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American Afterlife
The earthquake was just the beginning. Now, the true horror arrives in this unflinching, near-future thriller about family and survival, for fans of Chuck Wendig.
The Pacific Northwest lies in ruins in the aftermath of the 9.2 Cascadia earthquake. There is a tsunami at the coast, annihilated infrastructure in all the towns and cities, and failed dams in the Oregon river valley where 15-year-old Cielo lives with her mother, a fearful evangelical who’s become caught up in a fearsome cult called The Collection of Redeemed Souls. Cielo and her mother, Mexican citizens without U.S. papers, have always had their status teeter on the edge—and now it’s about to plunge into the abyss.
When the earthquake hits, Cielo’s mother hasn’t been home in days, but Cielo suspects that she’s holed up with the cult and might even be dead. When the National Guard arrives to evacuate survivors, she stays behind in the flooded city to find her body. Members of The Collection of Redeemed Souls have also chosen to stay, and their disciples are capturing anyone still left behind and converting them to the cult by force. Entering a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, Cielo tries to evade the cult at every turn as she desperately searches for her mother’s remains.
With gunfights and mass killings engulfing the city, Cielo is one step away from her own demise, but the bonds of blood drive her on toward a confrontation with pure evil—and a final chance for her mother’s redemption.
The Pacific Northwest lies in ruins in the aftermath of the 9.2 Cascadia earthquake. There is a tsunami at the coast, annihilated infrastructure in all the towns and cities, and failed dams in the Oregon river valley where 15-year-old Cielo lives with her mother, a fearful evangelical who’s become caught up in a fearsome cult called The Collection of Redeemed Souls. Cielo and her mother, Mexican citizens without U.S. papers, have always had their status teeter on the edge—and now it’s about to plunge into the abyss.
When the earthquake hits, Cielo’s mother hasn’t been home in days, but Cielo suspects that she’s holed up with the cult and might even be dead. When the National Guard arrives to evacuate survivors, she stays behind in the flooded city to find her body. Members of The Collection of Redeemed Souls have also chosen to stay, and their disciples are capturing anyone still left behind and converting them to the cult by force. Entering a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, Cielo tries to evade the cult at every turn as she desperately searches for her mother’s remains.
With gunfights and mass killings engulfing the city, Cielo is one step away from her own demise, but the bonds of blood drive her on toward a confrontation with pure evil—and a final chance for her mother’s redemption.
262 pages, Hardcover
Published December 6, 2022
19 people are currently reading
405 people want to read
About the author
Pedro Hoffmeister
1 book21 followersAuthor also writes under Peter Brown Hoffmeister
American Afterlife earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Hoffmeister's other books have earned starred reviews from Kirkus, Library Journal, VOYA, The Bulletin, and Booklist. His novels have earned year-end "Best Books" honors from The American Library Association, VOYA, and Bank Street.
Hoffmeister is a former troubled teen—expelled from three high schools and arrested—turned high school teacher. He teaches nature literature, outdoor pursuits, rock climbing, and survival as part of the Integrated Outdoor Program in Eugene, Oregon.
American Afterlife earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Hoffmeister's other books have earned starred reviews from Kirkus, Library Journal, VOYA, The Bulletin, and Booklist. His novels have earned year-end "Best Books" honors from The American Library Association, VOYA, and Bank Street.
Hoffmeister is a former troubled teen—expelled from three high schools and arrested—turned high school teacher. He teaches nature literature, outdoor pursuits, rock climbing, and survival as part of the Integrated Outdoor Program in Eugene, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
July 5, 2022
This is a very bleak read.
I’m telling you from the start that after reading this, you’ll want to go pet a puppy or smile at a baby, but it won’t work and you’ll still be stuck in the despair of it all until you read something lighter.
That being said, it’s also a very good read.
Cielo is amazing. I wanted to hug her and protect her – the only problem is that she wouldn’t trust me and would end up stabbing me or something before I could comfort her. And then, as I lay there bleeding out, I’d still want to protect her from the author’s world.
The world the author has created is one of endless horrors. Expect a read that pulls very few punches, gives you a heroine to truly root for, and leaves you breathless.
*ARC via Publisher
I’m telling you from the start that after reading this, you’ll want to go pet a puppy or smile at a baby, but it won’t work and you’ll still be stuck in the despair of it all until you read something lighter.
That being said, it’s also a very good read.
