After
Life
by Gayle Forman
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Pub Date: January 7, 2025
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Format: ARC
Source: Author
Book Links: Goodreads Bookshop
One spring afternoon after school, Amber arrives home on her bike. It’s just another perfectly normal day. But when Amber’s mom sees her, she screams.
Because Amber died seven years ago, hit by a car while on the very same bicycle
she’s inexplicably riding now.
This return doesn’t only impact Amber. Her sister, Melissa, now seven years
older, must be a new kind of sibling to Amber. Amber’s estranged parents are
battling over her. And the changes ripple farther and farther Amber’s friends,
boyfriend, and even people she met only once have been deeply affected by her
life and death. In the midst of everyone’s turmoil, Amber is struggling with
herself. What kind of person was she? How and why was she given this second
chance?
This magnificent tour de force by acclaimed author Gayle Forman brilliantly
explores the porous veil between life and death, examines the impact that one
person can have on the world, and celebrates life in all its beautiful
complexity.
My Review: I have mixed feelings with this book. On one hand, I love Gayle's books and was thrilled to read her latest book. On the other hand... it was a hard read for me. Not because it was a bad read, but there was way too many POV for me. I'm not the biggest fan of multiple POV but nearly every character in this book had their own POV and made it more difficult to enjoy this book.
The concept of the book was good, the characters were written in typical Gayle fashion and really would've been an amazing read if it focused a little more on the main character and her family and kept all the other POV out. The side characters didn't really add to the story and having their own POV chapter didn't really grab me nor felt like it needed to be there. A little too much filler for me.
Overall, this is still a great read. It was just hard to deal with too many POV for me.
