YA Book Review: Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Hereafter by Tara Hudson
© June 2011 by HarperCollins

Goodreads description:

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.

My Thoughts...

I have to say, first, that the Browse Inside feature offered by HarperTeen may be the death of me (financially, of course) because it causes impulse buys--for example, my Nook pre-order of this book. That being said, from the moment I opened the file to read until the moment that I finished my Nook copy while standing in the Dark Days of Supernatural signing line, I was hooked.

When the book starts out, Amelia is lonely and caught in a cycle of disappearing back to her place/moment of death.  Then, one time it's different--someone else is drowning and she has to stop it.  When she saves Josh, she creates an impossible bond with him--he becomes the only person who can see her and touch her (at least as far as she knows).  Now, I know some people will rail against the "insta-love" that occurs in this book, but I personally thought that it made a little sense that Amelia would make such a connection--she hasn't been able to TOUCH or interact with anyone since her death (and not for lack of trying).  I thought that Tara Hudson did a fabulous job describing the electric nature of their first physical encounters.  They had that hesitant nature of young love where things are new and different and you're just curious and in awe.

Overall, this one was a "win" for me.  I really felt myself pulled into their story and Hudson pulled some elements in that I didn't expect at all.  It's had the right amount of darkness for me paired with the romantic elements.  I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next book (although I will admit that I would have been just as happy with this book as a standalone, which is always a nice feeling). However, I do look forward to more character development in the next book so maybe we'll get to know more about Amelia and Josh.

My fabulous signed copy!

Some other reviews you might check out:

• Well-Read Reviews
• Fantastic Book Review
• A Cupcake and a Latte
• Bewitched Bookworms