Jen and her father have been travelling together ever since he found her as an abandoned baby. To Jen, he might not be her real father but he has always cared for her as if he was.

In a world of empty and eerie cities after an apocalypse of man vs machine, Jen and her father are in constant survival mode. Gangs of armed men and women will stop at nothing to gain food and weapons, so Jen and ‘Father’ try to steer clear of them as much as possible.

When they discover a compound of people who are growing their own food and working together, Jen is keen to stay with them. But they haven’t shared the whole truth with these kind strangers, knowing what the outcome will be.

But this compound has its own dark secrets, and its reveal explains so much of their shared and devastating past.

Middle-grade dystopian at its best, AFTER is a compelling read. It’s easy to even imagine it as a movie. The relationships between man and machine are both terrible and wonderful and as each truth behind them are revealed, the story becomes even more gripping.

I loved this novel even more than Stitch, also by Pádraig Kenny.

The publisher description of ‘The Last of Us meets Wall-E‘ is spot on.

Author – Pádraig Kenny

Illustrator – Steve McCarthy

Age – 9+

(2025, Walker Books, Dystopian, Post-Apocalypse, Relationships, Man vs Machine, Survival, Community, Lies, Betrayal, Father & Daughter, Courage, Power, Technology, Secrets, Family)