Cielo is amazing. I wanted to hug her and protect her – the only problem is that she wouldn’t trust me and would end up stabbing me or something before I could comfort her. And then, as I lay there bleeding out, I’d still want to protect her from the author’s world.
The world the author has created is one of endless horrors. Expect a read that pulls very few punches, gives you a heroine to truly root for, and leaves you breathless.
*ARC via Publisher
August 27, 2022
Review to come closer to publication date.
November 22, 2022
American Afterlife is one of those taut, riveting novels that you cannot look away from, that you read in just a couple of sittings, despite the fact that within its pages are relentless, heartbreaking horrors.
The beating heart of this story is fifteen-year-old Cielo, an undocumented immigrant living with her mother in a converted garage in Eugene, Oregon. At the beginning of the novel, her mother has been gone for weeks, and a massive earthquake has turned Eugene into an island, surrounding the highest parts of the city with stagnant floodwaters that have drowned most of the town. Cielo is completely on her own, foraging for food and supplies in semi-destroyed houses that may or may not contain the decaying bodies of her neighbors. She's trying to form a plan to recover her missing mother from the clutches of a sinister evangelical cult known as the Collective of Redeemed Souls, while also trying to hide from the cult members who are going house to house, rounding up anyone who is still alive.
I sucked in a breath on the very first page of American Afterlife, and I swear I didn't release that breath until I'd finished reading it. The world of this book is bleak and brutal, portrayed with vivid, intimate detail by Pedro Hoffmeister. His pacing and plotting are masterful as he explores the aftermath of a natural disaster through the eyes of one young survivor. Cielo is the best kind of character; she is hardened and brave but also vulnerable, wise to some ways of the world and completely naive to others. She is a character that you will root for and worry for, that you will want to protect and save from the horrors she's living through, even though you know she's capable of protecting herself. She reminded me a lot of Jade from My Heart Is a Chainsaw.
Suspenseful and full of heart and horror in equal measure, American Afterlife is an unflinching survival story with an unforgettable heroine. I highly recommend this one and I sincerely hope it gets the attention that it deserves.
The beating heart of this story is fifteen-year-old Cielo, an undocumented immigrant living with her mother in a converted garage in Eugene, Oregon. At the beginning of the novel, her mother has been gone for weeks, and a massive earthquake has turned Eugene into an island, surrounding the highest parts of the city with stagnant floodwaters that have drowned most of the town. Cielo is completely on her own, foraging for food and supplies in semi-destroyed houses that may or may not contain the decaying bodies of her neighbors. She's trying to form a plan to recover her missing mother from the clutches of a sinister evangelical cult known as the Collective of Redeemed Souls, while also trying to hide from the cult members who are going house to house, rounding up anyone who is still alive.
I sucked in a breath on the very first page of American Afterlife, and I swear I didn't release that breath until I'd finished reading it. The world of this book is bleak and brutal, portrayed with vivid, intimate detail by Pedro Hoffmeister. His pacing and plotting are masterful as he explores the aftermath of a natural disaster through the eyes of one young survivor. Cielo is the best kind of character; she is hardened and brave but also vulnerable, wise to some ways of the world and completely naive to others. She is a character that you will root for and worry for, that you will want to protect and save from the horrors she's living through, even though you know she's capable of protecting herself. She reminded me a lot of Jade from My Heart Is a Chainsaw.
Suspenseful and full of heart and horror in equal measure, American Afterlife is an unflinching survival story with an unforgettable heroine. I highly recommend this one and I sincerely hope it gets the attention that it deserves.
May 30, 2023
This is tough, realistic, dark work of post-apocalyptic fiction. I almost read the whole thing in one sitting.
The author does a good job of describing what it might look like and feel like, if a major catastrophe hit. He does not shy away from showing even the ugliest consequences of disaster. What happens if the social contract is gone and there are no rules? Is there any hope, if everyone is competing for finite resources in order to survive?
Additionally, Hofmeister points out that a nation that chooses to adjust to, rather than to solve, its problems, ends up with much more exacerbated consequences when greater problems occur. If extremism is tolerated or ignored, it does not go away. It quietly grows, like a cancer, and waits to take full advantage at times of increased vulnerability.
I was also touched by the author's story: how after he suffered a TBI, many lost faith in his ability to write. He had to find a new agent, a new editor, a new team to believe in him. In the Acknowledgments, the author reflects on all the people who encouraged and believed in him. This story is in a way, entwined with his own struggles, and his tenacity is reflected by the protagonist.
