Hereafter

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

★★★★★

Release Date: June 7, 2011

Publisher: HarperCollins

Age: Young Adult

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Ghosts

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

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 recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive. Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever. Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, Hereafter is a sensation you won't want to miss.

It's a hauntingly good love story about a ghost and a boy. How Tara Hudson made that a plausible concept is mind boggling, but she did it. I didn't feel the book was a work of fiction, it felt real. I will admit I had low expectations going into this, just because it sounded so crazy to me (but I loved it!). It reminded me of Afterlife by Claudia Gray, I found myself thinking "Really?," but this author totally pulls it off (much like Gray). After the first chapter or so I was completely hooked, her writing had that affect on me.

The book follows Amelia, a lost ghost roaming with no idea how long she has been that way or how she died. When she meets Joshua she starts remembering things about her life and together they work to solve the puzzle that is her past. They made such a cute couple. He doesn't care that she isn't alive, and that small fact didn't stop him from trying to be close to her even when they face problems that threatened to keep them apart. He was a dreamboat. Definitely a top fictional boyfriend for me!

I love the mystery aspect of this love story. There are quite a few roads this story leads down and it adds fun mystery and thriller elements. The mental images Hudson creates of the spooky area around High Bridge are sometimes chill inducing, she does a great job of setting the scene. It's a book that once you start you cannot put down, I kept trying to find time throughout the day to sneak in a few more pages.

Overall wonderful a read, that I recommend to ghost story lovers, love story lovers, and great story lovers!

Don't you just love the cover?