Review: Hereafter 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 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. 

Hardcover, 404 pages

Published June 7th 2011 by HarperTeen
(info grabbed from GoodReads)

What teenager is this forward?  Ridiculous quote time!  I think three from the first 100 pages will suffice:

"'Beautiful.  Too beautiful for people not to have noticed you the other night.'"

-Joshua pg 35

"'...otherwise I'm crazy and I'm talking to a beautiful, electrified, imaginary girl.'"

-Joshua pg 71

"'Anyway, it doesn't matter where we go, I just want to be wherever you are.'"

-Amelia pg 87

Joshua, I do believe you are crazy.  I understand some odd behavior from Amelia since she's been dead for a mysterious length of time and hasn't brushed up on how to act like a non-dead-and-desperate person.  But Joshua?  His only reason for wanting to be around Amelia is "UR BEAUTIFUL AND I SAW YOU IN THE WATER WHEN I DIED.  WEIRD."  Granted Amelia's main reason for wanting to be around Joshua is also his looks, added with the fact he's the only person who can see her so, you know, slim pickings.  I don't like it.  It's not even insta-love; it's insta-attraction and nothing else.  No chemistry.  Just stupid.

  

Also, all mysterious-ness is forced.  All questions regarding Amelia could be answered with a minute of research.  And on that note, if I was a ghost and suddenly starting to remember my previous life, I think I'd be more interested in that than following around a boy who is perfectly aware of who he is.  Furthermore, if I were a boy hanging around a ghost only I could see who didn't even remember her last name, I would start investigating.  Immediately.  This book is written in the modern age (or not stated otherwise), and Joshua doesn't even think to look up recent obituaries on his smart phone?  Or go look up old newspaper articles about a girl who died in the river?  No desire to know the unknown?  What the hell! 

There is no love between HEREAFTER and me.  It is unfortunate, because I don’t like to not like books, but this one was a complete dud with me.  Momo and the infinite sadness.

Final Thought: Zero.  Just zero, no toadstools.

This review is also posted on GoodReads