Rebirth

By Sophie Littlefield

THE END OF THE WORLD WAS JUST THE BEGINNING

Civilization has fallen, leaving California an unforgiving, decimated place. But Cass Dollar beat terrible odds to get her missing daughter back—she and Ruthie will be happy. Yet with the first winter, Cass is reminded that happiness is fleeting in Aftertime.

Ruthie retreats into silence. Flesh-eating Beaters still dominate the landscape. And Smoke, Cass’s lover and strength, departs on a quest for vengeance, one that may end him even if he returns. The survivalist community Cass has planted roots in is breaking apart, too. Its leader, Dor, implores Cass to help him recover his own lost daughter, taken by the totalitarian Rebuilders.

And soon Cass finds herself thrust into the dark heart of an organization promising humanity’s rebirth—at all costs. Bound to two men blazing divergent paths across a savage land, Cass must overcome the darkness in her own savage, wounded heart, or lose those she loves forever.

“Aftertime is a whole new kind of fierce.” —Laura Benedict, author of Isabella Moon

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Nov 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781472007933

Sophie Littlefield

Sophie Littlefield grew up in rural Missouri. She writes the post-apocalyptic Aftertime series for LUNA Books. She also writes paranormal fiction for young adults. Her first novel, A Bad Day for Sorry, won an Anthony Award for Best First Novel and an RT Award for Best First Mystery. It was also shortlisted for Edgar, Barry, Crimespree and Macavity Awards, and it was named to lists of the year's best mystery debuts by the Chicago Sun-Times and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Sophie lives in Northern California. Sophie loves to hear from her readers via her email: [e-mail]

Reviews for Rebirth

[capnrandm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

AFTERTIME claimed the distinction of being one of the few dystopian novels that I not just enjoyed but loved. Rather than coasting on that legacy, REBIRTH climbs even higher in my esteem by delving deeper into the relationships and emotional baggage of already enthralling characters. So much of Cass's strength and discipline in AFTERTIME is wrapped up in finding Ruthie, making it fascinating to see her on the other side of that mountain. If AFTERTIME is devoted to Cass's ferocity as a mother, REBIRTH is the story of her triumphs, and wounds, as a woman. Sexual politics is always the elephant in the room in any post-apocalyptic novel, and REBIRTH attacks the subject head on in a visceral and heartbreaking way, revealing more of Cass's painful past as she struggles with her present. REBIRTH will reach right into your heart, as beautiful and painful as sunlight to the eyes. I can't stop thinking about it, weeks after I've read it, and I know I'll return to Cass and this world time and time again.