The author does a good job of describing what it might look like and feel like, if a major catastrophe hit. He does not shy away from showing even the ugliest consequences of disaster. What happens if the social contract is gone and there are no rules? Is there any hope, if everyone is competing for finite resources in order to survive?
Additionally, Hofmeister points out that a nation that chooses to adjust to, rather than to solve, its problems, ends up with much more exacerbated consequences when greater problems occur. If extremism is tolerated or ignored, it does not go away. It quietly grows, like a cancer, and waits to take full advantage at times of increased vulnerability.
I was also touched by the author's story: how after he suffered a TBI, many lost faith in his ability to write. He had to find a new agent, a new editor, a new team to believe in him. In the Acknowledgments, the author reflects on all the people who encouraged and believed in him. This story is in a way, entwined with his own struggles, and his tenacity is reflected by the protagonist.
December 13, 2022
Dark, compelling apocalyptic tale after a civilization shattering earthquake in Oregon.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because the girl main character and 1st person narrator- Cielo was so innovative and courageous.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because the girl main character and 1st person narrator- Cielo was so innovative and courageous.
December 23, 2022
I read a lot of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction, but it took me a while to get my bearings in this book. It's set in roughly the present day, apparently. A major quake has just occurred. But then there all these freaky religious cultists in the picture. And I'm like, how did that develop so fast? Usually it takes a while for society to break down that hard. Eventually it became clear that they were a pre-quake feature, but it's an example of how I struggled to make sense of the time and place of the novel.
It moved quickly enough. Harrowing things happened. If you're in the mood for a disaster thriller, it'll scratch that itch. But, honestly, there was nothing especially compelling about this book. The teenage protagonist was okay, but nothing all that special. The book explores a lot of conventional tropes. There's just nothing in the plot, characters, prose, etcetera to make it stand out in any way. The author added a message (maybe?) about immigration, but it was pretty weak. The novel was okay. I've read much better, I've read worse.
It moved quickly enough. Harrowing things happened. If you're in the mood for a disaster thriller, it'll scratch that itch. But, honestly, there was nothing especially compelling about this book. The teenage protagonist was okay, but nothing all that special. The book explores a lot of conventional tropes. There's just nothing in the plot, characters, prose, etcetera to make it stand out in any way. The author added a message (maybe?) about immigration, but it was pretty weak. The novel was okay. I've read much better, I've read worse.
September 14, 2023
First, I love dystopian novels. So I'm a little sad to say that overall, this one didn't work for me. It had some wide plot holes. These were missed opportunities to take this beyond the 2 star range when it came to world building and character development.
I say two stars because I added a star for the creativity of the plot even though it didn't feel well executed. Certainly more info was needed on the "why" but what I really wanted was some emotion, gestures, inner dialogue while weighing the options or feelings. I read about a wound becoming infected....what it looked liked.....but what about the worry, the pain, the limitations? It read like the narrator was describing a silent movie or a painting.
Now I will say that I listened to the audio so that could have amplified the above. Overall, I wanted more detail because that is the kind of thing that pulls me into it and puts me on the front row.
I say two stars because I added a star for the creativity of the plot even though it didn't feel well executed. Certainly more info was needed on the "why" but what I really wanted was some emotion, gestures, inner dialogue while weighing the options or feelings. I read about a wound becoming infected....what it looked liked.....but what about the worry, the pain, the limitations? It read like the narrator was describing a silent movie or a painting.
Now I will say that I listened to the audio so that could have amplified the above. Overall, I wanted more detail because that is the kind of thing that pulls me into it and puts me on the front row.
September 12, 2023
This is one of those books that make you ask, why isn’t this being talked about? Why isn’t it on more lists, such as a bestseller list?
A huge and devastating earthquake has occurred on the West Coast. In Eugene, Oregon is fifteen-year-old Cielo who has hidden from emergency workers while they evacuated residences. Her mother is missing and her one goal, besides hiding from others, staying alive, and finding food and water, is to find her. She is not alone as she finds out when an extremist cult called ‘The Collection of Redeemed Souls’ is out looking for any survivors. They are the worst kind of religious cult as they have perverted the teachings of the Bible to obtain power over others.
