really do want to know more about what happens to America and to the world after the business with the Church of America.

I really love Harp and Vivian and Winnie and Peter. It's scary to think how gullible people are.

I enjoyed it a lot and I'm sad that it's a duology.

[Rovena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como eu amo a Viv e a Harp <3 <3 <3

Esse livro consegue ser ainda melhor que o primeiro. A história é incrível e tensa. Impossível largar.

[Amber Loyacano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first book, so this was a bit of a let down. I love what it says about society and the way we treat our world/each other. I also love the a YA author tackled such big ideas.

[Claire (Book Blog Bird) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay follow-up to the fabulous Vivian Apple at the End of the World. I guess I was expecting it to have as much of an impact as the first book did, but for me it fell a bit short.

So the rapture happened, or didn’t, and now everyone’s waiting for the second boat and society is still pretty much falling to bits and no one save two seventeen year olds is questioning the fact that the Church of America seem to be doing extraordinarily well, financially, out of this whole apocalypse thing.

Vivian and Harp, against all odds, find themselves working with a rebellion group who are working against the Church. There’s still a lot of philosophical debate in this book, but it centres more around the question ‘Is one type of fundamentalism better than another type of fundamentalism?’ And I think we can all agree, without too much debate, that the answer is ‘No’.

I think I just prefer my heroes in survival situations, when they are the little guy fighting for their lives against the big bad dictator/dystopian society/evil religion. Once the baddie gets semi-defeated but before they are ultimately-defeated and the story is all about the hero having to try and forge their way in the rebel alliance and everything’s a bit political - that doesn’t really float my boat so much.

To put it this way: I thought Mockingjay was the weakest of the three Hunger Games books.

I’m not saying that this book is bad as such. Katie Coyle is a competent writer and I still liked the characters. I just didn’t love the plot so much in this one.

I still loved Viv - she shows so much growth over the course of the two books, and none of it feels forced. Harpreet is still basically who I want to be. She’s amazeballs.

This book is totally worth reading if you enjoyed the first in the duology. I just didn’t love it quite as much.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good word for this book is "baffling."

My experience with this is very similar to my experience with the Across the Universe books. The first book was okay, and had enough interesting things going on that I was curious how it ended, and hoped that the sequel would improve the things that annoyed me. But, like the AtU series, the second book did not, in fact, improve things for me. Instead, it got annoying.

Likes: Still the friendship between Viv and Harp. Still the complicated family dynamics. Still the found family.

I didn't touch on this in my review of the first book, but I also got some laughs from the quotes pulled from the fictional religious text of this world, the Book of Frick. I appreciate Coyle's way of hyperbolic and satirical commentary on extremists and misogyny and patriotism and capitalism. If you do not want to read about politics, this duology is not for you. Given the state of things in the US right now, I can easily see how this sort of behavior would evolve over time. The over-the-top beliefs and actions of the Believers never bothered me, because I saw the nugget of truth, and because, again, hyperbole and satire.

I also appreciated that there was a little more presence of Christianity. Not a lot, but enough that there were Christian people saying that the Church of America is not good, not godly, and saying that the Christian God would not approve of that behavior. I'm not a religious person myself, but I still liked that positive example.

Dislikes: Well. There is a serious lack of intelligent and positive adults in these books. There are literally two decent adult people, and we don't even see one of them in this book. I guess each book has a cap at one intelligent adult. In this one, it's Winnie.

Characters just keep making mind-boggling choices.

Also, considering how the Church of America supposedly bought out a surveillance company, it sure is easy for people to sneak in and out of their premises without getting caught. I kept thinking that maybe that was on purpose, that they were using their security cameras to track where their enemy was coming and going, so it would lead them to the non-believers' base, but... nope. I literally have no idea why that was even brought up but okay.

Peter's plot line had a lot of parallels with Peeta's plot in Mockingjay; I'll just leave it at that. I saw his plot twists coming and when they happened I was disappointed that I was right.

Overall: I was let down by this. I really hoped it would get better, but in the end I'm just left feeling meh about these books. The covers are lovely, and some reviewers I follow liked them, but they just didn't do much for me. I like the idea of the scenario, but felt like this book suffered from the same problems as the first, and the ending was not very satisfying. Given this is a duology, this is the last book. I'm left feeling let down, but if there were a third I'm not sure I would pick it up. I would still give the author another try on a different book, though; she is clearly creative, and the things I liked were done very well. Unfortunately, the things I disliked out-weighed my positive experiences with this story.

