Review for The Fallout Family: Wasteland Woes
I received this book from the author in exchange of an honest review.
I just cannot resist a post-apocalypse/Mad Max-ish book, especially when there is a POV of a dog!
Before I start I want to mention the charity that this book is supporting. The author asked me if I would be willing to mention it, and of course I would love to mention it, especially seeing what they all do! It is called The Grand Appeal and it’s a children’s hospital charity that does all sorts of amazing (check out their website and read all they do) things for children/babies/young adult with highly complex medical conditions, from research to family accommodations to more. Check out their website here and if you can be sure to donate! Also here is their Twitter.
Now on to the review!
๐ The dog, later named Bella! She was such a sweetie and I loved how dedicated she was to her human and later to her new family. How despite all the scary things she witnessed she kept going on, searching for warmth and a family. And when she found her family, oh boy, what a brave doggo! She did all sorts of amazing things and she is so smart! I already love books with dogs as protagonist/POV, but now that I got my own doggo (the cute Coco) it strikes a chord even more!
๐ That James had a prosthetic leg. We still don’t have a lot of books featuring characters with prosthetics and even less in a post-apocalypse setting. So I was delighted.
๐ Plus, James was just pure kick-assness (is that a word? It is now). I loved how much he did for his sister and how he tried to not just bring in food and first-needed supplies but also brought her books and other things. Tried to teach her French for example. I loved that he tried to keep her happy and give her a way to escape the hellhole that Earth has become.
๐ Piper! I already knew that this tiny girl would whoop some butts, but it took a bit before we saw that! I already loved her from the start and was rooting for her. I mean, she was so sweet towards the puppers, was the first to see that Bella would be a great addition to the family. Not just for protection, but also for love and comfort. I also loved how she held her own. It must have been scary, having your brother go outside while you are inside. Hoping that he comes back. Hoping that no one finds your shelter.
๐ It is just 64 pages, but it felt like one story, a completed one. This may sound weird, but recently I read a short children’s book, the first in the series, however it felt like I just popped into a series randomly and the book just ended unexpectedly, as if someone just grabbed a bigger book and cut it up. That was definitely not the case in this book and that makes me very happy!
๐ Ok, I wanted to punch the raiders, but I am happy that they were added. A post-apocalypse like this needs its baddies and boy were these guys bad. I get you want to protect your territory but DANG.
๐ The mutants. And not just the humans but also the animals! If you thought the world gone to ruins is bad, or raiders make your day worse, watch out for gigantic wasps (yes, heck no) to humans who, um, well like to nom nom nom on you. Sorta a zombie, but just more mutant. Lovely, right? It just made for a more scary setting and I love it.
๐ The little hints we get about what happened to Earth. I still have many questions left so I am hoping for a prequel featuring the before events. But for now I am happy with the hints.
๐ I had a laugh at how these kids grew up in the after and thus had no clue about some of the broken/ruined stores they came across. They knew clothing stores, but phone stores? Not something they know.
๐ With James gone missing (not a spoiler, see the blurb) things really kicked in gear and I just couldn’t stop reading!
There were two things that didn’t entirely work for me:
๐คThe writing style at times just didn’t click with me, how should I call it, it felt a bit stilted. Some parts felt quite natural, but others too stiff/polite (sorry, trying to figure out the correct word in English).
๐คThe whole crown deal. I wouldn’t mind it if the crown had been just that a crown, but to add a whole demon/magic element with the crown floating and being magical… it just didn’t fit with the whole mutant/post apocalypse/doomsday stuff for me. Maybe if there had been earlier parts featuring magic or that we could read that magic was a part of the world, but now it was just like, wait what? Maybe in the next books it is explained more, but for now it just felt weird.
All in all, I am very happy that I got to read this book and I hope that the author writes more! I definitely would like more~ I would recommend it if you like a book featuring a dog POV along with humans and love a good post apocalypse story!
One thought on “Review for The Fallout Family: Wasteland Woes”
This book sounds so cool!! I’ve read a book from the point of view of a cat before but not a dog I don’t think. Loved your review and how you listed all of your favourite parts of it. Great post! โจ๏ธ