There were shades of The Road by Cormac McCarthy, but this well-written novel stands very well by itself. Although not a horror book, I found this to be quite scary in that it was so utterly plausible and believable. I was tense the whole time and could not put it down as you just utterly root for Cielo to be ok and cheer her resourcefulness and courage.
A huge and devastating earthquake has occurred on the West Coast. In Eugene, Oregon is fifteen-year-old Cielo who has hidden from emergency workers while they evacuated residences. Her mother is missing and her one goal, besides hiding from others, staying alive, and finding food and water, is to find her. She is not alone as she finds out when an extremist cult called ‘The Collection of Redeemed Souls’ is out looking for any survivors. They are the worst kind of religious cult as they have perverted the teachings of the Bible to obtain power over others.
There were shades of The Road by Cormac McCarthy, but this well-written novel stands very well by itself. Although not a horror book, I found this to be quite scary in that it was so utterly plausible and believable. I was tense the whole time and could not put it down as you just utterly root for Cielo to be ok and cheer her resourcefulness and courage.
December 14, 2022
I always appreciate a good apocalyptic-type story, and I couldn’t help but wonder what I would do if I were in Cielo’s situation. I don’t think I would have fared as well. While trying just to survive day to day, add in trying to find her mom, and a cult? Count me out.
Beautiful story of survival and family bonds. Loved it.
Beautiful story of survival and family bonds. Loved it.
April 15, 2023
American Afterlife by Pedro Hoffmeister is an intense book and an unflinching look at a post-apocalyptic America. This is not a feel-good book that you read for a pick-me-up, but rather an intense book that pulls you into its narrative and leaves you a little "bruised" by the experience.
There is no zombie apocalypse or strange viral infection but an all too real earthquake--"The Pacific Northwest lies in ruins in the aftermath of the 9.2 Cascadia earthquake. There is a tsunami at the coast, annihilated infrastructure in all the towns and cities, and failed dams in the Oregon river valley where 15-year-old Cielo lives with her mother, a fearful evangelical who’s become caught up in a fearsome cult called The Collection of Redeemed Souls. Cielo and her mother, Mexican citizens without U.S. papers, have always had their status teeter on the edge—and now it’s about to plunge into the abyss."--and Pedro Hoffmeister takes us into the abyss for the ride.
If you enjoy books like The Road by Cormac McCarthy, or On the Beach by Neville Shute then this book should be a hit with you. The characterization pulls you in and makes the threats and ordeals all the more compelling.
I enjoyed this book and would like to thank #NetGalley, #CrookedLaneBooks, and Pedro Hoffmeister for the ARC of #AmericanAfterlife.
There is no zombie apocalypse or strange viral infection but an all too real earthquake--"The Pacific Northwest lies in ruins in the aftermath of the 9.2 Cascadia earthquake. There is a tsunami at the coast, annihilated infrastructure in all the towns and cities, and failed dams in the Oregon river valley where 15-year-old Cielo lives with her mother, a fearful evangelical who’s become caught up in a fearsome cult called The Collection of Redeemed Souls. Cielo and her mother, Mexican citizens without U.S. papers, have always had their status teeter on the edge—and now it’s about to plunge into the abyss."--and Pedro Hoffmeister takes us into the abyss for the ride.
If you enjoy books like The Road by Cormac McCarthy, or On the Beach by Neville Shute then this book should be a hit with you. The characterization pulls you in and makes the threats and ordeals all the more compelling.
I enjoyed this book and would like to thank #NetGalley, #CrookedLaneBooks, and Pedro Hoffmeister for the ARC of #AmericanAfterlife.
January 13, 2023
Very poorly constructed plot based upon a devastating earthquake and tsunami, capable of producing the destruction described, in costal northwest Oregon/Washington states, but providing no explanation for why the national response was apparently no more than brief visits from FEMA and the Red Cross. Also no plausible explanation why there are almost no survivors, other than the remnants of the militant religious cult members. The large numbers and types of deaths described would occur in urban, high-rise structures, not in the single family dwellings described and neighborhood scenes depicted. Author suggests but left mostly unexplored, the subjects of southern-border immigration, the rise of far-right ideology, the development of specific cult, a brief suggestion of adolescent same-sex exploration, unexplained bombings, and even fires which would be believable if explored further.