[titania86_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In post-apocalyptic California, Cass Dollar lives in the Box, a haven for people with physical comforts, with her daughter Ruthie and her boyfriend Smoke. Everything is going well for them at first, but then lack of communication puts a strain on their relationship. Cass also senses the Box is declining, running out of reliable and safe places to raid and people simply straining to remain cordial in the face of despair. When word comes to the Box that the school where Cass went after recovered from her Beater attack was destroyed by Rebuilders. People who opposed or ran from the Rebuilders were killed and the rest were captured. Smoke's ex-girlfirend was included in the dead and Dor's daughter was captured. Smoke wants to exact his revenge. He leaves without saying goodbye and Cass is furious. She decides to abandon the Box with Dor, its leader, in a quest to rescue her from the Rebuilders and perhaps find a better, more permanent place to live with her daughter. They venture into the Beater infested wasteland and will hopefully survive their dangerous mission.I enjoyed Aftertime and I was excited to get my hands on Rebirth. This book is much less action packed than its predecessor and the Beaters play a much smaller role. The whole tone is more contemplative and introspective. Cass has found her daughter and found love. She examines how her sordid life before Aftertime influences her actions and decisions now. Her narrative delves more into that past, including the rape she endured by the hands of her stepfather, the meaningless sex with hundreds of men as a teen and young adult, and the alcohol abuse she used to drown out her pain. In the last book, she was singlemindedly working towards her daughter and had no real time for introspection. Now, she is lost and some of those behaviors and horrible, self hating thoughts sneak back. I like that it shows that even in extraordinary situations, our pasts can still effect us. Just because there are new traumas doesn't mean that old traumas are magically gone. Cass's daughter Ruthie is a much more significant character and actual begins to speak. I really like her and her very serious, deliberate demeanor. I want to see how her character develops in future books.The Beaters had a relatively small part in the story, but still were frightening when they appeared. More is revealed about their anatomy and they exhibit some new disturbing behaviors. This different type of zombie is particularly frightening because of the way they attack and eat in such a way that the person is alive for as long as possible. This narrative also reveals what some of the initial outbreak was like. Our human villains are as evil as ever. Where the last book focused on the Convent, this one focuses on the Rebuilders who kill, steal, and abuse in the name of a government that no longer exists. Their plan for the future and their leader Mary Vane are way more disturbing than any Beater could ever be. The fact that people can act so terribly when the whole world is desolate and barren is mind blowing to me.Although I liked learning about Cass's past, I found the narrative prone to sidetrack very often and I just wanted the story to progress in an even way. The pacing felt stunted as a result until the end when all hell breaks loose. I didn't entirely like Dor because he changed his outward demeanor depending on who was around him and frequently belittled Cass. She wasn't entirely perfect, but she didn't deserve to be treated so badly. In turn, she acted weak for much of the novel. Sure, she was working through her issues, but she was so much more consistently stronger in the last book that I wanted to shake her. I don't like the developing love triangle between and I hope it doesn't become like so many other lame series out there. However, the ending was amazing and made me forgive every flaw about this book. Rebirth is a great followup to Aftertime, even though it lacks a good pace. It does provide extremely evil villains, realistic emotion and character development, and a satisfying ending. I hope the next book brings more Beaters and less romantic drama. I will definitely be reading Horizon.

[cmwilson101 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Several elements of the Aftertime series by Sophie Littlefield elevate the books far above standard dystopian/post-apocalyptic literature:1. Beautiful, gorgeous, lyrical prose2. Interesting, complex, complicated three dimensional characters3. Plausible, unique setting -- bio terrorism has ended the world as we know it and created "Beaters" (mindless zombie-like creatures)4. Interesting plot.In Rebirth, the second full-length story in the series, recovering alcoholic Cass leaves the Box. Cass is definitely a flawed heroine, her own worst enemy, and I found myself frustrated with her. Accordingly, for me, the story was much less satisfying than previous stories in the series. Despite this, it is still an interesting, beautifully written story. The world is gorgeously described, the plot is interesting and believable, and the characters are full of depth. I am already looking forward to the final story in the series!

[suetu_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Not all monsters are monsters…I have always thought that the strongest writers have a deep understanding of psychology, an ability not just to get at the complex thoughts and emotions of their characters, but to articulate them as well. And to create characters who are internally consistent, believable, and who breathe life. I generally muse over such thoughts while reading some piece of delicate literary fiction. How astounding, therefore, that the complicated characters are what I find driving Sophie Littlefield’s latest zombie apocalypse.It is the “latest,” in that it is book two of her Aftertime Trilogy. If you have not yet read Aftertime, please do so before embarking on Rebirth. Aftertime can stand alone; Rebirth can not. It builds on what has come before. I’m not going to go into detail summarizing the plot here, but I will say a few things… This novel, like the previous one, is driven by a hunt for a missing child. In it, Dor, one of the secondary characters from Aftertime, comes front and center. And perhaps most daring of all for a novel in the zombie genre, the zombies are little in evidence this time around. Oh, their threat hangs over everything in this wholly changed world, but of the many monsters you’ll meet on these pages, almost all are human. And they are all the scarier and more disturbing for it. The story told is compelling, fast-paced, and deeply chilling.Second books of trilogies are notoriously tricky things. Often they are intermissions before the end game, and they can loose their narrative drive. Happily, that is not the case here. Cass Dollar, the protagonist of Aftertime, is still at the heart of this story. I, personally, don’t relate to her any better than I did in the first novel. Nonetheless, I find her absolutely fascinating. She’s a tough, volatile character surviving in an unbearably harsh world. Love and revenge, often at war with each other, are the emotions that drive these characters.This is a zombie tale for fans of The Walking Dead, readers who can appreciate a truly smart, profoundly disturbing, and ultimately character-driven tale of horror—and hopefully redemption. I could have quit reading after Aftertime. That novel concluded its arc and ended at a satisfying point. Rebirth also completes a full arc of the story. However, by the time you get to the end, you will be aching to read on. Just a little more torture from Littlefield, as we collectively wait to get our hands on the final volume!