[Dayse Dantas · Rating 5 out of 5]

AAAAAAHHHHH I WAS EXPECTING SOMETHING REALLY GOOD AND SOMEHOW THIS WAS BETTER. It's so delightful that this isn't about faith against atheism, but about the horribleness that takes advantage of people's vulnerability. And I love Vivian Apple so much. It's been a while since I loved a protagonist this much. I always love female protagonists, with my whole misandric values and all, but this kind of love is DEEP. Her development since the first pages of the first book… it's magical. I love it when she talks about enjoying pleasure and when she used to think that being good meant denying pleasure. Getting more technical, the writing of this book was so good! Good timing, good humor, good pace, and even the deaths, which usually worry me because they're often mishandled, were heartbreaking but not too melodramatic. I don't know, everything about the writing was Just Right. And though that ending was maddening, it's so meaningful. It's kind of like The Truman Show, in a way. I've always wanted to know what happens to him after he leaves his world, but it's not our place, his entire life was broadcast, and now it's his own. Vivian's youth was stolen even before the rapture, because her parents got so weird and etc, but now she gets to live a little bit more normally. No longer part of a mission to destroy the Church, she is now free.
ANYWAY! I loved it! One of the best reads of the year, definitely.

[Penni Russon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most fun I've had reading a book since I read Vivian Vs the Apocalypse three days ago.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

All of the immaturity of a YA book with all the foul language of an adult novel written by someone with a very limited vocabulary. I was bored by the middle and really bored by the end.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST READ that makes me thankful that, even though the author has "only" written two books so far, it’s these two books.

Quotes:

"I wish I could see things as clearly as you do," Winnie says after a long moment. "It's really black-and-white for you, isn't it? Good versus evil, Believers versus Non-Believers, you versus the whole world."
"That's not how I see it. That's how it is."

***

"It's dangerous to say this stuff out loud. It's dangerous to tell the truth and believe it. If it's safer to say that the Rapture was freaky alien shit - if believing that people did this could get you killed - why wouldn't you believe the freaky alien shit? And even if you didn't, wouldn't you want to? It's like the Believers: better to convince yourself you're a good person, that someone's going to save you, than to believe you might be as flawed as everyone else, and that in the end, you're alone."

***

These silent Believer girls could not be mistaken for animals - they cower under the eyes of their mothers and God. Still, I feel their quiet yearning, all the more powerful for being contained. I'm unsettled by it. I know as well as anyone the strain of being good, and I wish I could convince them it isn't worth it.

***

"Any idiot can see the planet is dying. Can you imagine what would happen if we told ourselves it was all our fault, rather than the righteous course of an angry God? The guilt would be unbearable, Vivian. As a nation, we'd fall apart. The government would shut down. Mass suicide. Mass murder. It'd be the collapse of civilization as we know it."

***

"Life is long and dumb and devastating. People should believe whatever they need to believe to get by."

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vivian continues her plot to take down the Church of America! One of her friends has been abducted, and she finds out more secrets about her family along the way. Really this entire book is just an escapade of Viv coming out of her shell and being a total renegade. She will stop at nothing to defend her friends and family, and reveal the truth to the world, that the first rapture was completely fake. Now all she needs is proof.

I didn't like this one as much as the first, but it wasn't bad. It gave a sense of satisfaction and closure, although it seems like they may have left it open for a final book. There is not much suspense, I had it guessed pretty much from the beginning of the book. Every time there was a twist, I had the "yeah right" feeling, like it was obviously a ruse. It was pretty fluffy, and it feels like it could have been done in one book. Alas, I still enjoyed reading it, and none of the characters bothered me, I even liked one or two of them. I did appreciate that with all of this said that it was a fast and easy read.

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars.

This was far more dystopian feeling than the first one, but still pretty enjoyable. I love the concept of this ridiculously capitalist church taking advantage of global environmental changes to convince people that God is super pissed at the planet and wants people to spend money in His name.

The first one was more of a roadtrip story, and despite the dystopian elements, it was still pretty full of typical roadtrip humour. This one was pretty much straight up dystopian, and had a lot less humour in it. What humour there was came from Harp's blogposts, which were pretty damned great.

