The Everafter by Amy Huntley

Title: The Everafter
Author: Amy Huntley
Publisher: Balzer&Bray
Reading Level: YA, 12+
Publication Date: September 29, 2009
Pages: 256
My Edition: ARC
Amazon Page

Cover Rating: C+

Book Rating: B+

Plot - 19/20
Characters - 15/20
Writing - 17/20
Originality - 19/20
Entertainment - 10/10
Recommendation - 9/10
Total: 89/100

Summary:
Madison Stanton doesn’t know where she is or how she got there. But she does know this — she is dead. And alone, in a vast, dark space. The only company she has in this place are luminescent objects that turn out to be all the things Maddy lost while she was alive. And soon she discovers that with these artifacts, she can reexperience — and sometimes even change — moments from her life.

Her first kiss.

A trip to Disney World.

Her sister’s wedding.

A disastrous sleepover.

In reliving these moments, Maddy learns illuminating and sometimes frightening truths about her life — and death.
This is a haunting and ultimately hopeful novel about the beauty of even the most insignificant moments — and the strength of true love even beyond death.

Review:

The Everafter is a fascinating and mesmorizing novel from a welcome debut author. There are books on the afterlife, but none like this one. It is a one-of-a-kind novel that creates a whole new kind of afterlife like none you've ever seen before. I picked up this novel and I definitely wasn't expecting what I got. But I was certainly pleased by what it happened to be.

The plot is so imaginative and believable, I actually started thinking that maybe this is really what it's like after you die. Like maybe Huntley had a near death experience and put it to writing it was that believable. The writing was so desriptive and the details she brings to the table is wonderful. Her writing from different maturities and times was impressive. Very impressive to go from the age of seventeen to the age of eight or so and make it believable.

The only downfall of the novel were the characters. Though Maddy was a good enough character, I felt she wasn't fully developed, as were some of the characters. Maddy was a bit shallow in the beginning of the novel, but she did grow to be a much better character as the book went on, as did the other characters.

The Everafter is an impressive, imaginative, and unique take on the afterlife and extremely believable. With a fantastic ending, also.