After

By Author / Illustrator

Padraig Kenny

Genre

Dystopian

Age range(s)

Publisher

Walker Books

ISBN

9781529517804

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

06-03-2025

Synopsis

The Last of Us meets Wall-E in this post-apocalyptic tale of family, hope and survival from a multi-award-winning author. "A thrilling and thought-provoking sci-fi adventure that's shot through with humanity. A great read." Christopher Edge

Jen and her father are making their way across a deserted world after a technological collapse brought civilization as people knew it to an end. The Flood took out all all technology, but also many people who were connected to a central information hive. Those who are left behind must find each other and build a new life. But Jen's father isn't related to her by blood - he is a human-appearing AI, a glitch in the system, and a secret that must be kept, even from those she wishes she could trust...

Exploring themes of what it means to be human, the value of every individual and where true danger lies - in our technological creations, or the ones who create them - this is a powerful and hopeful dystopian adventure for readers age 9+.

Find out more in ReadingZone's Q&A with author Padraig Kenny.

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Reviews

Jacqueline

Jen and Father are in a world that is almost empty of people. This is the time after 'The Flood', when people and machines were mostly destroyed. They come across a small, friendly community and Jen finds she wants to stay. But Father is not what he seems; he is a human appearing AI and people are scared of machines, and so he cannot stay. Jen has to make choices that are impossible when Father is all that she has known.

I am a Padraig Kenny mega fan and once again, this book does not disappoint. After, a dystopian, science fiction novel, explores the very nature of humanity and what makes something human. Whilst this is always at the core of his books, it remains original and exciting, with a twist I did not see coming.

The striking cover and illustrations by Steve McCarthy are completely in keeping with the story, adding to it whilst still allowing the reader's imagination to roam free. The idea of a world where everything we take for granted is no longer functioning is illustrated by computer-like images, complete with pixels.

Padraig Kenny it seems, cannot write a bad book or even a book that is less good than his others, and whilst Tin, his first novel, remains my favourite, After made me pause and think and feel in the same way. Suitable for Upper KS2, I can see this book really hooking some more reluctant readers and it would also make a good book to read aloud.

240 pages / Reviewed by Jacqueline Harris, teacher