Keeper's Book Reviews: Review: Hereafter (Hereafter #1) by Tara Hudson

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no memories of her past life, she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. But everything changes when she tries to rescue a boy from drowning in the river. Because even though she can't do anything to help, Amelia somehow "wills" him to survive. And when he wakes up, Joshua can see her.

Together, Joshua and Amelia begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death, and the secrets of the dark river that has held her captive. But even as they grow ever closer, there are those in both worlds--the living and the dead--determined to tear them apart. . . .

~Borrowed from Library; 404 pages~

This is actually a review from a while ago (it was posted before the Big Deletion occurred), but I figured I'd post it again since I mentioned it in one of my recent reviews. So here it is:)

After checking out this book at the library, I decided that I'd look at a few reviews on Goodreads to know what to expect from it. I was surprised when I saw all the negative reviews my friends gave it. I assumed that I wouldn't like it at all, since my friends have pretty much the same taste in books as me. Disappointed and reluctant, I started reading this book. Herafter took me longer to read than most books do: 3 days. Ever time I put the book down, I had no real wish to pick it up again. The first half of the book was very slowly-paced, with not much going on. Luckily for me though, the second half of the book was a breeze. The story actually started coming in, and we learn about Amelia's past, and what her future may or may not hold for her. We finally learn what creepy-ghost-dude Eli is stalking Amelia for, and we see more and more of the romance between Amelia and Joshua.

What surprised me is that I didn't really enjoy the romance between Josh and Amelia. It was just so...kiddish. I didn't even get how such a romance - between a ghost and a human - could even be possible. And what type of human would just believe that there were ghosts? I mean, Josh just accepted the fact of Amelia's death so easily, it didn't even seem realistic. I mean, he should have at least questioned his sanity at some point in the book! Also, Joshua isn't the alpha male that you usually meet in paranormal books. He's more of a tween type of guy, trusting everyone and sort of unsure of himself. I guess he's more of the friend-type rather than boyfriend-type. Still, I guess he's perfect for the main character.

I didn't think that the characters were developed enough, since there were really only 2 main characters in this book; no one else was really mentioned that much. For example, even though Joshua's sister was a huge part of the end of the novel, we still never really get to know her. It's kind of weird when you think about the lack of main characters. I can see in my head what it would look like on Sparknotes:

Analysis of Major Characters:

Amelia: a girl who died near the end of the 20th century. She doesn't remember how she died, or even her own last name. All she knows is that her name is Amelia and that she died at the age of 18. Ever since then, she's been wandering around the Earth, able to see everyone, though no one can see her...until she meets Joshua. He makes her feel things she hasn't felt in death before, and though she wants to feel more, a part of her wants to just keep on running and hiding.

Joshua: an 18-yr teen who's grandma is a Seer, a person who can see ghosts. He never sees anything unusual though, 'till he almost drowns in the river. There he sees a beautiful girl, though apparently, no one else can see her. As soon as he's out of the hospital, he's determined to get to know the mysterious girl better, whether or not she wishes the same.

Actually, that's the most interesting sparknotes I've ever seen; after all, pretty much all the others are classics, and I can guarantee that this is better than most classics, though not Pride & Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, The Crucible...you know what? Never mind.

I don't really know that I'd recommend this book to anyone, though people who like slow-going novels might stand a chance against this novel. I want to make it clear though that even this this book isn't great, it's still not as bad as everyone leads you to believe it was. In fact, the ending was interesting enough for me to want to check out the next book in the series, Arise. You never know, you might end up feeling the same;)