[alishaneedstoread · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In this sequel to the amazing Aftertime, a fascinating premise and excellent narrative execution is built upon and expanded. This book is certainly not its predecessor, taking a different tone and focus but absolutely shining in every aspect. This is one of those books for which you'll not want to know many details going into the story. As such, describing the book very difficult, since it's so heavily centered around one major occurrence. The themes around which the plot revolves include abandonment and revenge; to know who's experiencing or partaking in these activities might be considered a spoiler. So, I'll stick with the general bits: we're back to following Cass Dollar from book one, and as before, we're treated to an in-depth look at her experiences and inner turmoil. But in addition to that, there's much more focus on others in the cast; in fact, there are several narrative shifts between characters. This is not as much Cass's book as it is her loved ones'...which is fine, considering it seems as though the series is shifting toward a broader, more epic scope as it goes on. I love it when a storyteller can draw out the most intense, realistic, and honest emotion from fantastical situations or unfamiliar settings. Littlefield does just that and more. Her characters are raw. True. Loved, as evidenced by the care taken in crafting them. There is no simple "angst" but rather a complex assessment of human behaviors and emotions in the face of devastating loss and destruction, of a drastic redefinition of society itself. Even as the dark reality of certain situations makes you want to look away, the story absolutely *compels* you to continue. It's the very definition of "darkly enchanting." Survival is never a given in this world, nor are tidy resolutions. But the thread of hope maintains, leaving the reader to really want to follow the cast through the hardest moments. Reading this book has only further solidified by affection and excitement for this trilogy. Even if I read the third and final book (to be released early 2012) and decide I don't like it (highly doubt I would, but for the sake of argument), I'll always hold Rebirth and its predecessor Aftertime as some of my favorite books of all time.

[pollywannabook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Review courtesy of All Things Urban FantasyREBIRTH is part The Walking Dead, part The Road, and part something totally new and engrossing. AFTERTIME threw us into a chaotic post apocalyptic world along with Cass and let us experience the first horrors that eventually destroyed life as we know it. As the title suggests, REBIRTH is a new beginning both for Cass and those who survived the zombie apocalypse, a beautiful and baleful story of horror and hope.Like every good dystopian book, there is plenty in REBIRTH that will incite. We met the Rebuilders briefly in AFTERTIME, but in REBIRTH, we are fully immersed into the totalitarian regime that is forcibly seizing control of the new world. The evils unearthed within their command center are sobering and shocking. Littlefield writes so expressively, so vividly, that she wrings every drop of rage possible out of her readers. And just when you think the situation can’t get any worse, that the depths of human depravity have been well and truly plumbed, there is something far worse to come.Despite those heavy scenes, which are prevalent, it’s the characters that make them bearable. More than bearable. The Aftertime world is meant to be terrible, but the characters, the relationships, they are what make it worth fighting for. They make every small victory into a triumph that fuels all our hope. It’s an amazingly well balanced thing and one that Littlefield excels at. Equally well written are the characters. Cass is a woman driven by compulsions. Before, it was her addictions. Aftertime, it was reclaiming her daughter. In REBIRTH, she is once again seeking to rescue someone she loves and carve out whatever possible future this world can offer. 90% of REBIRTH is told from Cass’s POV, but there are a few chapters each given to Dor and his daughter Sammy, both of which added a new level of perception to Aftertime that Cass alone couldn’t. Given the way REBIRTH ends, I wouldn’t be surprised if additional POVs make it into the next book. You need to read this book. You will be disturbed, you will be compelled, and you will not be the same. I died a tiny bit when I read the last page and found out that the next book in the Aftertime series, called HORIZON, won’t be published until February 2012. That’s a long time to wait for something so good. Check out the book trailer for a peek at the cover.Sexual Content:A couple sex scenes. Attempted rape. References to gang rape and torture.

