Wonderfully written. After Life challenges thoughts and feelings about grief. This is raw and very emotional, but absolutely phenomenal.

Wow. Very powerful. It was a super easy read which I loved, and packed a powerful and emotional punch. I thought the ending was going to be completely different and I was surprised to discover I was completely wrong lol. And because I was so wrong, what I took from it was completely different from what I anticipated. I enjoyed the multiple povs and how everything came together. Really made me think about life, death, memories, and how I want to conduct myself as a human while I’m here. The imprint I want to leave.

It's been a very long while since I gave a book 5 stars, because normally I like books well enough but it takes a lot to get me to say I loved a book. This one was borderline for most of the read, but what tipped the scale was the fact that I actually got a little teary eyed towards the end of the story. Sure, there was also a bit of too convenient, but if I'm moved to feel something that strongly, then I will say it's worth bumping up when I'm on the fence.

This is a bit different from Forman's other works, in that it is not really focused on any romance. But it's still in the same style and still deals with a teen coming to terms with who she was and who she wants to be. Just that she's doing it from a place after her death.

The story moves well. The back and forth from POVs give some hints as to what is to come, and also what happened in the past. There were a lot of different narrators, and it took me a bit to get into that, but it worked overall and you didn't feel like anyone was not developing as a character because of the flip flops.

I genuinely enjoyed all aspects of Amber's story. And I truly felt for those around her and for her of course. There is a bit of a mystery in the pages, but nothing disturbing. Just a story about a girl who was, for all intents and purposes, a pretty normal girl who died early but under pretty normal circumstances.

If you like Foreman's style and are looking to step away from the traditional teen romance for something with a bit more of a fiction flare, then this is it.

this book was really nice, and it was a interesting take on how grief manifests for different people.

When I saw this book on NetGalley I was very intrigued since I’ve read quite a few books by Gayle Forman. The description fascinated me since I’ve always been curious on what happens in the after life. I loved this book, it’s very real and raw and something different from what I’ve read before. This book is about Amber Crane who passes away after getting hit by a car on her way home from school. It talks about what happened to her family and how grief impacted them in different ways. For some people Amber and her presence stayed with them close by, for others they shut down her memory to avoid the pain, and for others who didn’t know Amber very well find meaning in her death. For anyone who has lost a loved one or even if you haven’t I would highly recommend this book! 5 star rating for me! Thank You NetGalley, Harper Collin’s Children Books, and Gayle Forman for an early copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review! Publishing date of January 14, 2025.

After Life is the story of a Amber who returns home after being killed in a bike accident 7 years earlier. She finds her family and friends very different than when she left - broken and still grieving. The way Forman told the story using different timelines allows readers to understand how grief impacts each person differently. At the risk of sounding morbid, I think this book is intriguing because at some point most of us have wondered, what will happen to the people I care about if I die?

I absolutely love this author and everything she writes. This book....I devoured like all of her others. Thank you so much for the ARC!

Book:
AFTER LIFE by Gayle Forman
Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins for the Arc (Jan 14, 2025)
Review:
4⭐
I haven't read a book by Gayle Forman since IF I STAY and its sequel WHERE SHE WENT. Knowing how emotionally riveting those two were, I knew I needed to read this one.
AFTER LIFE takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster of life, death, grief, and everything in between. The book is about Amber, who died in a bicycle accident. Years later, she shows up like it never happened, though everyone else lived through the years she was gone. She's frantic to get her life back.
This book is a whirlwind of a read. It's told across multiple points of view and multiple timelines that get confusing at times but is much needed in order to know how the loss of Amber affected those around her.
This book was such a quick read, never stirring from the rawness of grief and how hard, how much someone has to change in order to move on. There were times where I felt my heart break for Amber when she came back, where it broke for her family and friends. I recommend this for anyone who enjoyed Forman's other works, or just needs a reason to cry.

What I Liked About It:
*the amplitude of emotions expressed
*the mystery behind Amber's accident

I have loved Gayle Forman forever!

This book is just as great as her others. What a fabulous story about life, after life, living, and dying. it's a story about family, friends, and ties that bind (or don't).

Forman is a master at taking story threads and weaving them into a tapestry full of themes readers can take with them.

I was skeptical of a few plot moves early in the book but it all comes together. I couldn't stop reading!

Would recommend to YA lovers, mystery enthusiasts, and readers interested in one perspective of life after death.

I haven't read a Gayle Forman book in a long time, but it was easy to sink back into her writing style and character's voices after all this time. I thought this book, overall, was so, so lovely. I enjoyed the short chapters and characters, and the themes of dying/death/living/grief. It was a very moving book. I didn't quite love everything plot wise (things felt a little too easy at the end), thus the 4 stars and not 5. But this felt like an old school 2010's YA book and I appreciated the heck out of it.