Vivian is a pretty great character, and I've thoroughly enjoyed her character development from good girl to badass over the course of the two books. Really, the let down for me here is that it felt a little rushed in terms of the action side of things while other parts of it felt a little dragged out. The ending also felt a little unfinished, a few too many loose threads floating around. So on the whole this was pretty damned great, but not quite as great as I was hoping for.

[toria · Rating 4 out of 5]

vivian apple me surpreendeu muito. as vezes sentia antipatia ou julgava muito o olhar romântico dela pelo peter, mas fui entendo que apesar de ela estar vivendo no caos que a igreja americana criou, ela ainda sim era só uma adolescente

ler esse livro é pensar que nada daquilo é ficção. penso que o livro nem é mais tão exagerado, o que vejo (na vida real) é tao absurdo e alegórico, que imagino que não estamos longe de ter pessoas na vida real que realmente acreditariam em frick, messias ou a igreja americana

sinto que é esse caminho que estamos vivendo e que vai acontecer daqui pra frente, a igreja (americana ou não) vai dominar, consumir e transformar a todos que tenham esperança ou precisem de algo pra se agarrar.

acho que no fim esse vai ser o nosso caminho, e isso me assusta (num nível absurdo), mas assim como vivian apple quero acreditar que podemos ser melhores como seres humanos

ps: harp você sempre será a maior!!!!!!

[Lis · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED! Although it got more into the political side of the Church of America than the first one, I really enjoyed this! I want to be best friends with Vivian, so if the end of the world does come, Viv, Harp, Peter, and Edie. . . you'll let me join you, right?

Overall I felt like this was a great end to the duology, everything was explained and I felt like the characters were really fleshed out, my favorite thing is thinking about Vivian at the beginning of the first book and then Vivian at the end of the second, she is such a cool character that shows courage, integrity, and maybe a little stupidity are everything you need to survive the rapture.

Excellent work, Katie Coyle, what a fun original series. Definitely loved, definitely recommend.

[Stefanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend this series on audio! I loved this second book too, although it was more over the top and unbelievable than the first. In book one the dystopian element was so slight (in regards to action- there are still intense themes), and it felt so real- that's what I loved about it. But the over the top moments in book two are also some of the most hilarious- almost like satire. And they are also more scary, because there's more crazy zeal on the part of the believers, and you can easily make the connection to today. Once again I find myself having trouble explaining the awesomeness of this book. It's a refreshing read, so different than other YA I've read. Also, Harp is one my favorite characters ever.

[Lauren Bates · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is funny and fun to read and also has gorgeous writing. Katie Coyle is excellent at sneaking in jokes but also making me want to cry a little because everything is a tiny bit awful. I love Vivian and Harp and getting to see more of Vivian's family and PETER and the world-building and the jokes. I just really love these books.

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not convinced.

nothing happened for so long, then lots of things happened, then another long stretch... the only thing this book has going for it is length. it's short. it doesn't mean it's a quick read, because the pacing and plot are basically non-existent. really, it does nothing to add to the first book.

[Mone · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first book review, and I’m mostly writing it for myself. Well, my future self. My two-years-from-now – self, who will see this series on my bookshelf and will, in my typical fashion, only remember very little about it, because that’s just how my infuriating brain works.
I will remember tiny scenes, a plot point here and there but mostly just a vague feeling about the overall story and I will undoubtedly put it on my ever growing reread pile. Why? Because I’ll have no other way of helping myself to recall the more specific things about this story – Aha!
this is where this review jumps in.

