A review by chaosisafriend
After Life by Gayle Forman

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 

Amber rides her bike home from school everyday but today when she arrives home, her mother sees her and screams. Why? Seven years ago, Amber died in a hit and run accident while riding the very bike she rode home today. 

Amber doesn’t know how or why she has returned from the dead and neither does anyone else. In coming back, Amber is able to see how both her life and her death impacted her loved ones. Even people she’s never met are affected. Everyone is grieving her death in their own way. Some are managing better than others. 

After Life is about grief, regrets, family and sisterhood. It jumps around in time from the events leading up to Amber’s return, going back as far as when her parents met. The central relationship is Amber and her younger sister Missy. I love books where the story unravels in such a way that seemly unconnected people and events actually do connect, and this is one of those books. 

After Life is a YA novel intended for high schoolers, but adults will enjoy it as well. It’s a quick read with good pacing and can easily be read in day. Recommended.