Hereafter by
Tara HudsonMy rating:
5 of 5 stars*WARNING SPOILERS*
This book was actually pretty good. Mostly, I found it good because it was unique. I'd never read a book before this, that had told the book in the perspective of a ghost. And ghosts were a completely different thing than traditional ghosts. They're a completely different idea of ghosts.
Synopsis of the book:
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 new found happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.
The best thing about this book, aside from the idea, was that it was not in the least bit confusing. Well, it wasn't to me. Which I'm really happy about. I hate those books that are so confusing. They like, jump all over the place, and you can't even follow the story. But this book made sense for the most part.
Onto the next thing, the characters. The character development was pretty good. Half the time, the main character, Amelia, was only trying to figure herself out, and trying to figure out her relationship with Joshua. Also, Ruth was written in very well. And she actually did scare me, but I liked her anyways. And Eli, though he was the bad guy, I felt sorry for him. I especially like the books which make me care for the characters. The emotions conveyed through the characters were also good. As in, they were conveyed pretty well. Amelia's confusion, Joshua's love, Ruth's hate, Eli's
jealousy of sorts. Then of course, there's Jillian, who is so stubborn, and innocent. And I like her, because the book made me care about her.
Next, the plot. The plot was also pretty good. It was a clear plot, and Amelia's story, the story of her death, was conveyed nicely. The plot by itself was a clever idea, and then the character's personalities enhanced it even more. Mostly though, I really enjoyed the new take on the
ghost world. Like how ghosts only have the two senses, sight and hearing. The way hell and demons were represented. And of course, there's the sweet love story (which I have to admit got annoying after a while, but still).
The writing wasn't immature, which is a problem I've had with a lot of books. The book was well paced--conveyed the right emotions at the right times and went the right speed at most times.
So for the most part, this was an excellent read, and I really liked it. I rate this book 4.5-5 stars.
-Mannytee
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