February 16, 2023
“Where do we go when a catastrophe happens? What should I have done? Maybe I should’ve left the neighborhood when all the other survivors went with FEMA. Or later with the Red Cross. Maybe I should’ve trusted that I would’ve been safe, that I would’ve been taken care of, that I didn’t need paperwork or citizenship to get food or shelter. Maybe no one would’ve required anything of me. Maybe I didn’t need ID or proof of who I was—such an odd idea since I obviously existed, and shouldn’t that have been enough?”
After the 9.2 Cascadia earthquake obliterates the Pacific Northwest—a tsunami hitting the coast and failed dams flooding the Oregon river valley—Cielo is alone. Afraid that the rescue teams will not take her in due to her Mexican citizenship and lack of US papers, she hides among the collapsed buildings and rotting bodies of those that hadn’t survived the quake.
Besides, Cielo’s mother might be out there somewhere. Days before the earthquake hit, her mother ran off to join a radical evangelical cult known as the Collection of Redeemed Souls. Cielo believes that after such a terrible catastrophe, her mother surely would come back for her. As the days pass, however, she isn’t too sure. Members of the Collection have stayed behind as well, to either convert stray survivors or kill them. Either Cielo’s mother is holed up somewhere with the cult, or she is dead. Either way, Cielo is going to find her.
Bombs, gunfire, and flames engulf the surrounding area. Picking through the remains of abandoned houses and decaying corpses, Cielo fights to survive in the most unforgiving conditions. There is mass murder going on within the wreckage, and the Collection wants Cielo next. Little do they know, Cielo wants them, too. Not to convert to their ideology, but to save the person that raised her and took her to America.
“Back in the house, in the kitchen, I tell myself that everything will be okay, but I know that I’m lying to myself. Everything isn’t close to okay now—everything hasn’t been close to okay for a long, long time—and nothing will ever be the same after all of this is over.”
Holy shit.
This is one of those books that grips you from start to finish, leaving you gasping and grappling with the information you just ingested by the end. I was both enamored and mortified.
This book’s pacing is incredible. We get bouts of action and heart-pounding adrenaline, but we also get stretches of rest, waiting, and reflection. Very realistic, especially since most do not survive in such conditions. We learn early on that Cielo is going to survive because that is the kind of person she is: strong, determined, smart.
Cielo is a girl you can root for. Despite all that has happened to her, she stays true to her heritage and beliefs, even when it goes against her own family, even when it risks her life. I felt immersed in her narrative, cherishing the moments that she gives us before the quake as well as the decisions she must make on the spot now that she is alone. It is super impressive that we get an entire book of mainly one person, almost no outside interaction. Never once did my attention stray from the plot. I was gripped.
Some of my favorite moments included when she slipped into Spanish to herself while drunk, when she reflects on the innocent but intimate moments with her friend Aadita, when she risks her own life to help out those on the brink of death, and when she turns into a badass to protect herself from cruel, inhumane people.
The relevance that this apocalyptic story has to today’s issues is honestly eye-opening, even startling. Yes, there is the political commentary on “this is why people join cults,” and the evident chain of how humans become comfortable enough with killing one another in the wake of catastrophe. However, there are subtle moments laced throughout, moments of reflection that highlight what has been going on even before the end of the world. Cielo’s friend wanted to be blonde and fair-skinned in order to be perceived as beautiful, even though Cielo was in love with her the way she was. Her classmates were obsessed with the latest phone models and with putting each other down for artificial reasons. What Cielo comes to realize is did it ever matter? Not only does this story capture a grueling fight for survival—it teaches us about humanity itself and what truly should have value in today’s society.
One of Pedro Hoffmeister’s biggest strengths is that he isn’t afraid to get disgusting. I absolutely adore this about his writing, and this particular story is vile. Hoffmeister launches into the gritty, heinous descriptions of destruction and decay. He suffocates you with smells rarely mentioned anywhere else. There’s a particular scene that haunts me, involving a crippled woman soaked in her own feces and being consumed by flies and maggots while still alive. There’s another grotesque scene where Cielo stumbles upon a deformed body beneath the floodwater, disfigured from impact and swelling. Details like these make me grimace but transform the story from something scary to something that keeps you up at night.
There is so much to fear about our world, but there is so much to love about this book.
“I know that I’m nothing more than one small life as I scrabble and paddle in my loaded canoe each day. Close my eyes and open them again. Eat and drink. Cling to the possibility of something. The verb esperar en ingles means ‘to wait,’ but also ‘to hope,’ continuing this paddle each day as a small prayer for some unknown future.”