First off – I’m going to review both books in this series here because the second one starts of right where the first one ends and they are both so short, they could easily fit into one book. (Which is actually one of the things I didn’t enjoy about this series – but more to that later)
So, Vivian versus the Apocalypse and Vivian versus America.
The books follow 17 year old Vivian and her friends as she deals with the consequences of the dooming Apocalypse.
More specifically the time between the ”Rapture” of faithful Believers (including Vivians Parents) of the Church of America (a crazy cult that glorifies Capitalism and dooms – well, basically everything fun – feminism, homosexuality and promiscuity among other things) as foretold by crazy pants self-proclaimed prophet of the Lord, Beaton Frick.
That whole fanatic cult aspect was what initially got me interested in this book, mostly because I’ve never read something like this before.
Don’t get me wrong, I love me some apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, but I’ve never come across a series with such high focus on religion and Believe before and I loved the fact that the protagonist and her friends were atheist, or at least agnostic.
I think the author handled this very well.
In my opinion she captured the slightly disturbed feeling somebody who doesn’t believe gets when they watch another person completely devote themselves to their religion perfectly.
I also really loved the level of hilarity the author added to the Church of America (Things like the Parable of Starbucks and how the Church of America literally tries to sell its members stuff at every possible opportunity – I found myself laughing out loud at some of those.)
And at the same time the author managed to still make me understand why all those people converted to that ridiculous believe. I’m really glad to say that what initially drove me to buy those books didn’t disappoint and I think that’s exactly what a good book should be like.
Unfortunately I also had a butt load of problems with this series.
First of all, the characters. I’m a very character oriented person, so for me this really is a matter of make it or break it in a book.
I really wanted to like Vivian, and sometimes I did (mostly in the first book) but unfortunately she made all the wrong choices.
She very much wanted to be a badass, but she simply wasn’t.
The fact that her friends and the other characters were constantly awed by her began to annoy me very early on, especially since she didn’t accomplish anything on her own.
She stumbles across most of the clues by dumb luck, the “quest” is completely driven by her best friend Harp (who I absolutely adored) and she behaves incredibly idiotic most of the time. (Sneaking into the enemy headquarters, immediately trusting Peter again because his eyes are the bluest blue *rolls brownest of brown eyes*, falling asleep in enemy headquarters after she snuck in for a make out session with said boyfriend, being colossally bad at any kind of deceivery whatsoever and giving away important information multiple times, through bad lying or by trusting potential turncoats)
I didn’t care at all about Peter or their insta-romance except when it pissed me off, so I’m not going to talk about that at all.
The other characters were alright, there were a couple who managed to stand out and really contribute to the story (Harp, Edie – Urmama? – and Winnie), some that managed to make me dislike them for Vivians benefit (Mara, her grandparents) and some that I didn’t care about at all (Peter, everybody from the Cliff House, basically every New Orphan, Dylan).
This was mainly due to the shortness of the books. Especially the second one. There were at least a hundred pages missing, in my opinion.
If the book had been longer, there could have been more focus on important side characters, also a lot of the times the author chose to tell us important stuff through other characters that could have been shown to us instead and the author could have focused a lot more on world building.
This is such a big issue for me, this book was about the dooming apocalypse, but it didn’t really feel that way. There were always talk of riots, floods, violent behavior in the streets, but we never see it, we only ever hear it from other characters or the news.
This books could have been a lot better with a more immediate sense of danger, yes, also a bit more graphic violence and a clearer picture of what people become when they think their world is going to end.
There was really a lot of stuff missing, and this is the number one issue I had with this series.
Also, the Science (the little bit that was in there) was completely off. The apparent logic behind the floods, the storms, the red sky, etc is because we, humanity, have ruined the environment, but also if the Church wouldn’t have let people believe that these were signs of the apocalypse apparently there would have been enough time to do something about it? Also after Vivian is held prisoner by the Church for three weeks she (Vivian) notices the difference in the sky and Winnie says:

“We forgot to mention that- the sun has been setting later and later over the last view weeks. The scientists think it’s probably dying.” (Chapter 21, page 274 in the UK Paperback)

What?! I mean…what?! There are so many things wrong with that statement; I don’t even know where to start.
I really hope this is Winnie having no idea what she’s talking about and not the author herself.

The verdict: For me the first book was at a steady three stars.
The second book started of strong, but the middle part was absolutely awful at times.
A lot of important scenes were huddled together in half page long explanations out of other characters mouths.
There was a lot of Vivian being stupid, Vivian being even more stupid, Winnie disappointing me by letting Vivian be stupid instead of whopping her ass for being stupid.
A lot of explanations and character motivations didn’t make a lot of sense; there were a couple of plot holes and cutting some corners and characters managing to achieve things through sheer luck.
Then there was the very poorly written “show down” between Vivian and the Angels, which really could have used a lot more spice, should definitely have been longer and it would have been nice to learn the reason why the Church seems to have no problem killing a bunch of random Believers for the Fake Rapture but they seem to let everybody who could become dangerous to their plans live so they can conveniently escape at the end and soil their plans.
All in all the middle part of the second book read like a spell checked first draft and did not deliver unfortunately.
The ending of the second book on the other hand was very well done.
I thoroughly enjoyed the showdown between Fake Jesus and Crazy Pants Frick, Edie-Urmamas Speech and the reunion between the characters. I really liked that the book was open ended, I think that went really well with the rest of the story and I liked the bittersweet note of it all.

