Hereafter

June 6, 2011 Uncategorized 4

Hereafter

Author: Tara Hudson
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: June 7, 2011
Pages:
Series: Hereafter, book one
Source: Requested from Netgalley


About 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 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.

My Thoughts: My thoughts on this book are divided. I’ll start with the positives since that’s what I like to focus on in general. This book is beautifully written. The language and style are lovely. The beginning is written in a way that will suck the reader in. It demands that you read on to learn more about Amelia, her life, and her afterlife. The pace and flow of the story match Amelia and her ghostly wanderings. There are sweet tender moments as well as moments of terror. They juxtapose one another in a way that makes each incredibly poignant. 


Having said all that… it was just an ok read for me overall. I couldn’t get invested in the story. I think there were a couple reasons. 


One, the only characters we really know anything about are Amelia, Joshua, and Eli. Frankly, we don’t even know that much about them… not really anyway. Amelia doesn’t really remember much about her life and we only know Joshua from the point he meets Amelia. All we know of his life is her involvement… we don’t see who he was before and he seems to give it all up after meeting her. I’m nosey! I want more.


Two, I just can’t get in to the love between a ghost and a human. Where can it go? How can he have a productive life when he is caught up in her? Most people can’t see her so he looks like a nut job talking to/touching her. He’ll age, she won’t. What about college? Marriage? Kids? I know that’s looking far in to the future but I couldn’t help it. Again, this is more an issue with my perceptions and not the quality of the book.


I can appreciate the beautiful writing style and see that many people will love the story. Still, it just wasn’t really for me. 


Bloggers I love who have loved it:
I Eat Words
Novel Novice

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4 Responses to “Hereafter”

  1. Lindsay

    I’m a little over halfway finished with Hereafter, and glad to know Im not the only on who feels this way! I’m a planner, so I always look to the future of book relationships, and I just don’t get it. I had to put it down for a few days.

    Reply

  2. Savannah

    I really adore the way the storyline went! Too bad you couldn’t get into it. Some times it just doesn’t work out for us.

    Reply

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  4. Allison

    I posted my review of this one today, too! You make good points about the characters not being fully fleshed out… that definitely struck me about Amelia, but I figured it was because she didn’t really know who she was.

    And yeah, I’m really curious where the author is going with Amelia and Joshua’s relationship. It’s like, HOW CAN THIS END??

    Despite the above, the book still totally hooked me, though!

    Reading Everywhere

    Reply

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