[reginar_447079 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars. I love this series, I love it. I plan on re-reading it soon and am jonesing for the release of #3 in 2012. This book made me cry, made me laugh -- and made me stay up late reading. I felt Cassie's pain and her anger. Sophie Littlefield is an amazing author who tells an amazing tale.The setting for this story is in post-apocalyptic California, post the bio destruction of the land during wars, post the collapse of the government, and post the rise of a zombie type creature that was created by bio-engineering to plants – it is After and everything that came prior to these events was Before. In Aftertime, there is no government, no infrastructure and everyday is a fight for survival. So that is the backdrop for the story – running from zombie like creatures, trying to find food, groups vying for power, true evilness coming out in humans that are no longer held back by societal rules, and attempts at creating a new civilization. All the good and fun parts of post-apocalyptic stories. But for me, the true story is one of self discovery and growth. The main character is Cassie. We learn in Aftertime (book #1 in this series), that Cassie is a recovering alcoholic, she is a woman who learned to survive and use her body early on in her life and thus thinks that much of her power lies in her sexuality, and she is a mother of a very young child. Cassie is desperately trying to create a life where her daughter, Ruthie, can survive and she is in love with a man, Smoke, that she hooked up with in Aftertime. But Smoke leaves on an expedition, which means there is no guarantee that Cassie will ever see him again. Dror, a man who is a leader in the community Cassie is surviving in, must head out on his own expedition and Cassie decides her and her daughter need to go with him if they are ever going to survive and find a safe place to live --- and Cassie hopes to find Smoke again. This story is a quest, Cassie, Dror and Ruthie traveling the now dangerous highways of California, trying to find refuge in abandoned homes, and fighting other survivalists along the way. The entire time Cassie is protecting her daughter Ruthie, mourning the absence of Smoke, and attempting to hope that Dror feels committed to her and Ruthie enough that he will continue to protect them. Cassie’s past is not pretty and she often remembers what she was like when she was an alcoholic, when she would go home with man after man in her alcoholic stupor, or the abuse she sustained as a child from her mom and step-dad, but despite the unattractiveness of her past Cassie is determined to make a change in her future. She is very concerned about those around her and she is leader. Sophie Littlefield is a very brave author, she allows her story to go places many authors are afraid to go. I was really impressed with the scenes between Cassie and Dror. First off, the scenes were incredibly hot. Maybe the hottest I have read in any book. Second, Cassie was in pain and reverting back to how she quieted her emotions and those around her when she was an alcoholic – Ms. Littlefield didn’t take the easy way out, she brought Cassie’s past to the forefront. Cassie believes all of her power lies in her body and sexuality and she believes she was manipulating Dror. What she doesn’t know is that Dror cares deeply for her. This is not an easy topic to address, Cassie is in a relationship with a man she loves and a man to whom Dror is friends with – but who left her to go on an expedition. Cassie is a mom of a young child, yet she goes out in to dangerous territory seeking safety instead of waiting for death to come to her. I have read some reviews criticizing the “infidelity” or the fact that Cassie doesn’t follow sexual rules of conduct. I have also read reviews criticizing the fact that Cassie brings her daughter on this dangerous quest. Well, this setting of this book is not present day California where Cassie could just hide out with her daughter and wait for the cavalry to come. She is in a situation where she has to be proactive and find something safe and good. She knows the man she loves in likely in danger and she does not know day to day if she will survive. Add on to that, this man left her without even saying good-bye. Cassie does not even know if he still wants her or loves her. People in very stressful situations do not always do the most socially appropriate things and I applaud Ms. Sophie Littlefield for allowing the story to naturally go where she wrote it. A significant character in the aftertime books is Ruthie – Cassie’s almost 3 year old daughter. Rarely are kids included in adult books of this genre and if they are – they are usually put there to pull on the emotional heart strings of the reader (e.g. The Passage by Justin Cronin). Ruthie definitely does some heartstring pulling, but she is not just a throw in. The fact of her existence reshaped who Cassie is and every step Cassie takes is tempered or governed by Ruthie’s needs. During Aftertime I was very stressed about Ruthie and that does not change in Rebirth, but Ruthie has started to add to the story and she is an important character. Okay, so lest you think this entire book was emotional and questing stuff – it wasn’t. The last third of this book is action packed and tense. It is full good guys, bad guys and gray areas – fighting, interrogation and escape scenes. It has horror filled gore scenes with zombies eating people, lots of fun stuff! If I had any nails, they would have all been bitten off during the last 1/3 of the book. The first ½ to 2/3 of this book does have less action than Aftertime, however it is important to the story and I really loved all of it. I like Cassie, I like the characters and I love the story being told. I cannot wait for book #3.