I would recommend this book to people who have an interest in the religious or cult aspect of it, not so much in the apocalyptic side of it. This is not a book you read for the action or for the scary realistic side of it.

And as an end note to my two-years-from-now-self; don’t put it on the reread pile just yet. Maybe read the ending again or part of the first book, but you don’t want to dig yourself into this series wholeheartedly just now. Let it stew for two more years, maybe try it when you’ve taken a step back from all the dystopian, post-apocalyptical and end of the world books you devour usually to avoid comparing it to the rest in the genre.
Maybe the odd cover should have been a hint; this is not your usual Apocalypse.

[Wortmagie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die Rezension zu „Vivian versus America“ habe ich lange aufgeschoben. Anfangs habe ich andere Buchbesprechungen vorgezogen, weil ich gegen Ende des Jahres erst die Bücher abhaken wollte, die ich mir für Challenges anrechnen konnte. Als das erledigt war, wollte ich mich der Fortsetzung von Vivian Versus the Apocalypse widmen, musste jedoch feststellen, dass dieses Vorhaben schwerer war als gedacht. Ich kam nicht voran, ja, fand nicht mal einen Ansatzpunkt. Ich beschloss, es nicht zu erzwingen und rezensierte weiterhin Bücher, die ich nach „Vivian versus America“ gelesen habe. Zwischenzeitlich spielte ich sogar mit dem Gedanken, die Rezension unter den Tisch fallen zu lassen. Glücklicherweise verbietet mir das allerdings meine Blogger-Ehre, weswegen ihr nun doch noch ein paar Gedanken zu diesem widerspenstigen Buch vor Augen habt.

Vivian hat sich entschieden. Für ihre Freunde, gegen ihre Familie. Gestrandet in San Francisco müssen Harp und sie sich nun einen aussichtsreichen Plan einfallen lassen, um Peter zu finden. Peter, der sich opferte, damit Harp und Viv der Church of America entkommen konnten. Im Idealfall konnte er ebenfalls fliehen, im schlimmsten Fall… daran möchte Vivian nicht einmal denken. Doch noch bevor sie auch nur die Stadt verlassen können, geraten die beiden Freundinnen erneut in Gefahr. Die Church of America hat ein Kopfgeld auf sie ausgesetzt und fahndet nach ihnen. Zu brisant ist das, was sie herausgefunden haben. Augenblicklich macht das ganze Land Jagd auf sie. Als sich die Situation zuspitzt und Viv und Harp keinen Ausweg mehr sehen, erhalten sie jedoch aus überraschender Richtung Hilfe. Vielleicht ist noch nicht alles verloren. Vielleicht wird Vivian Peter retten. Und vielleicht wird sie Amerika die Augen öffnen.

