What do you think?
Rate this book
After the Lights Go Out
What happens when the lights go off after what might truly be an end-of-the-world event? How do you stay alive? Who do you trust? How much do you have to sacrifice?
'After the Lights Go Out is a terrifying yet hope-filled story of disaster, deceit, love, sacrifice and survival.' - Fleur Ferris
Seventeen-year-old Pru Palmer lives with her twin sisters, Grace and Blythe, and their father, Rick, on the outskirts of an isolated mining community. The Palmers are doomsday preppers. They have a bunker filled with non-perishable food and a year's worth of water. Each of the girls has a 'bug out bag', packed with water purification tablets, protein bars, paracord bracelets and epipens for Pru's anaphylaxis.
One day while Rick is at the mine, the power goes out. At the Palmers' house, and in the town. No one knows why. All communication is cut. It doesn't take long for everything to unravel. In town, supplies run out and people get desperate. The sisters decide to keep their bunker a secret. The world is different; the rules are different. Survival is everything, and family comes first.
'After the Lights Go Out is a terrifying yet hope-filled story of disaster, deceit, love, sacrifice and survival.' - Fleur Ferris
Seventeen-year-old Pru Palmer lives with her twin sisters, Grace and Blythe, and their father, Rick, on the outskirts of an isolated mining community. The Palmers are doomsday preppers. They have a bunker filled with non-perishable food and a year's worth of water. Each of the girls has a 'bug out bag', packed with water purification tablets, protein bars, paracord bracelets and epipens for Pru's anaphylaxis.
One day while Rick is at the mine, the power goes out. At the Palmers' house, and in the town. No one knows why. All communication is cut. It doesn't take long for everything to unravel. In town, supplies run out and people get desperate. The sisters decide to keep their bunker a secret. The world is different; the rules are different. Survival is everything, and family comes first.
330 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2018
26 people are currently reading
1586 people want to read
About the author
Lili Wilkinson
32 books374 followersLili Wilkinson is the award-winning author of eighteen books for young people, including The Erasure Initiative and After the Lights Go Out. Lili has a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and is a passionate advocate for YA and the young people who read it, establishing the Inky Awards at the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria. Her latest book is A Hunger of Thorns.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews
July 19, 2018
AFTER THE LIGHTS GO OUT is a brilliant coming of age disaster survival story. It started to pop up on my radar as many blogger were starting to include it in their ‘Most anticipated releases for the second half of 2018’ lists. So when I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy I was overjoyed.
Pru Palmer is the main character and her father is a hard-core survivalist and conspiracy theorist. He is also a tad insane. Actually he has completely lost the plot but Prue and her sister’s trust their dad as he keeps them isolated and the little contact they do have with the local community he drums into them to not trust anyone; family comes first. One could even say that to a certain extent they are brainwashed, or too scared to go against their father’s demands.
He keeps the girl’s on their toes by running practice emergency situations – training them to get to the bunker from the house without being seen and as quickly as possible. Each girl has a ‘bug out’ bag – a bug out bag (or B.O.B) is a grab and go bag for a wide variety of emergencies and survival situations. It contains a week’s rations, water purification tablets and the like. The three girls can hunt for food, light a fire without matches and make water out of nothing more easily that put their make-up on. In other words they are prepared for anything. Except when the power goes out and their father is away at work hundreds of kilometres away.
The general consensus of opinion is that a massive solar storm has fried all the electrics – cars won’t go, communication is out – the world comes to a halt. The girls know that family comes first, to look out for themselves and not help anyone else. They have the bunker and they can live for a couple of years BUT reality sets in when they see the suffering of the rest of the community and they have the agony of being torn between obeying their father or following their hearts to help others survive.
Human nature being what it is, one person is let in on the secret and then the rest of the community eventually learn what the girls have:
'You've been hoarding resources,' he says. 'What makes you think they are not going to do the same? You think they're going to let us queue up with everyone else to receive rations? The way I see it, there are two scenarios here. One - we are turned out into the wilderness to fend for ourselves, or two - we get executed.
Author, Lili Wilkinson, has captured the situation perfectly. There are deaths – can’t have a disaster without death – but two in particular come as a shock – well for me anyway. But there is a pulling together to survive attitude. Good people, bad people and a complete nutter all come alive on the pages. Pru is an exceptional character and there is a definite personal growth in her by the end of the book. The end of the book is massively suspenseful and had me almost shouting out loud for a good outcome.
AFTER THE LIGHTS GO OUT is due for release in August 2018 - and if coming of age apocalyptic books are your thing then run, don’t walk, to the nearest bookshop and grab yourself a copy. I utterly recommend it.
With thanks to Allen and Unwin and the author for my copy to read and review.
Pru Palmer is the main character and her father is a hard-core survivalist and conspiracy theorist. He is also a tad insane. Actually he has completely lost the plot but Prue and her sister’s trust their dad as he keeps them isolated and the little contact they do have with the local community he drums into them to not trust anyone; family comes first. One could even say that to a certain extent they are brainwashed, or too scared to go against their father’s demands.
He keeps the girl’s on their toes by running practice emergency situations – training them to get to the bunker from the house without being seen and as quickly as possible. Each girl has a ‘bug out’ bag – a bug out bag (or B.O.B) is a grab and go bag for a wide variety of emergencies and survival situations. It contains a week’s rations, water purification tablets and the like. The three girls can hunt for food, light a fire without matches and make water out of nothing more easily that put their make-up on. In other words they are prepared for anything. Except when the power goes out and their father is away at work hundreds of kilometres away.
The general consensus of opinion is that a massive solar storm has fried all the electrics – cars won’t go, communication is out – the world comes to a halt. The girls know that family comes first, to look out for themselves and not help anyone else. They have the bunker and they can live for a couple of years BUT reality sets in when they see the suffering of the rest of the community and they have the agony of being torn between obeying their father or following their hearts to help others survive.
Human nature being what it is, one person is let in on the secret and then the rest of the community eventually learn what the girls have:
'You've been hoarding resources,' he says. 'What makes you think they are not going to do the same? You think they're going to let us queue up with everyone else to receive rations? The way I see it, there are two scenarios here. One - we are turned out into the wilderness to fend for ourselves, or two - we get executed.
Author, Lili Wilkinson, has captured the situation perfectly. There are deaths – can’t have a disaster without death – but two in particular come as a shock – well for me anyway. But there is a pulling together to survive attitude. Good people, bad people and a complete nutter all come alive on the pages. Pru is an exceptional character and there is a definite personal growth in her by the end of the book. The end of the book is massively suspenseful and had me almost shouting out loud for a good outcome.
AFTER THE LIGHTS GO OUT is due for release in August 2018 - and if coming of age apocalyptic books are your thing then run, don’t walk, to the nearest bookshop and grab yourself a copy. I utterly recommend it.
With thanks to Allen and Unwin and the author for my copy to read and review.
August 5, 2022
Trigger warnings: violence, death, AIDS, anaphylaxis,
24/6/2022
Definitely did not remember Pru being bi, but I'm here for it.
18/4/2020
I stand by everything I said last time. This was great and creepy and intense and generally fantastic.
9/9/2018
This book had me hooked from the very first page, and it didn't let up the pace at all. It's equal parts dystopian and thriller. It's full of fantastic characters, and there's plenty of diversity. I love that it's set in the Australian outback and yet we have a Puerto Rican love interest with two mothers.
Pru is a fantastic character. She cares deeply about her community and the people in it, but she's also worried what her father will say if she goes against his way of thinking. His way of thinking is more than a little disturbing, but it's also made Pru resilient and highly capable, and it's a very effective way of having a teenage character carry the story along without it feeling implausible that there are no adults around.