After the 9.2 Cascadia earthquake obliterates the Pacific Northwest—a tsunami hitting the coast and failed dams flooding the Oregon river valley—Cielo is alone. Afraid that the rescue teams will not take her in due to her Mexican citizenship and lack of US papers, she hides among the collapsed buildings and rotting bodies of those that hadn’t survived the quake.
Besides, Cielo’s mother might be out there somewhere. Days before the earthquake hit, her mother ran off to join a radical evangelical cult known as the Collection of Redeemed Souls. Cielo believes that after such a terrible catastrophe, her mother surely would come back for her. As the days pass, however, she isn’t too sure. Members of the Collection have stayed behind as well, to either convert stray survivors or kill them. Either Cielo’s mother is holed up somewhere with the cult, or she is dead. Either way, Cielo is going to find her.
Bombs, gunfire, and flames engulf the surrounding area. Picking through the remains of abandoned houses and decaying corpses, Cielo fights to survive in the most unforgiving conditions. There is mass murder going on within the wreckage, and the Collection wants Cielo next. Little do they know, Cielo wants them, too. Not to convert to their ideology, but to save the person that raised her and took her to America.
“Back in the house, in the kitchen, I tell myself that everything will be okay, but I know that I’m lying to myself. Everything isn’t close to okay now—everything hasn’t been close to okay for a long, long time—and nothing will ever be the same after all of this is over.”
Holy shit.
This is one of those books that grips you from start to finish, leaving you gasping and grappling with the information you just ingested by the end. I was both enamored and mortified.
This book’s pacing is incredible. We get bouts of action and heart-pounding adrenaline, but we also get stretches of rest, waiting, and reflection. Very realistic, especially since most do not survive in such conditions. We learn early on that Cielo is going to survive because that is the kind of person she is: strong, determined, smart.
Cielo is a girl you can root for. Despite all that has happened to her, she stays true to her heritage and beliefs, even when it goes against her own family, even when it risks her life. I felt immersed in her narrative, cherishing the moments that she gives us before the quake as well as the decisions she must make on the spot now that she is alone. It is super impressive that we get an entire book of mainly one person, almost no outside interaction. Never once did my attention stray from the plot. I was gripped.
Some of my favorite moments included when she slipped into Spanish to herself while drunk, when she reflects on the innocent but intimate moments with her friend Aadita, when she risks her own life to help out those on the brink of death, and when she turns into a badass to protect herself from cruel, inhumane people.
The relevance that this apocalyptic story has to today’s issues is honestly eye-opening, even startling. Yes, there is the political commentary on “this is why people join cults,” and the evident chain of how humans become comfortable enough with killing one another in the wake of catastrophe. However, there are subtle moments laced throughout, moments of reflection that highlight what has been going on even before the end of the world. Cielo’s friend wanted to be blonde and fair-skinned in order to be perceived as beautiful, even though Cielo was in love with her the way she was. Her classmates were obsessed with the latest phone models and with putting each other down for artificial reasons. What Cielo comes to realize is did it ever matter? Not only does this story capture a grueling fight for survival—it teaches us about humanity itself and what truly should have value in today’s society.
One of Pedro Hoffmeister’s biggest strengths is that he isn’t afraid to get disgusting. I absolutely adore this about his writing, and this particular story is vile. Hoffmeister launches into the gritty, heinous descriptions of destruction and decay. He suffocates you with smells rarely mentioned anywhere else. There’s a particular scene that haunts me, involving a crippled woman soaked in her own feces and being consumed by flies and maggots while still alive. There’s another grotesque scene where Cielo stumbles upon a deformed body beneath the floodwater, disfigured from impact and swelling. Details like these make me grimace but transform the story from something scary to something that keeps you up at night.
There is so much to fear about our world, but there is so much to love about this book.
“I know that I’m nothing more than one small life as I scrabble and paddle in my loaded canoe each day. Close my eyes and open them again. Eat and drink. Cling to the possibility of something. The verb esperar en ingles means ‘to wait,’ but also ‘to hope,’ continuing this paddle each day as a small prayer for some unknown future.”
December 29, 2022
Wow! I could not set this book down. My family was a bit neglected over the last few days because I had been pulled into Cielo’s world. I wanted to keep reading, but didn’t want it to end!
