I liked this quirky story about Bea's death and subsequent atonement for past deeds. Not quite bad enough to go to hell, Bea ends up working as an employee helping others who can't move on to heaven until an issue that clogs up their memories is resolved. Friendships and love interests ensue. The -- resting place? In-between? Purgatory? is crafted fairly well though readers will certainly have questions. In fact, there's definitely room for further adventures of Beatrice if the author decides to venture there. I stayed up late reading to see how it would all turn out. Unlike others, I have no interest in ever trying coffee jello...

This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
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5*
Pros: I absolutely loved this whole book! Incredibly original, funny and honestly perfect. Relatable to a T and brings to light many wonderings I had growing up, like what if we die while on our period. Tackles all the big questions about death, the after-life and the space in between. Multidimensional and realistic characters. Ending not sugar-coated at all. A 2020 must read.
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Cons: Would have liked to learn more about those left behind.

Like The Good Place? You may enjoy this YA exploration of purgatory. The main character, Beatrice Fox, is a bit self-involved and unlikeable at times; however, the unique premise, colorful secondary characters, and the 'airport' setting more than make up for Beatrice's shortcomings. Ending feels a bit abrupt.

This is SOOOOOOO much my kind of book! I'm not sure where this predilection came from, but I love a Christmas Carol-based story. Although Layoverland is not actually that, it is enough afterlife and consequences and redemption to delight me and I tore through it in less than a day. All the characters are an excellent mix of good and the right amount of bad. And while Bea and Caleb are the focus, of course, I was also into Sadie and Jenna in their supporting roles. A final compliment to the book - I'm glad the ending wasn't neatly resolved for Bea. I wondered if this was all a big set up and was actually HER process to confront what is holding her back so I'm glad the lesson learned didn't change purgatory for her. Complaints: I would've been equally happy to read about the other people Bea was helping and seeing her excelling at her job. That's not so much a complaint, just a different way the story could've gone for me. Second - I don't get what the deal is with the Jell-O. That didn't add anything to the book for me.

Layoverland is a book that is not afraid to make its protagonist inherently unlikable, which in turn leads the reader to actually feel invested when she begins to realize that yes, she does indeed have a lot of issues. Given the book's setting in what is basically purgatory, I also got some real The Good Place vibes as well - and that's absolutely a compliment, as Gabby Noone takes a similar concept and makes it her own, I loved some of the small, relatable details she puts into place that truly give the reader the feeling of what makes this place Beatrice finds herself in so mundanely unpleasant.

I feel like this book has a realistically supernatural element that might appeal to anyone who wants something out of the ordinary, but does not have an appetite for traditional fantasy,

I just love a good story about what happens after we die. This one is pretty good, except that I thought the ending was a little abrupt, but that might have been due more to the fact that there were a lot of blank pages at the end of the e-ARC so I kept thinking there was more? But other than that it was a wonderful story.

The story starts with Bea already dead and on her way to Layoverland. We find out what happened to her, how she died, through flashbacks to what happened on her last day. I started off not liking Bea very much but she did grow on me. In life she wasn’t a very nice person, or at least not on that last day. But she does love her sister, and that came through even when she wasn’t being her best with her. Bea is impulsive and does many things without thinking that get her, and at times, her sister into trouble. Her experiences in Layoverland do start to change her though. I have hope by the end of the story that her after life will change her for the better.

Caleb is such a sweet guy, which we totally get to see as he and Bea explore his memories. I felt so sorry for him, for the way that Bea manipulated him at first. But as she got to know him, her perception of him and of herself changes. Not sure I totally bought into the romance between them, but I did get why they went there.

I also really liked Bea’s roommate, Jenna. She was such a sweet soul who really wanted to be liked and loved. She was just perpetually happy, which was amazing considering how she died and how her life had been. The relationship she develops with Bea was more realistic and fun to watch develop.

I must say that the idea of purgatory being an airport was genius. From the crappy food, everything was encased in jello, to the endless waiting with nothing to do! It was perfect. I also liked that the characters were allowed to see their memories and have help finding out what was keeping them from moving on. Some of those scenes of Bea helping those people were very well done.

This was a pretty fast read, mostly because it was pretty short as well. But it was well paced and hard to put down. The ending was beautiful, even if it was abrupt for me. But I really think that had to do with the fact that I thought there was 10 pages left. If you like these kinds of stories then this is one you will want to take a look at.

Loved this book! The preliminary description was intriguing and I was fortunate to receive an ARC to read the entire book. Gabby Noone has created a unique plot, with interesting characters and a story that was so well-paced that I stayed up all night to finish it. Beatrice Fox is an angry seventeen-year old who is involved in a fatal car accident. When she wakes up, it is on a plane full of other passengers as it touches down in a seemingly random airport. Soon we find out that Bea is in Purgatory and must help 5,000 souls reconcile their memories and pass on to Heaven. Of course Bea complains and is told by her trainer, Sadie, that she almost went to Hell, but this was her chance to atone for a selfish, friendless life. Well Bea did have one friend, her sister Emmie, but she did something unforgivable to Emmie and was driving around sobbing when another car plowed right into her. Come to find out, the first soul Bea needs to help on her own is Caleb, the boy who wrecked her car and her life. Bea. being Bea, plots her revenge and begins to enact it in a setting full of mediocre furnishings, horrible food, and a hideous polyester uniform that is an unfortunate shade of orange.

Bea is not very likeable at first, but she grows on you. She loves her little sister and has reason to be angry at the world, she just can't let anything go. Layoverland is about learning to let go, to care about others maybe more than yourself and has a little light romance thrown in. This is such an excellent book, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys young adult fiction. The romance was G rated so fine for young, advanced readers. While Heaven, Hell and God are mentioned, it wasn't overly religious or pushy. I found it inspiring, but not in a sappy, gooey way I will definitely purchase this for our library and eagerly await Noone's next publication. I will !never look at an airport waiting room the same way!