24/6/2022
Definitely did not remember Pru being bi, but I'm here for it.
18/4/2020
I stand by everything I said last time. This was great and creepy and intense and generally fantastic.
9/9/2018
This book had me hooked from the very first page, and it didn't let up the pace at all. It's equal parts dystopian and thriller. It's full of fantastic characters, and there's plenty of diversity. I love that it's set in the Australian outback and yet we have a Puerto Rican love interest with two mothers.
Pru is a fantastic character. She cares deeply about her community and the people in it, but she's also worried what her father will say if she goes against his way of thinking. His way of thinking is more than a little disturbing, but it's also made Pru resilient and highly capable, and it's a very effective way of having a teenage character carry the story along without it feeling implausible that there are no adults around.
September 1, 2019
A gripping survivalist story with an Australian setting, reminiscent of Tomorrow When the War Began or The Sky So Heavy. However, this one has an added twist of the father being a survivalist who has taken extreme measures into protecting his family and training them in the art of surviving in the wilderness on their own. Not gonna lie, the father came across as a quack a few times and it was hard to understand his thinking, but I liked how Pru started questioning what he had taught them - as useful as it was.
Full review posted on Happy Indulgence Books.
Full review posted on Happy Indulgence Books.
October 18, 2018
*www.onewomansbbr.wordpress.com
*www.facebook.com/onewomansbbr
After The Lights Go Out by Lili Wilkinson. (2018).
*Young Adult Fiction
17 year old Pru lives with her 15 year old twin sisters and dad on the outskirts of an isolated mining community in Australia. The family are doonsday preppers and have a hidden bunker filled with supplies. One day when Pru's dad is at work, the power goes out. It's out everywhere and no one knows why. Everywhere quickly unravels as in the small town supplies are running out and people are desperate. The sisters decide to keep their bunker a secret as their dad taught them; survival is everything and family comes first.
Amazing! This book is a perfect example of why I still read young adult fiction. I read it within 24 hours because I genuinely couldn't stop reading. It's a fascinating topic for a book - I'm sure most of us would find a doomsday prepper intriguing. We get to read from Pru's point of view - a girl who has grown up being trained by her paranoid father, but then lo and behold, maybe dad was right all along....but Pru doesn't sit comfortable with the idea of leaving everyone left in their small town to die. There's some pretty big themes included in this book (single parent family, paranoia, coming of age, death, disease, all different types of relationships, diversity in a very small country town, and the list goes on). A thought-provoking, extremely well-written novel that would have to be one of my top picks for this year so far. I hope the author considers writing a sequel because I'd love to read more of Pru's journey!
*www.facebook.com/onewomansbbr
After The Lights Go Out by Lili Wilkinson. (2018).
*Young Adult Fiction
17 year old Pru lives with her 15 year old twin sisters and dad on the outskirts of an isolated mining community in Australia. The family are doonsday preppers and have a hidden bunker filled with supplies. One day when Pru's dad is at work, the power goes out. It's out everywhere and no one knows why. Everywhere quickly unravels as in the small town supplies are running out and people are desperate. The sisters decide to keep their bunker a secret as their dad taught them; survival is everything and family comes first.
Amazing! This book is a perfect example of why I still read young adult fiction. I read it within 24 hours because I genuinely couldn't stop reading. It's a fascinating topic for a book - I'm sure most of us would find a doomsday prepper intriguing. We get to read from Pru's point of view - a girl who has grown up being trained by her paranoid father, but then lo and behold, maybe dad was right all along....but Pru doesn't sit comfortable with the idea of leaving everyone left in their small town to die. There's some pretty big themes included in this book (single parent family, paranoia, coming of age, death, disease, all different types of relationships, diversity in a very small country town, and the list goes on). A thought-provoking, extremely well-written novel that would have to be one of my top picks for this year so far. I hope the author considers writing a sequel because I'd love to read more of Pru's journey!
September 12, 2018
5/5 STARS. This review can also be found on my BLOG. :)
-------
I finally got my teeth into this gorgeous book only a few weeks after meeting the lovely author and I really really enjoyed this book! You don’t hear much about contemporary sci-fi survivalist books nowadays and the concept behind this one was truly awesome and hella interesting.
So the fact that I read this book in less than 24 hours can give you an idea of how addictive and how well written this book was. I started reading it yesterday morning, only the first chapter, then picked up again at around 9 pm perhaps?
I couldn’t stop reading. It got to about 1 am when I realised I really should be getting some sleep or I’ll be way too tired in the morning and by that point, I was past the halfway mark and loving it.
Next morning, I woke up and did something I haven’t done in years, I literally just woke up and started reading it and I finished within a couple of hours. Who cares if my stomach wanted food and water, I wanted to finish the book. Every time there seemed to be a point I could stop as things died down plot-wise, something else jumped out at me and I had to finish that chapter. I truly devoured this book, and today to review it, I’m bringing back some categories for structure.
World-Building/Backstory & Writing
We meet Pru, a 17-year-old teen living out in the hot outback of Australia (woohoo!) and living with her twin sisters and their father. The first awesome and unique plot point of this book: they’re doomsday preppers.
I’ll be honest, when I started reading about how many skills Pru acquired and how prepared her Father made them, I was almost ready to start my own survival kit too. I actually started doing a ‘getaway’ bag when I was younger at the time where I was loving the Tomorrow When the War Began series by James Marsden. This book gave me all those vibes of Tomorrow, as well as The 5th Wave (although I’ve only watched the movie hehe) and also Red Dog vibes (amazing movie).
It wasn’t hard imagining the landscape and the bushland Lili Wilkinson described because her writing was so vivid in its descriptions as well as the fact that I live in Australia. I should know what it looks like 😛
Learning about Pru and her sisters and their way of life, you could feel the emotion rolling off the pages and the writing on how much Pru wished she had a normal life but when the shit hits the fan, we quickly find out how essential these skills are when you’re living in an extremely rural town with limited resources.
The explanation for how the communication is cut and the power goes out is actually super interesting. As a science nerd, I looked into it after reading this book too and I think I’ve got a tiny bit of doomsday prepper in me, this shit could get real – although the novel does take a fair amount of creative license so I won’t be building a bunker anytime soon. Lili managed to explain all the science mumbo-jumbo really well and it was so easy to understand.
Characters & Themes
I thought Pru was such a beautiful character and I could seriously empathise with her so well. As she’s figuratively battling what she’s been taught for her family and herself, and what she feels is right intuitively, I could feel all those emotions and basically cried as to how torn I was feeling as a result. The themes within this book resonate so well and are so intricately described in the context that you can’t help but debate in your own head as you read. To do what’s right and to do by what you’re taught or to protect your family is such an incredibly hard choice.
The themes of love, sacrifice and survival are definitely key to all the characters in this novel. Pru is torn and feeling so full of guilt and how she feels and the way the town reacts to the disaster makes you almost question your morals and how far one person would go to survive. If anyone else like me really likes reading and discussing philosophical topics like this, I really recommend a movie called After the Dark. That is one interesting movie about morals for survival in a life or death situation.
Pru’s twin sisters Grace and Blythe were also some great supporting characters in that they gave different perspectives on their situations. While dealing with the hard decisions of whether to keep their bunker secret and helping the people in town, these girls including Pru are dealing with teenage problems and issues to do with relationships, love, obsession and their individuality and independence which created some great depth in these characters and the story overall.
