The Other Life

The Other Life by Susan Winnacker
Release Date ~ 5/1/12
Format ~ ARC
Publisher ~  Marshall Cavendish
Source ~ Around the World Tours
Purchase: The Book Depository

3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life.
Sherry and her family have lived sealed in a bunker in the garden since things went wrong up above. Her grandfather has been in the freezer for the last three months, her parents are at each other’s throats and two minutes ago they ran out of food.
Sherry and her father leave the safety of the bunker and find a devastated and empty LA, smashed to pieces by bombs and haunted by ‘Weepers’ - rabid humans infected with a weaponized rabies virus.
While searching for food in a supermarket, Sherry’s father disappears and Sherry is saved by Joshua, a boy-hunter. He takes her to Safe-haven, a tumble-down vineyard in the hills outside LA, where a handful of other survivors are picking up the pieces of their ‘other lives’. As she falls in love for the first time, Sherry must save her father, stay alive and keep Joshua safe when his desire for vengeance threatens them all.

I didn't expect The Other Life to be amazing. I didn't expect it to be one of the best dystopian books I've ever read. But it was.
  The Other Life was different then the typical books in this genre. It wasn't about a corrupted society, but about a world where there are only a handful of people left... at least in the LA area. The survivors are trying to survive, despite the 'weepers', beastly humans infected by a virus like the rabies, but worse. It is in this bleak setting that one of the most heart-pounding stories takes place.
   I thought the world created by Winnacker was PERFECT. It seemed so hopeless, even more so then The Hunger Games. I can't wait to read about what else happens.
  The action was so fast-paced, because you never knew when someone was going to die. It felt like the weepers were hunting the humans, even though Joshua calls himself the hunter
   I really don't know what else to say about this book, because it's pretty hard to describe. You really need to read it to appreciate just how good it is. Needless to say, I can't wait for book two!

Cover Comments: I like this cover! It's bleak , just like the book. And who's that person in the background?
This book counts in the following reading challenges:

Dystopian Reading Challenge: 7
Debut Author Challenge: 7
ARC Reading Challenge: 11
1st in a Series Reading Challenge: 7