Gayle Forman is one of the first YA authors that I began to follow many years ago. Her books are unique and heart wrenching. In this book Amber a seventeen-year-old girl is killed while riding her bike home from school. The story begins 7 years after the incident when she walks into her home not realizing that she is dead. Don't be fooled though because this is not your typical ghost story. Her mother, sister, and father all react differently when they see her, and she is shocked at the brokenness of those that she left behind. The puzzle pieces of what happened to her are threaded through the story as it is told through a variety of POV's. This is a story about loving, loss, and hope. I couldn't put it down and highly recommend it for readers of all ages.

I knew the name of this author sounded familiar. She wrote IF I STAY, a YA book which I know was very popular and spawned at least one sequel and I definitely read the first one, though I don’t remember much about it.

So, here, one spring day Amber, a seventeen year old arrives home from school on her bike. Her mother sees her and screams.

Because Amber died seven years ago, hit by a car while riding that bicycle.

Amber remembers nothing, but seven years have passed for everyone else, her parents, sister, boyfriend, friends….

There’s a lot to unpack here, and you have to keep in mind this is YA, so while Amber doesn’t eat or go to the bathroom or anything, no one is too concerned about this, and she basically acts like a typical seventeen year old and is all about her high school boyfriend, which, of course, is nuts, but, hey, teens!

Melissa, the sister to end all sisters is probably the only smart person in this book. It’s definitely YA for YAs, but it’s an interesting concept, and it kept me reading, so the rating is more for a YA reader, not for an adult read. For an adult reader, three stars.

I thought "After Life" would be interesting, but didn't realize how compelling and heart-wrenching it would be. Through multiple timelines and POVs, Forman pulls the reader through the sharp edges and intimacies of loving and letting go of a loved one. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
Pub Date: Jan 14, 2025

#After Life
#NetGalley

Foreman takes grief and the way loss ripples around us in a way that remains true to the YA emotions and reality. I really enjoyed the mystery of Amber and swore I wouldn't cry. I made it about 95% before trying to read the ending through a flood of tears. Hands down, my favorite kind of ending.

Forman is a master storyteller, and I adore her books. The After Life was no exception. A fantastic story about family, sisters, parents, and more. I devoured it. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars.

This book appears to be a quick read, but it’s also one of the most compelling reads, especially for grieving people who might imagine seeing their loved ones come back to life as if they had never gone. It’s heart-wrenching and thought-provoking, moving between different timelines to show different perspectives and emphasize that death affects not only the one who passed away but also the people left behind to deal with longing and grief.

Throughout the journey, readers pick up the puzzle pieces and position them to get the full picture. Amber, a 17-year-old valedictorian with a bright future ahead of her, big dreams, a lovely family, a devoted boyfriend, and close friends, dies in a hit-and-run accident while riding her bike. Seven years later, she returns to her house on the same bike as if she’s stuck at the moment she left. She’s still 17, trying to adjust to the changes and understand how drastically things have moved on, and how her loved ones have been torn apart by her absence.

Her mother barely looks at her face, rejecting her existence, while her dad is over the moon with happiness, declaring her return a miracle and starting to believe in a higher power even though he’s an atheist. Her nerdy sister Melissa is now her age and might be the only one approaching Amber’s comeback in a more mature way than their parents.

But what about her boyfriend Calvin? Why did he drop out of school and let guilt consume him? Why is her estranged friend Dina the only one supporting her, while her so-called best friend Casey is nowhere to be seen?

Why has Amber returned? Will her stay be permanent, or is she home to complete unfinished business? Can she fix things for her loved ones who are truly struggling with her loss? Can she correct her mistakes and find closure for herself?

Overall, this is a heartfelt concept discussing grief and moving on with your life after irreplaceable losses. It’s a strong tearjerker, and I highly recommend keeping a roll of napkins nearby while reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for sharing this powerful YA fantasy novel’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book reminds me of the TV show Cruel Summer. Like it's just got a similar vibe I can't fully explain. Constantly going between different time periods, all coming together to tell a singular story.

This was a hard read. Not because it was difficult to read, I actually flew through it. But because it's a hard concept to deal with. Like what would you do if a person who died 7 years ago showed back up in your life? How could you explain the damage from their death? How could the person that died even understand it fully? It's an interesting concept because this isn't a coma patient waking up 7 years later. This isn't a person that went missing or was kidnapped showing up 7 years later. This is someone that actually died. No doubt. Gayle Forman has always done a really good job of writing from a place of grief. I loved If I Stay and Where She Went.

So I think this is a well written view of the aftermath of grief and how we all wish we could somehow fix it, even years later. And because death doesn't impact one person, it makes a difference on everyone, with no real way to tell or understand why people cope the way they do. I think what she's done here is really unique and a story worth reading.