Pru’s dad was another important character to the story in that Lili perfectly described the level of paranoia many doomsday preppers have. It isn’t simply about a natural disaster or a worldwide survival obstacle but at the heart is a complete distrust of society and others including your family. I won’t discuss any other characters not mentioned in the blurb because I don’t want to spoil anything, but there were other important characters I loved too.
Ready, Set, Action!
Now you would think that because this book is about a small rural town trying to survive without communication and electricity that it would have some boring parts but honestly, it didn’t. Even when there wasn’t a lot of action, the writing was written so succinctly that it didn’t feel like a bore reading those and it was actually interesting. This continued until another serious piece of action came along that hooked me in even more into the story.
This book not only explores the lengths people will go to survive in a grim situation but also looked at how freaking dangerous the world can quickly become without the simple technologies we’ve learnt to rely on. What if you’re allergic and prone to anaphylaxis without an EpiPen? This was mentioned and holy shit, if I was allergic I would die so fast cause I’m clumsy af and would probably accidentally jump into a beehive or slip on smeared peanut butter.
Overall
This was just an awesome book. It has all the pieces I love in a novel; action, relationships, seriously thought-provoking themes and topics that you actually think about after having finished reading it and some great easy to read writing that hooks you in from the first chapter. This actually prompted me to watch a disaster film today and I ended up watching San Andreas, and dear god, I was getting anxiety just watching that tsunami on the tv screen. No more disaster films for a while.
Until next time,
xx Tracy
BLOG | INSTA | TWITTER
-------
I finally got my teeth into this gorgeous book only a few weeks after meeting the lovely author and I really really enjoyed this book! You don’t hear much about contemporary sci-fi survivalist books nowadays and the concept behind this one was truly awesome and hella interesting.
So the fact that I read this book in less than 24 hours can give you an idea of how addictive and how well written this book was. I started reading it yesterday morning, only the first chapter, then picked up again at around 9 pm perhaps?
I couldn’t stop reading. It got to about 1 am when I realised I really should be getting some sleep or I’ll be way too tired in the morning and by that point, I was past the halfway mark and loving it.
Next morning, I woke up and did something I haven’t done in years, I literally just woke up and started reading it and I finished within a couple of hours. Who cares if my stomach wanted food and water, I wanted to finish the book. Every time there seemed to be a point I could stop as things died down plot-wise, something else jumped out at me and I had to finish that chapter. I truly devoured this book, and today to review it, I’m bringing back some categories for structure.
World-Building/Backstory & Writing
We meet Pru, a 17-year-old teen living out in the hot outback of Australia (woohoo!) and living with her twin sisters and their father. The first awesome and unique plot point of this book: they’re doomsday preppers.
I’ll be honest, when I started reading about how many skills Pru acquired and how prepared her Father made them, I was almost ready to start my own survival kit too. I actually started doing a ‘getaway’ bag when I was younger at the time where I was loving the Tomorrow When the War Began series by James Marsden. This book gave me all those vibes of Tomorrow, as well as The 5th Wave (although I’ve only watched the movie hehe) and also Red Dog vibes (amazing movie).
It wasn’t hard imagining the landscape and the bushland Lili Wilkinson described because her writing was so vivid in its descriptions as well as the fact that I live in Australia. I should know what it looks like 😛
Learning about Pru and her sisters and their way of life, you could feel the emotion rolling off the pages and the writing on how much Pru wished she had a normal life but when the shit hits the fan, we quickly find out how essential these skills are when you’re living in an extremely rural town with limited resources.
The explanation for how the communication is cut and the power goes out is actually super interesting. As a science nerd, I looked into it after reading this book too and I think I’ve got a tiny bit of doomsday prepper in me, this shit could get real – although the novel does take a fair amount of creative license so I won’t be building a bunker anytime soon. Lili managed to explain all the science mumbo-jumbo really well and it was so easy to understand.
Characters & Themes
I thought Pru was such a beautiful character and I could seriously empathise with her so well. As she’s figuratively battling what she’s been taught for her family and herself, and what she feels is right intuitively, I could feel all those emotions and basically cried as to how torn I was feeling as a result. The themes within this book resonate so well and are so intricately described in the context that you can’t help but debate in your own head as you read. To do what’s right and to do by what you’re taught or to protect your family is such an incredibly hard choice.
The themes of love, sacrifice and survival are definitely key to all the characters in this novel. Pru is torn and feeling so full of guilt and how she feels and the way the town reacts to the disaster makes you almost question your morals and how far one person would go to survive. If anyone else like me really likes reading and discussing philosophical topics like this, I really recommend a movie called After the Dark. That is one interesting movie about morals for survival in a life or death situation.
Pru’s twin sisters Grace and Blythe were also some great supporting characters in that they gave different perspectives on their situations. While dealing with the hard decisions of whether to keep their bunker secret and helping the people in town, these girls including Pru are dealing with teenage problems and issues to do with relationships, love, obsession and their individuality and independence which created some great depth in these characters and the story overall.
Pru’s dad was another important character to the story in that Lili perfectly described the level of paranoia many doomsday preppers have. It isn’t simply about a natural disaster or a worldwide survival obstacle but at the heart is a complete distrust of society and others including your family. I won’t discuss any other characters not mentioned in the blurb because I don’t want to spoil anything, but there were other important characters I loved too.
Ready, Set, Action!
Now you would think that because this book is about a small rural town trying to survive without communication and electricity that it would have some boring parts but honestly, it didn’t. Even when there wasn’t a lot of action, the writing was written so succinctly that it didn’t feel like a bore reading those and it was actually interesting. This continued until another serious piece of action came along that hooked me in even more into the story.
This book not only explores the lengths people will go to survive in a grim situation but also looked at how freaking dangerous the world can quickly become without the simple technologies we’ve learnt to rely on. What if you’re allergic and prone to anaphylaxis without an EpiPen? This was mentioned and holy shit, if I was allergic I would die so fast cause I’m clumsy af and would probably accidentally jump into a beehive or slip on smeared peanut butter.
Overall
This was just an awesome book. It has all the pieces I love in a novel; action, relationships, seriously thought-provoking themes and topics that you actually think about after having finished reading it and some great easy to read writing that hooks you in from the first chapter. This actually prompted me to watch a disaster film today and I ended up watching San Andreas, and dear god, I was getting anxiety just watching that tsunami on the tv screen. No more disaster films for a while.
Until next time,
xx Tracy
BLOG | INSTA | TWITTER
November 18, 2018
I loved this and found it very difficult to put down.
July 19, 2019
Provided by the State Library Victoria as part of the Inky Awards.
This would be the first book by an Australian Author that was longlisted for the Inky Awards(though by now the shortlist would already be out, and maybe the even winners, depending on when you are reading this). After the Lights Go Out is a dystopian/survival story that focuses in three sisters, Prudence, Grace and Blythe, alongside their dad who is a person that is called a ‘prepper’ which means that he is getting ready for all kinds of future apocalypses.
Very early on, a solar flare occurs which causes an EMP which wipes out all of the area’s power. I find that this is a very interesting concept, especially as this is something that is a lot more likely to happen compared to many other dystopian novels. In fact, the Carrington Event did wipe out all power back in 1859, though the consequences were far less.
I did really enjoy reading this book and I did think that it was very well written. The relationship between the characters certainly felt real and the way that people reacted to different things was like actually people. There is also a wide range of personalities at showing diversity and how everyone does have different thoughts and takes in different things.
The sister’s father, Rick is this crazy and obsessed man with survival and having family come first, despite the fact that some of the things that he has done are outrageous and controlling, rather than caring. Mateo, who is this character from Puerto Rico, alongside his mother, Clarita, being thousands of kilometres from home, are some of the most brave characters in the book. Then there’s Keller, and to put it simply… he’s an absolute bastard.