Loved the premise of this afterlife story. I really enjoy an unusual story and ending, and this book delivers both.

I liked this OK. It’s the kind of weird thing I usually go for, and I hadn’t read a YA novel in a while. I liked the idea of purgatory as an airport, and Caleb and Jenna were sweet characters. It was a quick read, and the pre-death and post-death unknowns kept me turning pages.
I think my lukewarm feelings are mostly because, for most of the book, it was hard to live in Bea’s head. Figuring she was on a redemptive path didn’t make it easier to take the hateful, vengeful things she did and said. And I always wonder why characters like Caleb put up with so much from characters like Bea.
The ending was rather abrupt, and I didn’t understand the last few lines, which I thought gave it a sudden depressing tone.

I thought this was a really unique story and I think it will have wide appeal for our patrons. We will definitely be purchasing. thank you!

Bea is a little intense and mascara stained. Caleb is a cute boy from another school. Their last worst day ever (for real) ends where the story begins. Interesting and a little heartbreaking, I think YA romance readers will enjoy it.

Wow this was a pleasant surprise I really enjoyed this book. It’s such a cute read and all of the characters were so adorable you couldn’t help but fall In love with them: I’m not sure if there are any plans for a sequel but I sure hope do. The ending definitely left you wanting more and I had a lot of unanswered questions. As soon as I finished it I ordered a copy for my library I can see this being a hit.

After reading a less-than-stellar YA book with fantasy elements, this one was a treat with its unique premise--a sort of "medium place" (for those that watch The Good Place) with opportunity for improvement.

I really liked Bea--she's snarky in a realistic way, and Noone is clear to give her some emotional development and depth. The alternation between past and present was constructive rather than confusing, and it added to this character development. In a different way, I also loved Caleb; it would have been tempting to make him a stereotype, but he is a gentle foil to Bea.

The ending is heartbreaking, of course, so begin the book with this in mind.

Finally, I know Noone was trying to make jello food sound gross, but...I could really go for some coffee jello cubes this morning.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Layoverland by Gabby Noone.

When Bea gets into an lethal head on collision and wakes up in an airport, it becomes clear that heaven is not exactly what she thought it would be. But she's not in heaven, or hell. She's in an inbetween place where people go to resolve issues keeping them from heaven. And Bea's job is to help navigate people through their memories so that they can move on. So when Bea meets the attractive and kind Caleb, she's initially intrigued, but then horrified to find the truth of his death. Having the power to hold him back, Bea has to decide how she's going to deal with her new nemesis Caleb.

Ok, this book was so silly. Like, perfect for when you've just read a really hard and heavy book and you need to read something that requires zero braincells. I can see the YA appeal, but it was especially vapid for an afterlife book.

For a book that kind of focuses on death this was a fun read. It's definitely a good one to hand to fans of The Good Place or looking for a quirky read. I'd actually pair this one with Libba Bray's Going Bovine. I loved all of the characters, even Bea. I'm LOLing at all the reviewers on Goodreads complaining that she gets needlessly political. They totally missed that Bea's whole thing is political. Being political is a core tenant of who she is. I feel bad for her because she never got the chance on Earth to turn that fire inside of her into a good thing. She's angry, but has so much of that teenage angst inside of her that would have become tempered if she had lived long enough to become an adult.

I loved the premise of the book, and am very happy it didn't disappoint me in any way.

The character development, and plot were excellent; I mean truly it was just great. The narrative style was nice, and the ending was perfect.

I think this is the author's first book. It is truly hard to believe it is a debut. If you like the TV show The Good Place, you will really enjoy this novel.

If you enjoy YA novels, you will also enjoy this. Highly recommend.

I just finished this book, and my first thought: Adorable. But also: Hilarious. I laughed out loud multiple times reading this book, which is not entirely common. The author has an amazing knack for explaining something with such perfect, sarcastic clarity, that you just can't help but let out an audible guffaw. The entire premise of the book is just awesome - I love "Afterlife-As-A-Boring-Place" situations (Oh hey, "Dead Like Me"!) and incredibly sarcastic, quick-witted female protagonists (Oh hey again, "Dead Like Me"!). I mean, an airport hangar with people waiting for their numbers to be called, having to eat food and liquids encased in Jell-O, with showers that never get beyond almost warm? So smart. This purgatory is fascinating, and the process of the Memory workers and a Disciplinary Board, all just so whip-smart. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and obviously look forward to other books by this author.

This book is so lovely! I am a huge fan of The Good Place and I agree with comparisons; similar to the TV show, it is a story about a young female antihero tasked with becoming a better person by helping others - this time in purgatory, designed to look like an airport. To complicate things further, Bea, the young woman in question, is assigned to help the boy who caused the car accident that killed her process his issues and move on to heaven! Naturally, she doesn't want to do that, but instead is planning a revenge...

I liked Bea as a character, but I did find others less consistently characterized and wished there was more substance to the book; I especially missed Bea's sister - it's really heartbreaking they never got closure! And I don't really think her sister was fair to her in their final confrontation. Overall, I didn't really think Bea was bad enough of a person to deserve such a harsh punishment, especially as a teenager. The system is definitely not fair!

The concept of the book is very original and I think I would enjoy more stories set in this world. I would love for it to be turned into a movie. It didn't leave me as emotionally moved as I'd hoped, but I will most certainly be recommending it to others, teens and adults alike.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

This debut is outstanding! “Layoverland” is dark, clever, witty, and romantic. If you like the show “The Good Place”, I think you’ll love this book. The dialogue had me laughing out loud.