Amber’s return from the grave flips her world—and everyone else’s—upside down. Gripping, emotional, and thought-provoking, this story explores second chances, family fractures, and the messy complexity of who we are. A hauntingly beautiful read.

Afterlife explores the impact that a persons life and death has on those around them as Amber returns to her home only to discover that she died 7 years ago much to her families amaze, horror and confusion. The novel explores difficult themes in an age appropriate way for the intended YA audience.

I have really liked the books by Gayle Forman that I’ve read in the past. If I Stay and Where She Went are two huge favourites that I still quite often think about. I also quite liked Just One Day and Just One Year. It feels like a while since I’ve read one of her books now so when I saw this one on NetGalley, I jumped on it.

It begins with Amber riding her way home from school, just like she does every day, although she does note an oddity that when she reaches the top of a hill, she’s not struggling. Her legs don’t hurt. When she gets home, there’s more oddities. The thermostat is off. The house looks a little……different. Things feel weird. When her mother arrives home, the sight of Amber makes her scream hysterically and Amber realises that….well, she’s dead. She’s been dead for seven years. She was struck and killed by a car whilst riding her bike home from school and she’ll learn that her family has changed a lot since her death. Many things have changed a lot since her death. Amber will have to figure out why she’s ‘back’ – what it means, how it happened….and how long it might last. If it’ll last.

The book moves through a couple of different perspectives but is mostly told from Amber’s point of view as she comes to terms with the fact that her life was cut short and also, what has happened since that point. Her younger sister is now basically the same age as her, given that Amber died at 17 and still appears to be 17. She remembers Melissa as a 9 or 10 year old and has to readjust her perspective of her in her mind. Her parents have been through it as well, obviously and Amber is also shocked to realise that her aunt, once very integrated into the family, doesn’t seem to be around anymore. Her former high school boyfriend has struggled as well, since her death and there are other aspects of her life that she must examine- the type of person she was, the company she kept, the choices she made. Has her reappearance given her a chance to right some previous wrongs?

These are all good questions and reflections. And for the most part, I enjoyed the parts of the story that revolved around Amber’s interactions with her family and her thoughts and introspection. There were perspectives from other characters that examined mourning and the tragedy of a young life cut short – several people were affected by Amber’s death that had quite minimal interaction with her. I also appreciated Amber’s mother’s reaction – honestly I felt like it was the realest thing in the whole book at times. Amber’s mother was religious – her father was not. But he seems much more into accepting her reappearance as some sort of ‘miracle’ that he wants to tell the church pastor about, happy to just explain away the unexplainable on just some act of will of a God he’s never believed in. For Melissa, Amber’s younger sister, she’s talked to Amber in her head since Amber’s death and doesn’t seem to find this odd. Amber’s mother was the only one that I felt had anything remotely resembling a “realistic” reaction!

But the family interactions I thought, were done well. Even the nonchalant ones. I could also understand not wanting to question such a thing, to have a deceased child return. Where I felt like the book struggled a bit (and this could be my age, I am definitely not the YA demographic anymore) was that I felt like it tried to do a bit too much at times? The drama with Amber’s teen boyfriend and her friend, her friend’s family, even the drama with Amber’s childhood friend as well as her teacher and how her death changes his life and the random photographer and a few other things. It attempts to tie so many things together that at times it becomes a little much? A little too coincidental, a little too stuffed full of drama, especially for a 240 page book. I understand wanting to give a bit of nuance to the death, to examine what sort of person Amber was and how she was reflected upon after her death (as we do have a tendency to really only focus on a person’s good points if they die, especially if they die young, ignoring anything else that might’ve made them human). But at times some of these flashbacks and teen drama things kind of detracted from the overall story. And the father of Amber’s high school best friend seemed like honestly, a completely pointless character thrown in there to be an inexplicable villain in a story that didn’t really need one.

All in all, I enjoyed this and I felt like it was a quick read reminiscent with a lot of Forman’s patented emotion and familial relationships. I felt like it would’ve been a better story without some of the extras that were added in, it almost felt like an attempt to warn people off their first loves or something. At times it just felt like there was too many threads stuffed in here and some of them didn’t really seem to serve much of a purpose and others felt like it stretched believability (and I’m not talking about the whole back from the dead thing).

I did like the way the book ended though.

6/10

After life is a young adult story and leans heavily toward the genre, some plot lines and characters were confusing which meant I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I have loved Gayle Foreman previous works

I was going really well with this one in the beginning, beautiful writing and a heartfelt message, a lot of strong side stories and strong characters going on in the background.

I had a few theories formulated about who was the one to end Amber’s life …. I was wrong about every single one of them and the big reveal actually took away from my reading experience in this one. A lot of weird behaviours going on with some of the characters which led to me believe it was one of them, only for it to be someone totally out of the blue in my opinion. There was so much open to use in this one and I feel it got left in the dust.

However, the journey is a great one and I think if you’re looking for something heartfelt and raw to give a read, this one will be a good one for you!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book early.

This book is not only compelling, but incredibly beautiful and heart felt.
As someone who lost someone close this year, this book hit close to home.
Gayle has a knack for writing about death and the afterlife in such a beautiful way, making you feel connected to the characters and invested in their stories. I loved how this book explored the various ways people deal with their grief, and how they might react should their loved one reappear. But also the way that so many people can be interconnected in ways they don't even know.

The premise of this book drew me in, Long before I read the first page, being a novel by Gayle Forman, I knew it was going to be done tastefully.

We are thrown straight into Amber's life and instantly we are hit with the subject of death. What comes after? What happens to our families? Heavey questions at any point in our lives, but I think they are explored so expertly within these pages that you allow yourself some gentle exploration.

This character driven novel, is short, at 272 pages, and provoking. Each character shows a different reaction and belief on the idea of death, the afterlife and resurrection. Providing a point of relatability for every reader.

Towards the end of the novel we realise what is happening, how healing is different for each individual, how beliefs and having a support system aids that healing.

After Life is thought provoking, moving and a little confronting, loss of a loved one isn't an easy topic to write with authenticity and grace, but Gayle Forman has done that. Written in Formans way of making the pages flow easily, this fast paced ebb and flow of a read will leave you thinking long after you turn the final page.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Allen and Unwin for a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
This book leans heavily into the young adult genre, which it’s clearly marketed as. While I typically enjoy YA, this one didn’t resonate with me as much as usual. The numerous characters and shifting POVs were a bit confusing at times, although the short chapters were a plus.

The story focuses on themes of death, grief, and the ways people cope and move forward. The ending, while tied up a bit too neatly, still managed to evoke some strong emotions and leave me with a sense of closure.