The pacing is constant steady and the story moves at quite a cracking pace, often expected of young adult dystopian novels. The ‘science’ behind everything is explained gradually as we learn of the situation, which is nice, as some books tend to blurt out a massive chunk of information like handing you a book on quantum physics and it’s like bam… memorise this(*cough* cough* fantasy). Most of you will not know this, but, I’m usually not the kind of person that will read a book over and over again, unless, it’s really epic and awesome and amazing, or that I’m bored with nothing to read, of which both doesn’t happen very often, so re-read? Highly unlikely, despite how good it was, I simply find that there’s too much to read to spend to many times revisiting a book, though I do see people becoming huge fans of this book.
Also, kudos to the author, as she is actually one of the people who started the Inky Awards and to set up insideadog.com.au, of which I would not have received this book if not for the things that she helped create. Would recommend to fans dystopian, survival(which is pretty much every dystopian novel) and adventure novels(in the ya bracket of course). 8.5/10
This would be the first book by an Australian Author that was longlisted for the Inky Awards(though by now the shortlist would already be out, and maybe the even winners, depending on when you are reading this). After the Lights Go Out is a dystopian/survival story that focuses in three sisters, Prudence, Grace and Blythe, alongside their dad who is a person that is called a ‘prepper’ which means that he is getting ready for all kinds of future apocalypses.
Very early on, a solar flare occurs which causes an EMP which wipes out all of the area’s power. I find that this is a very interesting concept, especially as this is something that is a lot more likely to happen compared to many other dystopian novels. In fact, the Carrington Event did wipe out all power back in 1859, though the consequences were far less.
I did really enjoy reading this book and I did think that it was very well written. The relationship between the characters certainly felt real and the way that people reacted to different things was like actually people. There is also a wide range of personalities at showing diversity and how everyone does have different thoughts and takes in different things.
The sister’s father, Rick is this crazy and obsessed man with survival and having family come first, despite the fact that some of the things that he has done are outrageous and controlling, rather than caring. Mateo, who is this character from Puerto Rico, alongside his mother, Clarita, being thousands of kilometres from home, are some of the most brave characters in the book. Then there’s Keller, and to put it simply… he’s an absolute bastard.
The pacing is constant steady and the story moves at quite a cracking pace, often expected of young adult dystopian novels. The ‘science’ behind everything is explained gradually as we learn of the situation, which is nice, as some books tend to blurt out a massive chunk of information like handing you a book on quantum physics and it’s like bam… memorise this(*cough* cough* fantasy). Most of you will not know this, but, I’m usually not the kind of person that will read a book over and over again, unless, it’s really epic and awesome and amazing, or that I’m bored with nothing to read, of which both doesn’t happen very often, so re-read? Highly unlikely, despite how good it was, I simply find that there’s too much to read to spend to many times revisiting a book, though I do see people becoming huge fans of this book.
Also, kudos to the author, as she is actually one of the people who started the Inky Awards and to set up insideadog.com.au, of which I would not have received this book if not for the things that she helped create. Would recommend to fans dystopian, survival(which is pretty much every dystopian novel) and adventure novels(in the ya bracket of course). 8.5/10
Read
August 4, 2018Review to come, in the meantime...
I quite enjoyed this one and found it a lot easier to relate to the characters in this than I did those in The Boundless Sublime, though for the most part the writing wasn't as gut-punching and visceral in this book as it was in The Boundless Sublime.
Some interesting observations of preppers, paranoia, unhealthy relationships, and community.
The character did some silly things that seemed to immediately go against what she had been trained for... but then, if they just locked themselves in the bunker from the start of the issue, this would be a rather short and boring story, would it not? She also made some assumptions early on that dismissed the evidence around her, seemingly in order to trick readers and lead to a bigger pay-off down the line, but I feel this would have been better handled if she addressed it the way the readers will perceive it, too, so it didn't feel so much like a pantomime ("They're BEHIND you. No, to your LEFT!").
At times it really bothered me how little this prepper teen seemed to assess the resources around her, and also... why would they only have unleaded petrol at the mine refueling station? Surely the BIG SEMIS that transport the payload from the mine wouldn't take unleaded?
There was some character growth here that was missing in The Boundless Sublime, which balanced out the decrease in visceral writing, and I definitely think I enjoyed this one more on the whole.
I quite enjoyed this one and found it a lot easier to relate to the characters in this than I did those in The Boundless Sublime, though for the most part the writing wasn't as gut-punching and visceral in this book as it was in The Boundless Sublime.
Some interesting observations of preppers, paranoia, unhealthy relationships, and community.
The character did some silly things that seemed to immediately go against what she had been trained for... but then, if they just locked themselves in the bunker from the start of the issue, this would be a rather short and boring story, would it not? She also made some assumptions early on that dismissed the evidence around her, seemingly in order to trick readers and lead to a bigger pay-off down the line, but I feel this would have been better handled if she addressed it the way the readers will perceive it, too, so it didn't feel so much like a pantomime ("They're BEHIND you. No, to your LEFT!").
At times it really bothered me how little this prepper teen seemed to assess the resources around her, and also... why would they only have unleaded petrol at the mine refueling station? Surely the BIG SEMIS that transport the payload from the mine wouldn't take unleaded?
There was some character growth here that was missing in The Boundless Sublime, which balanced out the decrease in visceral writing, and I definitely think I enjoyed this one more on the whole.
October 1, 2018
Quite enjoyed this one. A remote mining town in Australia. The lights go out, nothing electronic works, most of the people are 400km away at the mine. No problems for 17 yo Pru and her twin sisters; their father is a prepper who has built a doomsday bunker full of survival gear and has trained the girls in amazing survival skills. But Dad is away, the small town lacks food, water and medical supplies and Pru faces a dilemma - who is right, good old Dad with his dire warnings or the remaining people who are trying to work together.
The dilemmas faced by Pru, the argument of whether people are good or bad, the impact of the lack of modern medical services, the resourcefulness needed to adapt and the nutty Dad all add to a better than average dystopian tale.
The dilemmas faced by Pru, the argument of whether people are good or bad, the impact of the lack of modern medical services, the resourcefulness needed to adapt and the nutty Dad all add to a better than average dystopian tale.
June 4, 2018
This all seems possible. Loved the diversity and inclusiveness.
But that Rick. #prepper
But that Rick. #prepper
July 29, 2018
Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Jayse Smith
The thing that makes Wilkinson’s novel scarier is the fact that the events which occur throughout are all things that could happen. What begins innocently enough when a father drags children to the mining town of Jubilee, which is literally the middle of nowhere, this feeling of innocence dissolves quickly as this YA novel becomes what’s being described as this decades’ ‘Tomorrow When The War Began’.
After what Prue Palmer believes is an electromagnetic pulse, caused by a solar flare, it takes out the power in their town. Prue and her twin sisters Grace and Blythe fear the worst for their father as he was at the mine where most of the population of Jubilee work. The girls must make a choice: do they stick to the plan to head to The Paddock, the bunker their father prepared which is stocked with enough provisions to last the four of them years? Or do they go against all their father has drilled into them and band together with the people of the town and share their knowledge and skills, something their father would have hated and would have punished them for doing. The psychological hold he has over his daughters borders insanity, and each time Pru has to make a decision Ricks voice is in her head saying ‘Good Girl’ to the decision that he has slammed into her head.
