Book Review: "The Everafter" by Amy Huntley

EVERAFTER

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 re-experience, 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.

MY REVIEW:

Madison finds herself in an unknown place she calls "IS".  This is also known as the "Everafter".  Maddy quickly discovers this place is filled with several floating important objects and items from her life.  Maddy learns that she can use these objects to travel back to sad, funny, and confusing episodes from her childhood.  While she relives these experiences, Madison realizes that the simplest moments had such a significant impact shaping her life.  For the most part, each chapter brings you back to a time where Madison lost one of her belongings.  As you begin to piece together these moments and pieces of her life, you discover and learn more and more about her.  She hopes to understand how and why she passed away.

A lost orchid takes Maddy back to her boyfriend, Gabe.  You learn very quickly how important Gabe was to her. First, a rattle brings Madison to a time when she was an infant.  Then a twist happens.  Madison has been alone in "IS" throughout the novel.  When a floating hair clip sends Madison to a childhood sleepover, she encounters another ghost.  She watches the girls at the party playing with a Ouija Board.  As they are playing, she realizes that she is not the only ghost in the room.  While the girls are using the board, a spirit named "Tammy" reveals that she is sorry that Madison is dead.  Maddy has no idea what has happened to her, but she still doesn't have any memories past the age of 17.  Next, a floating object of her lost physics homework brings her to Gabe, who Maddy now realizes is also dead.  What they witness together may solve all of Madison's unanswered questions.

I really enjoyed reading this story.  I don't usually pick up books about death, however this novel was completely different.  The desire to find out how and why Madison died kept me intrigued and insanely interested.  I had a really tough time putting this one down.  All I wanted to do was continue reading this book non-stop until all of my (and Maddy's) questions were answered!  This story shows the beauty of how important the little things in life are.  How we take for granted our every day life.  It makes the reader appreciate more of ourselves and experiences better than before.  At 245 pages, a quick read that you will not want to put down.  I will definitely look for more from Amy Huntley!

MARA

**This book was provided for review by Harper Collins Publishing in exchange for an honest review of the book.  No monetary compensation was awarded for the review, simply a copy of the book.**