Review: Hereafter

by Tara Hudson
publisher: HarperTeen
date published: June 7, 2011
format: hardcover
pages: 416
source: purchased
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N

From Goodreads:

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, Hereafter is a sensation you won't want to miss.

What I Thought

Hereafter is unlike any other book I can recall reading. The story is told from the point of view of the ghost of an 18 year-old girl named Amelia, which made for an interesting read and a departure from what I typically read. Amelia is stuck in a continuous cycle of wandering and reliving her death. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember much from her life. She does not know her last name, her birth date, what year she died, what year it is, or even how she came to die. All she knows is that again and again she loses consciousness and relives her death before awakening in a graveyard. She continues in this cycle until, one day, she saves the life of a boy who has crashed his car into her river. She knows not how or why she is able to save him, but from that point on, she feels a connection with him that will test the limits of her acceptance of her afterlife.

This is an incredibly bitter-sweet love story and is expressed in truly lovely prose. As Amelia and Joshua's bond grows ever stronger, she begins to yearn for a true life. However, she is happy with whatever vestiges of a relationship with Joshua she can get. As the two grow closer, Amelia gathers the courage she will need to find out about her past, brave the ire of Joshua's grandmother, and face off against a frighteningly possessive ghost who has plans for Amelia. The result is a riveting plot that provides foreboding, romance, and intrigue. I read chapter after chapter in my need to know what was going to happen next.

The characters found in Hereafter were captivating to behold. Amelia, who was definitely my favorite, is no push-over. She rarely leaves her displeasure unvoiced and does a wonderful job of standing up for herself. Joshua, while perhaps not the most riveting male lead character I've read to date, is a very likeable character that will leave you rooting for him and he tries to support Amelia as she rediscovers herself and stands up to Eli. Eli, one of the antagonists of this story, is a seriously creepy individual. I suspect that if he weren't a ghost, he would have been an even worse human being. As it was, he was an obsessive individual with a propensity for sneaking about and stalking Amelia. His actions were truly despicable and I disliked him immensely. The only thing worse than Eli were his bosses, which I am afraid you will have to find out more about by reading the book. I wouldn't want to give away the denouement.

I will end by saying that Hereafter wasn't what I was expecting. It was, in fact, much better. I enjoyed everything from the point of view to the settings of the story. Now that I have read Hereafter, I am very much looking forward to continuing the series and can not wait for 2012 to roll around. I give Hereafter 5 hoots for its fascinating concept and intriguing plot.