Wilkinson is given the chance to explore what extremes people would go to in a post-apocalyptic situation, which leads to some absolute gems of wisdom and insight. In a world without the luxury of modern technology—no cars to deliver stock to stores, no way of contacting the outside world—how desperate will the people of Jubilee become? It’s also so great to see realistic and accurate representation of indigenous people and culture through the novel since it is set in a remote part of the Kimberly region. Wilkinson sought permission from and learned about the traditional land owners which makes the novel feel even more authentic.
This book also makes the reader actually question their morals, who lives and dies in this new society? These are just some of the things that we are made to think about.
When the supplies in Jubilee run out people begin to turn on each other, people begin to get desperate, and the sisters decide to keep their bunker a secret (good girl). But in a turn of events the towns people find out about The Paddock, will Prue’s family be shunned, or will the townspeople of Jubilee forgive the fact that they’ve been lied to all this time?
This book is unputdownable with a thrill a minute and filled with adventure, which makes it totally worth how ever much time that it will take to read it. The twists and turns throughout you’ll never see coming and the characters are so well-developed, you’ll fall in love with them. Lili Wilkinson is on to a winner here, well researched, and perfectly executed!
The thing that makes Wilkinson’s novel scarier is the fact that the events which occur throughout are all things that could happen. What begins innocently enough when a father drags children to the mining town of Jubilee, which is literally the middle of nowhere, this feeling of innocence dissolves quickly as this YA novel becomes what’s being described as this decades’ ‘Tomorrow When The War Began’.
After what Prue Palmer believes is an electromagnetic pulse, caused by a solar flare, it takes out the power in their town. Prue and her twin sisters Grace and Blythe fear the worst for their father as he was at the mine where most of the population of Jubilee work. The girls must make a choice: do they stick to the plan to head to The Paddock, the bunker their father prepared which is stocked with enough provisions to last the four of them years? Or do they go against all their father has drilled into them and band together with the people of the town and share their knowledge and skills, something their father would have hated and would have punished them for doing. The psychological hold he has over his daughters borders insanity, and each time Pru has to make a decision Ricks voice is in her head saying ‘Good Girl’ to the decision that he has slammed into her head.
Wilkinson is given the chance to explore what extremes people would go to in a post-apocalyptic situation, which leads to some absolute gems of wisdom and insight. In a world without the luxury of modern technology—no cars to deliver stock to stores, no way of contacting the outside world—how desperate will the people of Jubilee become? It’s also so great to see realistic and accurate representation of indigenous people and culture through the novel since it is set in a remote part of the Kimberly region. Wilkinson sought permission from and learned about the traditional land owners which makes the novel feel even more authentic.
This book also makes the reader actually question their morals, who lives and dies in this new society? These are just some of the things that we are made to think about.
When the supplies in Jubilee run out people begin to turn on each other, people begin to get desperate, and the sisters decide to keep their bunker a secret (good girl). But in a turn of events the towns people find out about The Paddock, will Prue’s family be shunned, or will the townspeople of Jubilee forgive the fact that they’ve been lied to all this time?
This book is unputdownable with a thrill a minute and filled with adventure, which makes it totally worth how ever much time that it will take to read it. The twists and turns throughout you’ll never see coming and the characters are so well-developed, you’ll fall in love with them. Lili Wilkinson is on to a winner here, well researched, and perfectly executed!
November 3, 2018
After the Lights Go Out definitely exceeded my expectations, I read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. The plot is driven by action but also emotion that keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to work out what the outcome of every choice will be, and of course if they are even going to survive with the lights out. The book is very emotionally driven exploring what one will do for the sake of family.
I loved the fact that the novel takes place within a small outback town which is completely different from the typical end-of-world dystopian novels. Everyone knows everyone so actions have a more significant impact upon everyone. The book goes beyond the usually tropes associated with dystopians.
I also just love Pru and the way she has been written, how she has all these awesome survival skills and understands the harsh reality of survival and yet still questions the extremes one must undertake to save ones family.
And as I side note I love the Aussie feel to this book, I'm always excited when I read a book written by an Aussie author set in Australia that feels authentic.
I loved the fact that the novel takes place within a small outback town which is completely different from the typical end-of-world dystopian novels. Everyone knows everyone so actions have a more significant impact upon everyone. The book goes beyond the usually tropes associated with dystopians.
I also just love Pru and the way she has been written, how she has all these awesome survival skills and understands the harsh reality of survival and yet still questions the extremes one must undertake to save ones family.
And as I side note I love the Aussie feel to this book, I'm always excited when I read a book written by an Aussie author set in Australia that feels authentic.
August 21, 2018
After the Lights Go Out tells the story of Pru, the daughter of a mad doomsday prepper living in the Australian outback. Pru and her twin sisters think their dad is crazy and unnecessarily strict until one day their dad disappears and the world actually ends. Pru and the twins are left with a moral dilemma: do they let the town in on their secret and give up their stash, or do they save themselves and let their neighbours starve?
Rest assured, this is not a rapid degeneration into anarchy with infuriating men taking over the town a la Under the Dome; it’s far more complex than that. Wilkinson delves deep into the dynamics this small outback town and how geographical isolation has equal potential to tear people apart or bring them together. The way in which this community responds to the world ending is both expected and yet completely unexpected.
I don’t read a lot of Oz YA that’s actually set in Australia (usually it’s fantastical worlds or far-off planets) so I really enjoyed getting to visit the little town of Jubilee. I’ve always lived in major cities but have driven through towns like this one, so I was instantly fear-stricken by the sense of isolation, lack of resources, and sparse population - and that’s before the world ended.
And when the world ended? I can’t even tell you how stressed I was as I devoured this novel, suddenly realising that I have zero skills and knowledge to get me through this kind of catastrophic event!
There’s some great representation here: we have a bisexual female protagonist, a Puerto Rican male love interest who calls out racism when he sees it, two queer moms, and a side character living with HIV. There’s also some very frank discussion about virginity as a social construct - which I am HERE for - and teen sex without any expectations of “omg it’s ~*true love*~”.
I had a feeling I gonna like this when Amie Kaufman couldn’t stop raving about it, but it’s so nice to have my suspicions confirmed! This was an equal parts scary and heartwarming survival story with diversity and a post-apocalyptic plot that doesn’t unfold in quite the way you’d expect it to. If you’re hesitant about living through a redux of Lord of the Flies or Under the Dome, don’t worry, this book stands firmly on its own two feet.
July 29, 2018
4.5 stars!
I received this book from Allen&Unwin in exchange for an honest review.
And oh boy I was not disappointed! This was the Australian outback story about doomsday preppers that I didn’t know I needed in my life.
It was a ridiculously interesting book because I always wonder what I would do in an apocalyptic/end of the world situation and so I loved reading it.
I think part of the reason I enjoyed it so much is that it was a completely different setting than I was used to. We’ve all seen some of the apocalyptic TV shows/movies that are set in the big cities or in the suburbs (both being densely populated with it generally turning into a blood bath for survival) but I’d never thought of what would happen to people in that live in tiny towns in the middle of nowhere.
It’s a very realistic story of what would actually happen, at least in some places.
This is the second book of Lili Wilkinson’s that I have read, and both times I was blown away by the content she decided to write about. Like sure, there are countless books about cults and doomsday preppers but it was Wilkinson’s writing that drew me in both times with The Boundless Sublime and After The Lights Go Out. She has such an intriguing story telling style and writes such interesting characters. I look forward to all future books!
I received this book from Allen&Unwin in exchange for an honest review.
And oh boy I was not disappointed! This was the Australian outback story about doomsday preppers that I didn’t know I needed in my life.
It was a ridiculously interesting book because I always wonder what I would do in an apocalyptic/end of the world situation and so I loved reading it.
