Book Review: The Weepers

The Weepers by Susanne Winnacker

Published by Marshall Cavendish on May 1st 2012
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352

Goodreads

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.

Dystopian? Post-apocalyptic? I really wasn't sure what this book's main focus would be. The summary indicates that it could go in a variety of ways. But either way I was excited for this read.

The Weepers put a strong foot forward from the very first page. The story opens with Sherry and her family coming to the conclusion that the bunker that they have lived in for the past few years will no longer be able to sustain them. Food dwindling. Life on the outside as a possibility is beyond questionable. But with the choice being either: die due to lack of supplies or face the unknown, it a choice of the lesser evil. With the decision reached to face the unknown, Sherry and her father venture out to see what is left of the world that they left.

I must hand it to Susanne Winnacker. She really knows how to build a story. The Weepers is one of those hard to pinpoint type of tales. Not dystopian. Not completely post-apocalyptic. A hybrid containing a variety of pieces. And those pieces fit together beautifully. I went through this tale feeling like I had no clue what was awaiting me around the next corner. This worked so well especially when Winnacker added in those oh-so-deliciously creepy moments. I was on the edge of my seat. Part of me dying to know what would come next. The other part hoping that something was NOT about to pop out.

To top everything off, The Weepers features incredible characters. Sherry was not one of those stupid, simpering chicks who you secretly wish would die as fast as possible. Joshua knows this world. The good… the bad… and the oh-so ugly. He was a nice counterpart to Sherry's ignorance of the world. Not too sure about the romance with these two though. It seemed really rushed in certain parts, only to take a step back a few pages later. Speed up, slow down. It was like that for most of the novel. I wish that it had felt more consistent.

Final Verdict:

The Weepers went far beyond any expectations that I had. A fast paced, gritty hybrid with a delicious twist that I never saw coming. Winnacker definitely has me hooked. I cannot wait for more.

Kate

Kate is the co-blog owner of The Book Monsters. I am a twenty-something year old who is passionate about reading. I currently hold a B.A. in English and am married to my high school sweetheart. We have two (cat) children, Gracie and Kit, who are total divas. I have an insane and possibly unhealthy passion for reading. You can usually find me with my nose buried in a book.