Cielo lives in Eugene, Or and is one of the few people left in the city after a massive earthquake and major flooding that has destroyed the city, leaving higher parts an island. Most people have evacuated, but she stays behind to find her mother who left Cielo after joining a cult. Cielo must survive on her own, scavenging food, water and supplies from abandoned houses, all the while remaining “invisible” to the cult during her quest to find her mother.
This is a story about family bonds and broken family bonds. It’s about the evil lurking in humanity and also the extreme goodness in humanity. Ultimately, it’s about the strength we have in ourselves and how we can use that to help or hurt each other. I was so delighted to discover this is the first book of a series! I can’t wait for the next to be released!!
March 24, 2023
The first book in a trilogy, this story is full of post-quake adventures...and contemplations. I live in Eugene, Oregon, where it's set, so it's a real hoot to see how the city could change after the Cascadia Quake -- but there's the added human dimension of a freaky cult and myriad challenges facing our protagonist, Cielo, who is eking it out (far better than I would fare in the same situation). She's one to root for, through and through. This book kept me company on my lunch breaks and was a read I looked forward to each day. Its short chapters are sometimes like enclosed essays, so you can really savor the story. Whether you blaze through it or sip it, this one is highly recommended!
January 21, 2023
Raw, relevant, unnerving, relatable, and a sensory overload. It was hard to put this book down as the plot moved along at the perfect pace. Cielo is a character you will feel deeply for, understand, and want to know how it turns out for her in the end. Bonus points if you grew up in or even are familiar with Eugene, OR, it will be a thrill to walk through post-earthquake Eug and imagine it in such depth. Great work, Hoff!
December 31, 2022
An awesome thriller from start to finish. Captivating from the first page to the last. Even in the disruptive chaos of the holiday season, hard to put down.
January 25, 2023
Absolutely loved this page-turner! Cielo is such a deep and inspirational character just trying to survive. As a California native, this novel hit especially close to home because of the specific threat the Pacific West faces regarding the possibility of earthquakes. Excited to hear about a possible book two mentioned in the acknowledgments!!
March 12, 2023
I couldn’t put this down! I read it all in one day.
December 15, 2022
“No one wants to know. Even the earth’s crust and mantle, all of it. Of course it all belongs to God. And he’s sick of us, of our choices here. ‘And the Lord said, I will destroy man, whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air ; for it repenteth me that I have made them.’ And ‘behold, I will destroy them with the earth,’ and ‘I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger.’ And that’s the truth. That is a promise he’s made, this catastrophic act of God. That’s what we’re seeing here, a purging. We are— collectively— evil people in an evil time.”
Wow this is DARK. Cielo is a 15 year old undocumented immigrant who stays behind after everyone else is evacuating following a devastating earthquake in Eugene, Oregon. Or almost everyone. She was afraid that she would be caught and deported if she had gone. But she is also worried about her mother, who has gotten caught up in a growing cult, the Collection of Redeemed Souls. And Cielo quickly finds out she's not the only one that stayed behind.
I really enjoyed this even though it was bleak and often tough to read.
Thank you netgalley and Crooked Lane books for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Wow this is DARK. Cielo is a 15 year old undocumented immigrant who stays behind after everyone else is evacuating following a devastating earthquake in Eugene, Oregon. Or almost everyone. She was afraid that she would be caught and deported if she had gone. But she is also worried about her mother, who has gotten caught up in a growing cult, the Collection of Redeemed Souls. And Cielo quickly finds out she's not the only one that stayed behind.
I really enjoyed this even though it was bleak and often tough to read.
Thank you netgalley and Crooked Lane books for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 4, 2023
Cielo is a young woman of 15 years struggling all alone to adapt to her new reality after a massive earthquake and subsequent flooding have left her Pacific Northwest community devastated. Pedro Hoffmeister has crafted a compelling story that captures your heart as Cielo faces her fears to elude dangerous adversaries, and press the search for her missing mother.
December 8, 2023
What a JOURNEY this book was. I listened to the audiobook, and when I tell you I couldn’t stop-I finished this book in less than a day! It was harrowing and heartwrenching but SO well thought out and executed. As a native Eugenian, it was amazing hearing the descriptions of how our town could and would be utterly ROCKED by such a catastrophe, and having the circumstances described in such a detailed way that I could picture exactly the environment Cielo was forced to navigate. She was a powerful and HUMAN protagonist, with a past, and flaws and strengths and skills, someone I could root for and empathize with in a realistic and nuanced way.