I think part of the reason I enjoyed it so much is that it was a completely different setting than I was used to. We’ve all seen some of the apocalyptic TV shows/movies that are set in the big cities or in the suburbs (both being densely populated with it generally turning into a blood bath for survival) but I’d never thought of what would happen to people in that live in tiny towns in the middle of nowhere.
It’s a very realistic story of what would actually happen, at least in some places.
This is the second book of Lili Wilkinson’s that I have read, and both times I was blown away by the content she decided to write about. Like sure, there are countless books about cults and doomsday preppers but it was Wilkinson’s writing that drew me in both times with The Boundless Sublime and After The Lights Go Out. She has such an intriguing story telling style and writes such interesting characters. I look forward to all future books!
October 17, 2018
This book was sent to me by the publisher for my honest review.
I feel like I have been searching for a book like this since I read John Marsdens Tomorrow Series and I am so pleased I have finally found it. Lili captures the essence of rural Australia and uses it perfectly as the backdrop of this doomsday tale.
The characters are so well constructed. You hate the ones you are meant to hate and love the ones you are meant to love. The whole premise of this book with a catastrophic event and the inner conflict of Pru with how to deal with it is just spectacular. I felt that despite the sometimes very technical topics the teens were discussing the language was truly that of a teenager, not an adult, making the dialogue aspects some of the best I have read.
This book is filled with so much adventure and intrigue. I think that this is a prime example of quality Australian young adult literature and I honestly cannot fault it. Thrilling perfection that everyone should read.
I feel like I have been searching for a book like this since I read John Marsdens Tomorrow Series and I am so pleased I have finally found it. Lili captures the essence of rural Australia and uses it perfectly as the backdrop of this doomsday tale.
The characters are so well constructed. You hate the ones you are meant to hate and love the ones you are meant to love. The whole premise of this book with a catastrophic event and the inner conflict of Pru with how to deal with it is just spectacular. I felt that despite the sometimes very technical topics the teens were discussing the language was truly that of a teenager, not an adult, making the dialogue aspects some of the best I have read.
This book is filled with so much adventure and intrigue. I think that this is a prime example of quality Australian young adult literature and I honestly cannot fault it. Thrilling perfection that everyone should read.
August 30, 2018
★★ 3.5 stars ★★
I loved the survivalist aspect and the character development, however; the plot was a bit inconsistent at times and the romance aspect was unnecessary in my opinion.
I loved the survivalist aspect and the character development, however; the plot was a bit inconsistent at times and the romance aspect was unnecessary in my opinion.
May 4, 2019
"After the Lights Go Out" is a an example of really good young adult fiction. It has a diverse set of characters whose actions are realistic and have an Australian flair that feels very natural and familiar. Lili Wilkinson has really captured the Australian psyche, and has anchored her characters to their landscape. It doesn't shy away from some of the bad parts of our country, including casual and overt racism and sexism in her characters interactions in the very manner that it occurs in everyday Australia.
I really enjoyed how different this novel is to a lot of apocalyptic fiction. While yes, there is some elements of the world going to shit and people mistreating each other, it mostly details how the vast majority of people can come together and work to create something out of nothing in the very worst of times. In real life, when someone trips and falls, most people will stop and ask if they are ok. After big bad events occur we always hear about the people who assisted others who were in trouble. Why does it not make sense that it would be the same case in an apocalyptic scenario? I love apocalyptic fiction, but it does seem that a lot of authors focus on how people turn on each other and only come together after an extended period of complete misery and violence. It was a nice change of pace to see how the characters interacted and dealt with the circumstances in this book.
I will say, I was really not a fan of the character of Mateo. He read to me a bit like a male version of a manic pixie dream girl (what is that called? A hyper fairy fella? A wild gremlin guy?). Maybe I'm just too old to swoon or like a guy like that, but I definitely found his catchphrase of "unacceptable" very annoying.
I really enjoyed how different this novel is to a lot of apocalyptic fiction. While yes, there is some elements of the world going to shit and people mistreating each other, it mostly details how the vast majority of people can come together and work to create something out of nothing in the very worst of times. In real life, when someone trips and falls, most people will stop and ask if they are ok. After big bad events occur we always hear about the people who assisted others who were in trouble. Why does it not make sense that it would be the same case in an apocalyptic scenario? I love apocalyptic fiction, but it does seem that a lot of authors focus on how people turn on each other and only come together after an extended period of complete misery and violence. It was a nice change of pace to see how the characters interacted and dealt with the circumstances in this book.
I will say, I was really not a fan of the character of Mateo. He read to me a bit like a male version of a manic pixie dream girl (what is that called? A hyper fairy fella? A wild gremlin guy?). Maybe I'm just too old to swoon or like a guy like that, but I definitely found his catchphrase of "unacceptable" very annoying.
August 4, 2018
Scary, thrilling and un-putdownable!
Prue Palmer and and her sisters Blythe and Grace have been taught about doomsday preparations by their father Rick and when the day comes when the power goes out in their mining community and across the country, the girls have to rely on each other and the people of their small town when their father doesn’t come back from the mines.
Prue Palmer and and her sisters Blythe and Grace have been taught about doomsday preparations by their father Rick and when the day comes when the power goes out in their mining community and across the country, the girls have to rely on each other and the people of their small town when their father doesn’t come back from the mines.
September 22, 2019
After the Lights Go Out continues in the long tradition of Australian fiction about the struggle for survival in the outback, this time, updated for the 21st century. Pru and her twin sisters, Blythe and Grace, moved to the tiny town of Jubilee with their father, an End of Days prepper. Their mother has left the family, and the girls have been swept up in their father's conviction that when the end comes, via an EMP (eclectromagnetic pulse that will take out everything electronic), society will break down and only family will matter. They have a bunker, stocked with food and supplies to see them out for years. Pru, the eldest, is also a skeptic: she's not convinced her father is right, and not a delusional conspiracy theorist, but when the unthinkable happens and there IS an EMP, apparently set off by a solar flare, and her father is away at the mine where he works as an engineer, Pru has to draw on all the survival skills she has learned at her father's side to save herself, her sisters, and the remaining townsfolk of Jubilee.
After the Lights Go Out is by far Lili Wilkinson's finest novel yet. It's an absolutely cracking good read, with tension, suspense, AND romance, but it's more than just an updated Tomorrow When the War Began (in my view, it is in almost every respect a far superior book). The novel deals head on with a huge range of ethical challenges Pru has to face, and she often falls short of her own and other's expectations. Despite the evidence in front of her—that the townsfolk, despite a bumpy start, do not in the end turn on each other. but in fact work together for their mutual survival. And yet, there's always that voice, her father's voice inside her head: family comes first.
The characters are all portrayed in their human and moral complexity, and Pru's choices are made under often agonising circumstances. The romance is really well handled; genuinely and positively sexy, but also convincing in all its twists and turns. Wilkinson's feminism and strong sense of social justice informs the novel, but it's not heavy-handed or didactic at any point. The science, she acknowledges in her author's note, has had a heavy layer of creative licence applied, but it's nevertheless utterly believable, and does not hinder the action (and yes, it's is an absolutely page-turner) at any point.
Finally, the novel is a gorgeous tribute to the Australian outback. Unlike so many of these survival novels in whose narrative footsteps After the Lights Go Out follows, the landscape is not portrayed as actively hostile, despite the presence of snakes, non-arable desert, drought and vast empty distances, but something with its own intrinsic beauty and a willingness to be worked with to allow the survival of these representatives of settler colonialism.