[nanajlove_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

WOW WOW WOW. I can't wait for more! Through some snafu and excessive delays, I was rewarded with Aftertime and the sequel Rebirth for review and I'm so glad I did. Both books are amazing reads, with rich descriptions of struggle in a post-apocalyptic world. Rebirth picks up a few months after the end of Aftertime. The earth is beginning to recover from the biological attacks, and plants and animals once thought extinct are appearing. But the zombie Beaters are still out there, and are evolving as well. Cass, her daugher Ruthie, and Smoke are living in a community called the Box just outside of the cult sanctuary, The Convent. The Box is run by a former businessman, Dor, who has proved to be a master at post-apocalyptic commerce. When Dor learns the school his daughter was living in was destroyed by Rebuilders, Smoke goes off, seeking revenge. Dor follows as a contingency plan, and Cass and Ruthie go along, not only to help Dor, but to try and save Smoke. Cass again finds reserves of strength to deal with the the devastation surrounding them, the constant threats, and to protect herself and Ruthie.

[dgoo_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My review for Aftertime, the first in what looks to be at least a trilogy, applies here as well. Rebirth, the sequel to Aftertime, follows Cass Dollar in her psychological, emotional and physical (via enhanced immunity, healing and regrowth after being savaged by the Beaters, zombie-like creatures, and surviving without contracting the Beater affliction) renewal in Aftertime. The plot centers around Cass's journey from a relatively safe and Beater free compound of drug addicts and alcoholics run by Dor to the militaristic Rebuilders fortress run by what turns out to be a megalomaniacal, delusional individual obsessed with breeding a race of "outliers"--those immune to the Beater disease. She is propelled on this journey by the leaving of her lover, Smoke, to avenge the murders of people he once lived with in a different compound in a library. She is hurt and angered by his choice or revenge over their lives together with her 3 year old Ruthie, and follows Dor on his quest to save his own daughter from the Rebuilders, as she feels there is nothing left for her in the compound Dor has set up. Again, we have beautiful prose, well developed characters, breath catching in your throat action, suspense, and in my opinion a plausibly realistic rendering of the extremes, both good, desperate, ruthless, depraved, greedy and callous, people can be pushed to under duress and chaos. I eagerly await the sequel.

[bookaddictdiary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With even bothering to take a breath, Luna Books is releasing Rebirth within months of its predecessor, Aftertime. Rebirth continues the post-apocalyptic tale of Cass, who has managed to survive the end of the world, but now find herself fighting to survive in a barren California. After having rescued her daughter and achieving some form of redemption at the end of Aftertime, Cass is still faced with the challenge of putting together a new life in a new world.In the middle of it all, Cass fell in love with Smoke, even though he leaves her for a quest of revenge, just as a brutal winter starts to set in. Cass becomes pulled into the issues of some her fellow survivors as they struggle against an organization known as the Rebuilders -and her love for Smoke.Basically, if you've read Aftertime, you pretty much know how Rebirth will go. The two novels have the same basic feel, tone and overall sense, not to mention a similar plot. Littlefield's writing doesn't quite feel as strong here to me, and I just found it a little more difficult to really get invested in Cass' life and struggles. However, Rebirth is still a decent read -I mean, it kept me interested up until the end, and I didn't have a problem with getting through it (as some sequels have a real problem with this). If you enjoyed Aftertime, you'll like Rebirth (though it's not quite as strong).

[tlm0000 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is book two in the series, following Aftertime. I did not like Aftertime, the pace was excruciatingly slow so I did not hold out much hope for Rebirth. I did like it marginally more. I have determined that it's really all about the authors style of wriring and it may just be something I personaly don't like. The characters move the story along by introspection instead of interaction.