Ich glaube, der Grund, warum ich mich mit dieser Rezension so schwergetan habe, ist der, dass mein emotionales und mein analytisches Ich wieder einmal unterschiedlicher Meinung sind. Rational betrachtet war „Vivian versus America“ im Vergleich zum Vorgänger etwas enttäuschend. Doch emotional wollte ich mich davon genauso begeistern lassen wie von Vivian Versus the Apocalypse, weil ich die Protagonistin und Ich-Erzählerin Vivian schrecklich gernhabe. Hundertprozentig geklappt hat das allerdings nicht, denn wenn ich ganz ehrlich zu mir bin, wird dieser Abschluss der Geschichte nicht völlig gerecht. „Vivian versus America“ ist lange nicht so gut wie der erste Band; es ist weniger symbolkräftig, wesentlich handlungsorientierter und fast schon zu abenteuerlich.
Katie Coyle nimmt ihre Geschichte nahtlos an der Stelle wieder auf, an der die Leser_innen Vivian im Vorgänger verlassen haben. Nachdem Vivian und Harp das ganze Land durchquerten, um Vivians Familie zu finden und aufzudecken, was wirklich hinter der Church of America steckt, musste unsere tapfere Protagonistin feststellen, dass Familie nicht zwangsläufig durch Blutsverwandtschaft definiert ist. Harp und Peter, die einzigen Menschen, die wirklich für sie da waren, als sie sie brauchte, sind ihre Familie. Die Entscheidung, zu ihnen zu stehen, ist ihr nicht leichtgefallen, aber ihre Freundschaft zu Harp hat dieser Entschluss unumstößlich gefestigt und gestärkt. Meiner Meinung nach verkraftet ihre Beziehung daher auch die Rollenverschiebung, die sich vor allem durch Vivians Weiterentwicklung ergibt. Diese Veränderung begann natürlich bereits im ersten Band, doch ich finde, erst in „Vivian versus America“ tritt sie vollständig zu Tage. Vivian ist nicht länger der passive, zurückhaltende Part der Freundschaft, sie ist aktiv und durchsetzungsstark. Harp hingegen büßt einiges an Dominanz ein, was ihr meinem Empfinden nach durchaus guttut, weil sie nun zeigen kann, dass sie auch eine weiche, unterstützende Seite hat und ihrer Freundin mit Rat und Tat zur Seite steht.
Nichtsdestotrotz fehlt der Handlung das gewisse Etwas, das mich im ersten Band vorbehaltlos überzeugte. Der Roadtrip quer durch die USA war Quelle und Auslöser einer fantastischen Metamorphose – nun, da Vivian und Harp ihr geografisches Ziel mehr oder weniger erreicht haben, entfernt sich Katie Coyle von der philosophischen Ebene des Reisethemas. Ich hatte den Eindruck, dass es nicht mehr um die großen Fragen des Lebens geht, sondern um handfeste, actionlastige Ereignisse. Offenbar war die Autorin der Meinung, dass Vivians Selbstfindungsphase bereits abgeschlossen ist und es Zeit wird, die Geschichte greifbar zu beenden. Ich fand das schade, denn dadurch erschien mir das Buch enttäuschend durchschnittlich. Es hätte auch das Finale jeder anderen beliebigen YA Dystopie sein können. Unterhaltsam, ja, aber ohne die besondere Tiefe, die Vivian Versus the Apocalypse auszeichnete.

„Vivian versus America“ ist nicht die großartige Fortsetzung, die ich mir für die Geschichte und die Protagonistin Vivian gewünscht habe. Vielleicht habe ich die Prioritäten der Autorin Katie Coyle falsch eingeschätzt, denn ich dachte, die Erkenntnisebene sei für sie wichtiger als die Handlungsebene. Der zweite Band verschiebt den Fokus unmissverständlich von dem, was zwischen den Zeilen steht hin zu den Worten, die schwarz auf weiß gedruckt sind. Ich denke, wenn ich nicht fest entschlossen gewesen wäre, das Buch zu mögen, wäre ich noch deutlich enttäuschter gewesen, obwohl es natürlich nicht schlecht ist.
Wenn ihr Vivian Versus the Apocalypse gelesen habt und wissen möchtet, wie die Geschichte rund um Vivian und ihre Freunde ausgeht, solltet ihr „Vivian versus America“ lesen. Ihr solltet euch allerdings darüber im Klaren sein, dass der nachdenkliche Charakter des Vorgängers überwiegend verloren gegangen ist und nun die Handlung im Mittelpunkt steht. Die Fortsetzung ist aufregend und liest sich schnell weg – nur philosophisch ist es leider nicht mehr.

[HelEinir · Rating 2 out of 5]

... what happened?

This is the second time this happens to me, I love the first book of a duology and then the second comes around and the main character is turned into the stereotypical YA heroine and suddenly I cannot.stand.her. and everything is annoying and cliché and the big resolution is underwhelming and things don't make sense and I just want to cry because I had such high hopes for the story.

And maybe that was my problem.

Vivian, oh Vivian, what happened to you? You were trying not to be meek and boring but you overcorrected, baby, and became this reckless moron who didn't know the first thing about being a leader.

No offense intended, Miss Apple, but I was actually hoping we'd get hold of Miss Janda first--it seems to me she's the brains of your operation.

Right? I couldn't agree more.