On that note, it's important to note that the novel does not include explicit Aboriginal perspectives. How to do so respectfully and accurately is a question that continues to present substantial challenges for White and non-Aboriginal writers, and while I understand the decision not to risk misrepresentation, it did seem to me to be an odd absence in a book that is so specifically Australian, and so deeply enamoured of Country. With that caveat: 5 stars. Recommended.
After the Lights Go Out is by far Lili Wilkinson's finest novel yet. It's an absolutely cracking good read, with tension, suspense, AND romance, but it's more than just an updated Tomorrow When the War Began (in my view, it is in almost every respect a far superior book). The novel deals head on with a huge range of ethical challenges Pru has to face, and she often falls short of her own and other's expectations. Despite the evidence in front of her—that the townsfolk, despite a bumpy start, do not in the end turn on each other. but in fact work together for their mutual survival. And yet, there's always that voice, her father's voice inside her head: family comes first.
The characters are all portrayed in their human and moral complexity, and Pru's choices are made under often agonising circumstances. The romance is really well handled; genuinely and positively sexy, but also convincing in all its twists and turns. Wilkinson's feminism and strong sense of social justice informs the novel, but it's not heavy-handed or didactic at any point. The science, she acknowledges in her author's note, has had a heavy layer of creative licence applied, but it's nevertheless utterly believable, and does not hinder the action (and yes, it's is an absolutely page-turner) at any point.
Finally, the novel is a gorgeous tribute to the Australian outback. Unlike so many of these survival novels in whose narrative footsteps After the Lights Go Out follows, the landscape is not portrayed as actively hostile, despite the presence of snakes, non-arable desert, drought and vast empty distances, but something with its own intrinsic beauty and a willingness to be worked with to allow the survival of these representatives of settler colonialism.
On that note, it's important to note that the novel does not include explicit Aboriginal perspectives. How to do so respectfully and accurately is a question that continues to present substantial challenges for White and non-Aboriginal writers, and while I understand the decision not to risk misrepresentation, it did seem to me to be an odd absence in a book that is so specifically Australian, and so deeply enamoured of Country. With that caveat: 5 stars. Recommended.
September 18, 2023
Update: Mar 2020
Turns out I was wrong. My boss is a consultant for mining companies in WA (not for OHS) and he told me that yes, sometimes a mining company will pay for an OHS trainer from the US. He also says its a total junket, but mining companies have a lot of money to throw around. So maybe you should disregard everything I say and read the book. It is a very clever take on the apocalypse.
*************
Jan 2020
I really liked the story, the setting, Pru's family. Not so much her crazy Dad - but he was the most important character in setting up the plot. Oh preppers, go back to your bunker and don't come out. And Pru has a dog! The reasons for the apocalypse are suitably out there, but (according to preppers) are a "definite" possibility.
Something I didn't like was whats-his-name love interest. The romance aspect was very well done - not insta love people, insta lust. What I didn't like was his mothers and him coming from the US via Puerto Rico.
OHS is so important at mine sites. Even without an apocalypse mine sites are a death trap if you're not paying attention. Australia (and the world) has multitudes of OHS consultancies. There is no way a mining company would pay an OHS trainer to come to Australia from the US. The trainer would likely come from Perth. If Lili Wilkinson wants to tick all her diversity boxes, Australia has a whole lot of brown people who are just as down-trodden as Puerto Ricans are in the US. Our First Nations people top that list.
Add to that - there isn't a single Aboriginal character in the book. Wtf?? The setting is the Kimberley, where Aboriginal people make up 42% of the population. In Australia overall they make up 3% of the population. https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov...
Perhaps there were SCs I missed?? Jubilee's population has every non-white cultural group except Aboriginal people.
And there's Pru being bi. Lili Wilkinson has done this before in Pink. Like that story, the MC has a boy LI most of the book. Pru talks about kissing a girl prior to the story, so it's more tokenistic than Pink (where the MC has an ex girlfriend with a big part in the story). Is this bi-erasure? Oh is it me doing bi-erasure by saying I want a bi character to end up with a same-sex partner?
Meanwhile IRL we have a pandemic on the way. Pru just had one apocalypse, now here's another. She really does never catch a break.
Turns out I was wrong. My boss is a consultant for mining companies in WA (not for OHS) and he told me that yes, sometimes a mining company will pay for an OHS trainer from the US. He also says its a total junket, but mining companies have a lot of money to throw around. So maybe you should disregard everything I say and read the book. It is a very clever take on the apocalypse.
*************
Jan 2020
I really liked the story, the setting, Pru's family. Not so much her crazy Dad - but he was the most important character in setting up the plot. Oh preppers, go back to your bunker and don't come out. And Pru has a dog! The reasons for the apocalypse are suitably out there, but (according to preppers) are a "definite" possibility.
Something I didn't like was whats-his-name love interest. The romance aspect was very well done - not insta love people, insta lust. What I didn't like was his mothers and him coming from the US via Puerto Rico.
OHS is so important at mine sites. Even without an apocalypse mine sites are a death trap if you're not paying attention. Australia (and the world) has multitudes of OHS consultancies. There is no way a mining company would pay an OHS trainer to come to Australia from the US. The trainer would likely come from Perth. If Lili Wilkinson wants to tick all her diversity boxes, Australia has a whole lot of brown people who are just as down-trodden as Puerto Ricans are in the US. Our First Nations people top that list.
Add to that - there isn't a single Aboriginal character in the book. Wtf?? The setting is the Kimberley, where Aboriginal people make up 42% of the population. In Australia overall they make up 3% of the population. https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov...
Perhaps there were SCs I missed?? Jubilee's population has every non-white cultural group except Aboriginal people.
And there's Pru being bi. Lili Wilkinson has done this before in Pink. Like that story, the MC has a boy LI most of the book. Pru talks about kissing a girl prior to the story, so it's more tokenistic than Pink (where the MC has an ex girlfriend with a big part in the story). Is this bi-erasure? Oh is it me doing bi-erasure by saying I want a bi character to end up with a same-sex partner?
Meanwhile IRL we have a pandemic on the way. Pru just had one apocalypse, now here's another. She really does never catch a break.
September 20, 2019
Ergh. This book started out promising but turned out to be a crappy YA romance over anything else. The only tension in the book comes from the dramas associated with the protagonist's teenage romance and some conflict with her younger (also teenage) sisters. The actual event that causes them all to be thrown into survival mode is speculated mildly but never really brought into focus or given any weight and so there's no sense of danger, urgency or impending doom (in other words no excitement). The book drew me in because of the way the protagonist states her long resume of survival skills - I got the impression she was going to be using these many skills to MacGyver the shit out of the NWO but instead she decides to hide all of her skills and prepping experience so she can fit in with all the ordinary people in the town. Honestly, the most exciting thing she does is plant some vegetables and pull her dad's tooth out.
I thought the author did a really good job of capturing the full breadth of experience of the Australian Outback - from the monotony and hopelessness, the harshness and emptiness to the heart of the small town community, the richness and lively spirit of it's people and their environment. I really felt like I was placed there in the landscape and for that I don't regret reading the book.
I thought the author did a really good job of capturing the full breadth of experience of the Australian Outback - from the monotony and hopelessness, the harshness and emptiness to the heart of the small town community, the richness and lively spirit of it's people and their environment. I really felt like I was placed there in the landscape and for that I don't regret reading the book.
May 17, 2018
*for fans of Tomorrow When The War Began*
I'd also recommend this to people that want to read My Absolute Darling, but don't want to deal with the triggers of physical abuse that it entails.
I love Tomorrow When The War Began series, and part of that was the imagining of the social breakdown after any kind of mass apocalyptic event (natural or otherwise).