That ending though? I NEED MORE 😂
That ending though? I NEED MORE 😂
January 8, 2023
This was a very bleak story. I always love a good apocalyptic-type book. Add in a cult and you can sign me right up!
American Afterlife is one of those type of books that you just can’t look away from. It was horrifying and heartbreaking all at once.
This was a suspenseful, and gripping thriller. It’s one I highly recommend!
January 5, 2023
Such an awesome book! Kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t stop reading it!! I felt like I was transported into Oregon’s “afterlife”. One of my first nonfiction thrillers that I’ve read, but definitely will be checking out this genre more!
January 7, 2023
Immersive, visceral, and graphic. Great novel.
January 3, 2023
Recently finished American Afterlife. Really enjoyed it. I love reading post-apocalyptic/dystopian/thriller type books. This one fit the bill. Interesting read from start to finish.
Also, I got the audio version of the book. A narrator can't fix a bad book. But, they can ruin a good one. This narrator was great, and added to the experience.
Overall, would definitely recommend American Afterlife.
Also, I got the audio version of the book. A narrator can't fix a bad book. But, they can ruin a good one. This narrator was great, and added to the experience.
Overall, would definitely recommend American Afterlife.
June 28, 2023
American Afterlife drops the reader into the midst of a disaster into the Pacific Northwest, where a more-or-less lone survivor. Cielo's exploration of an isolated neighborhood and beyond begins as a lonely adventure but darkens with the onset of infection and the presence of the cultish Collection, a religious group that absorbed Cielo's mother before the novel begins. American Afterlife is well imagined and well written. Given what Cielo is up against, the novel is a striking take on the coming-of-age story.
December 19, 2023
I picked up this book because the author and I went to the same high school, and we had the same English teacher. I was excited to read something set in my hometown. However, my expectations were not very high because this is not my typical sort of read. Yet, despite the bleak story, I enjoyed very much how this world was built and how the story was told. The narrative is well grounded in the geography of the land, and the story reflects well the kind of extremist thinking that permeates many communities. I was also impressed by its normalization and centering of the immigrant experience in a place where this experience is not the norm.
December 31, 2022
#thriller #fiction #literary Great read! Great author!
December 16, 2022
AMERICAN AFTERLIFE is a literary post-apocalyptic novel following Cielo, an undocumented teenager as she tries to figure out what happened to her mother, last seen with an evangelical cult. Cielo shifts through the ruins of Oregon, post-Earthquake, ducking other survivors and navigating this dangerous world flooded with the remnants of our modern civilization. The beauty is in the small details here, images and vignettes of American ruin. This world is brutally and gorgeously wrought in clear-eyed prose that betrays a poetic vision of destruction.
This novel can get dark, but there's also a dark sense of humor at the heart of it that reveals Cielo's humanity and Hoffmeister's literary vision. And Cielo is also a stone-cold badass. I loved this read and constantly found myself tagging sections to come back to. Haunting, gorgeous, and very moving. A really memorable and thought-provoking read that's been with me all week.
This novel can get dark, but there's also a dark sense of humor at the heart of it that reveals Cielo's humanity and Hoffmeister's literary vision. And Cielo is also a stone-cold badass. I loved this read and constantly found myself tagging sections to come back to. Haunting, gorgeous, and very moving. A really memorable and thought-provoking read that's been with me all week.
October 8, 2022
There is a powerful earthquake in Eugene Oregon. Cielo is searching for food and supplies in homes either damaged from the earthquake or abandoned. Due to no emergency services, Cielo doesn’t know who to trust. She decides that she needs to go and searching for her missing immigrant Mexican mother. Her mother was drawn to a cult, the Collection of Redeemed Souls. Cielo continues to search for food, water, shelter and her mother while evading the cult. The cult is searching for people they can compel to join their cult. Will she find her mother? Will she survive in this devastated state?
The novel is taut, and prescient exploration of survival and the humanity after an earthquake. It’s a journey that Cielo takes alone making it all the more difficult to survive. It’s a suspenseful book to read which Kept me wanting to read one more chapter before I went to sleep. It’s a great novel to read!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I wasn’t obligated to write a favorable review or any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
The novel is taut, and prescient exploration of survival and the humanity after an earthquake. It’s a journey that Cielo takes alone making it all the more difficult to survive. It’s a suspenseful book to read which Kept me wanting to read one more chapter before I went to sleep. It’s a great novel to read!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I wasn’t obligated to write a favorable review or any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
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