I guess I could see some of what Vivian would become by the end of the previous book but I had hoped it was just her gaining confidence and figuring out the type of person she wanted to be, and yeah she was bound to make dumb and selfish decisions for while, of course, of course. I just didn't expect her to get stuck in that dumb daredevil phase and be proud of it.

Vivian was a selfish ass for most of the book. A whiny baby that doesn't really think too much about the suffering of others, but pretends that she does, although she mostly acts for her own benefit and leaves the heavy lifting to Harp and everyone else who is actually trying focus on saving the world.

See, Vivian has better things to do in this book, like being angry and hurt at her immediate family & bf, putting her loyal best friend in danger whenever her mood changes, and worrying/thinking/making up/out with the aforementioned bf.

[...] even a secular society considers it pretty déclassé to give it up to boys you barely know in hotel rooms. Not a good look, Vivian. Have some self-respect.

Far be it from me to agree with religious zealots, but Vivian was being an idiot in that scene and I was embarrassed for her, so, fuck it. You tell her. This scene didn't make me angry because of what Vivian did/didn't do, but rather WHEN/HOW she decided to do it, and how it affected everyone else. It was just so colossally stupid.

All she had to do was deliver her message to Peter and leave (In fact, she didn't have to deliver the message as Harp pointed out, but Vivian 'I-can't-wait-for-our-first-date' Apple just haaaad to go see him in person, when he's surrounded by literally every single person who wants her dead/captured. So did she deliver her message and leave? No. She had to get emotional and then have nappy time with the boyfriend when at any moment any one of the people who wanted to capture her could walk right in. And that's exactly what happened, and she got captured, and tortured, and almost had everyone's chances for a successful operation shot to hell. I SURE HOPE THAT FUCKING NAP WAS WORTH IT.

Isn't it funny how just a couple of days ago I was happy to have read about a MC like Vivian and now I just want to forget she was even a part of this book?

Also, the family drama with Vivian was completely meaningless and a waste of time. Her family drama amounted to nothing. Zero. Nada. Just an excuse to up the word-count of the book or whatever.

And the romance, oh the roooomance.

Peter's character was stripped of any qualities that set him apart as an individual. He became a tool, a mere excuse for Vivian to be an irritating idiot. The author forgot he was supposed to have a personality, and that he used to be smart and could've contributed so much to the plot.

There's nothing to say about Peter in this book because he literally didn't do anything, he was just... there. Oh, but I'm forgetting that thing he did towards the end of the book, right? Nope, it was like the author tried to throw him a bone at the last minute but it was too late, his character had already been thoroughly ruined.

Poor boy was reduced to the most basic type of love interest. RIP, Peter Ivey.

Let's forget about Vivian and Peter now. I'm done with their characters and their "story" for good.

There were several other little and not so little things that made me lower the rating of this book.

One of them was the lack of all those laugh out loud witty pieces of dialogue and humor sprinkled throughout the first book. Where did that go in this book? Most every joke felt forced and a lot of them weren't even really funny, and don't tell me this book was darker because that was not the case. If we had time for Vivian's bs lovey-dovey escapades then we very well could have done with more of Harp's humor and banter with other characters.

There were also a lot of things left unclear and that ending was super rushed. I HATE RUSHED ENDINGS.

The plot just decided to do a 180° turn on me and the conflict got "resolved" in a very silly manner, with the participation of a character that suddenly became this big, all-important and wise figure of authority. Like, BAM have a convenient new leader who everyone will trust because it's easy. Not that I don't like said character, I do, very much, I just don't buy it.

This character was mostly an afterthought to Vivian, Harp AND the Reader and suddenly you're telling me she's saving the world with her 'sixteen and pregnant' maternal instincts? Talking sense into the crazies and everyone just... accepts her as the voice of reason? are you kidding me?

There's also that one unnecessary death at the end that didn't make me feel anything. But then again, I couldn't have cared less about that other death earlier in the book. Were they supposed to be relevant? Actually, the author could've killed 99% of the characters right there and I wouldn't have been affected.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first book a few years ago and must have forgotten to pick up the sequel then. It's strange reading this book after the most recent US presidential election, and because of that it feels like one of the most relatable books I've read this year. I still can't process what happened to Robbie and Winnie and I am generally refusing to even acknowledge what happened to the latter, with that exception I loved it.