So when I heard this was based around a survivalist story, I had to read it immediately! And I wasn't disappointed.
Fascinating insight into the children of a hardcore Survivalist, but I loved that for once they're proved correct, and that there is a life changing event that genuinely does breakdown society as we know it.
Still a rough story of course, but I think most of western society probably are a bit soft, and this serves as a warning: Are you prepared, if the lights (and all electronic devices) go out?
I'd also recommend this to people that want to read My Absolute Darling, but don't want to deal with the triggers of physical abuse that it entails.
I love Tomorrow When The War Began series, and part of that was the imagining of the social breakdown after any kind of mass apocalyptic event (natural or otherwise).
So when I heard this was based around a survivalist story, I had to read it immediately! And I wasn't disappointed.
Fascinating insight into the children of a hardcore Survivalist, but I loved that for once they're proved correct, and that there is a life changing event that genuinely does breakdown society as we know it.
Still a rough story of course, but I think most of western society probably are a bit soft, and this serves as a warning: Are you prepared, if the lights (and all electronic devices) go out?
February 17, 2019
I enjoyed this thought provoking book.
An electromagnetic pulse shuts down the power grid meaning computers, phones, cars, hospitals and supermarkets can't function. The inhabitants of a small mining town in Australia are cut off from the rest of the world and don't know what has happened but must work together sharing resources to survive. Prue Palmer's father is a doomsday prepper and has prepared a bunker with supplies; in his absence Prue has to decide whether to share these supplies with the survivors but that goes against all that her father has taught her.
An electromagnetic pulse shuts down the power grid meaning computers, phones, cars, hospitals and supermarkets can't function. The inhabitants of a small mining town in Australia are cut off from the rest of the world and don't know what has happened but must work together sharing resources to survive. Prue Palmer's father is a doomsday prepper and has prepared a bunker with supplies; in his absence Prue has to decide whether to share these supplies with the survivors but that goes against all that her father has taught her.
November 22, 2018
An electronic magnetic pulse destroys modern society as we know it. A small mining town attempts to survive through the wreckage of society.
Review
Great premise, but I stopped really caring for everyone. It turns out I would have abandoned society way early on. Day 9 of low food and I would have peaced out to my bunker.
The innocence of people should have killed people. If the town was ever raided all progress would have been lost.
Review
Great premise, but I stopped really caring for everyone. It turns out I would have abandoned society way early on. Day 9 of low food and I would have peaced out to my bunker.
The innocence of people should have killed people. If the town was ever raided all progress would have been lost.
Read
January 20, 2019Interesting premise but there were no really likable characters and I wasn't engaged by the writing style (so heavy on exposition). I also thought the MCs attitude to actual safety and preparedness, once there was a reason to need those things, was pretty silly and naive. This was a DNF for me.
February 15, 2019
Near on perfect! Loved the Aussie outback setting, and the believable and complex characters. The dilemma of choosing between protecting family only or supporting community is such a valid theme, and was brilliantly explored. And yes, I missed my train stop because of this book! Read it in a day.
did-not-finish
February 12, 2019I have to admit to myself that I'm not going to finish this. I love Lili Wilkinson, and this isn't bad, but it's just not the kind of thing I'm interested in reading at this point. I'm sure I'll pick this up again one day.
August 3, 2018
For fans of 'Tomorrow When the War Began' and 'Carousel'.
Prudence Palmer lives with her father and two twin sisters in the very small country town of Jubilee in Western Australia.
Her father is a doomsday prepper - a man who believes the world and government is out to get his family. Like any normal person, he has an underground bunker filled with years worth of food, medical supplies, solar electricity and weapons to protect his family.
Pru and her sisters play along with their father and his schemes until one day the power goes out across the whole town while Rick Palmer is out at the Jumuluny mine where he works.
Their dad was right - they need the bunker to survive now.
A story of survival and endurance that will make you question everything - what would you do in the same situation? Would you share your supplies in order for the whole town to survive for a few months or keep it to yourself so you can survive for a few years?
This book also has great representation both regarding indigenous culture, sexual orientations and family groups.
I have not read a book this quickly in such a long time - it gripped me from the get go and I had to know what happened next!
Prudence Palmer lives with her father and two twin sisters in the very small country town of Jubilee in Western Australia.
Her father is a doomsday prepper - a man who believes the world and government is out to get his family. Like any normal person, he has an underground bunker filled with years worth of food, medical supplies, solar electricity and weapons to protect his family.
Pru and her sisters play along with their father and his schemes until one day the power goes out across the whole town while Rick Palmer is out at the Jumuluny mine where he works.
Their dad was right - they need the bunker to survive now.
A story of survival and endurance that will make you question everything - what would you do in the same situation? Would you share your supplies in order for the whole town to survive for a few months or keep it to yourself so you can survive for a few years?
This book also has great representation both regarding indigenous culture, sexual orientations and family groups.
I have not read a book this quickly in such a long time - it gripped me from the get go and I had to know what happened next!
"What if a small group of people working together can build something new? Something made of kindness and generosity and hope?"
September 28, 2019
Would be 3.5 stars if Goodreads permitted!
My Goodreads Rating Rubric:
5 Stars: Author at the top of their game, could not wish for any improvements. If there's a sequel, I need to be reading it yesterday.
4 Stars: Excellent book that I thoroughly enjoyed, written by a skilled author; perhaps one or two minor things that threw me out, but not in a significant way. Will jump on any sequels as soon as I can (if applicable).
3 Stars: I enjoyed this book, but there were a few things that threw me out or didn't work for me. However, my overall impression was still positive, and I'd definitely read a sequel.
2 Stars: There were a lot of things in this book that didn't work for me; YMMV but if there's a sequel I'm giving it a miss.
1 Star: I disliked this book and thought it extremely poorly written; I probably won't read anything more by this author unless I see evidence that they've improved a lot.
My Goodreads Rating Rubric:
5 Stars: Author at the top of their game, could not wish for any improvements. If there's a sequel, I need to be reading it yesterday.
4 Stars: Excellent book that I thoroughly enjoyed, written by a skilled author; perhaps one or two minor things that threw me out, but not in a significant way. Will jump on any sequels as soon as I can (if applicable).
3 Stars: I enjoyed this book, but there were a few things that threw me out or didn't work for me. However, my overall impression was still positive, and I'd definitely read a sequel.
2 Stars: There were a lot of things in this book that didn't work for me; YMMV but if there's a sequel I'm giving it a miss.
1 Star: I disliked this book and thought it extremely poorly written; I probably won't read anything more by this author unless I see evidence that they've improved a lot.
August 20, 2018
This is one of those cases of 'If you loved this book, then you'll love this book'.
If you loved The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James, then you will love this book :)
The writing is great, the characters are fascinating, the outback setting is beautiful and the story is gripping. The climax is very intense. An awesome survival story with a lot of substance on how communities and people are affected by catastrophes and how power dynamics evolve and develop. There are some more nuanced discussions too.
I highly recommend this Young Adult Australian novel. You will most likely read it in one sitting and might feel your heart race quite a bit as well. The tension in this book is perfect!
If you loved The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James, then you will love this book :)
The writing is great, the characters are fascinating, the outback setting is beautiful and the story is gripping. The climax is very intense. An awesome survival story with a lot of substance on how communities and people are affected by catastrophes and how power dynamics evolve and develop. There are some more nuanced discussions too.
I highly recommend this Young Adult Australian novel. You will most likely read it in one sitting and might feel your heart race quite a bit as well. The tension in this book is perfect!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews