Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Book Review: The Everafter by Amy Huntley


The Everafter by Amy Huntley
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publish Date: September 16, 2009
Hardcover, 248 pages


My Review:
The Everafter is another powerful young adult after-death book.  I have just read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver and while they deal with a similar subject, each author handles their book very differently.  So don't think just because they are after-death books they are the same.  Definitely not.  And no I promise this review won't compare the two - I wouldn't do that.  Each book should be considered on it's own merits.

From the start Madison is a likeable character, she has awakened and has no idea where she is.  She realizes she's dead and she's unsure how she got there, but there are things, things that she lost while she was alive that are floating in this world.  If she touches these things she is transported back in time to when she lost the item and she sees the scene again and again if she wants.  As Madison drifts through different places in her life, loving some, feeling sorrow at others and completely icked out by others, you get to know Madison.  It's a very interesting way to learn about her life. As she learns about her life and remembers, she starts to wonder about her death and as the end of the book grows near she gets closer and closer to finding out about this. 

The plotting is very well-done, I thought the book was well-paced.  I was never bored.  I found each small aspect of Madison's life to be very interesting and everything moved Madison to the ultimate end of the book.  I also enjoyed the characters, Madison is a great character, likable, caring, she's still a typical teenager and she takes things for granted, but going back to these times she sees that.  I liked seeing her and her best friend, Sandra and also her boyfriend Gabe.  They added to the story and the development of Madison's character.

A very well done young adult novel.  I loved reading every minute and look forward to reading more of Ms. Huntley's books.

My Rating:  4.5/5.0

About the Book:
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 Maddy has in this place are luminescent objects that turn out to be all the things she lost while she was alive. And soon she discovers that, with these artifacts, she can reexperience - and 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 frightening truths about her life - and death.

About the Author:
Amy Huntley says that a colleague's musings were the spark that inspired the everafter:

"I've always had a tendency to attach myself to the objects of my life, so when one of my friends said something like, ‘Wouldn't it be funny if all those things you lost turned up after you were dead, just when you didn't need them anymore?' it got me thinking. But I wanted to believe there would be a purpose to their reappearance. As the story evolved, I realized that Madison's quest to make peace with moving on to the Everafter is really the same battle that everyone goes through as they grow and become someone new."

Amy lives with her husband and daughter in Michigan, where she is a teacher of high school English.

FTC Information: I checked this book out from my wonderful library system for my reading pleasure.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Giveaway: The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong


This week isn't an ARC giveaway and it's not even a recently released YA book.  But it is the first book in a great YA series that has been generating buzz since it first came out.  I'm not sure how I ended up with my copy (I think I bought it) but I really want to start reading the series and the only way to do that is to give this copy away so I will read it before the end of the giveaway.

This week's giveaway is The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong.  So if you are one of the few that has never read this book - this giveaway is for you (or if you want to re-read it, or have your own copy to keep)  It released at the back in 2008 from HarperTeen and I have a nice trade paperback copy, gently read but still in wonderful condition. It's the first in the Darkest Powers series.  Haven't heard of the book yet (then where have you been)?  Here is some more information:

After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.

At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…

Rules for the giveaway:  Simple, just comment and leave an email address where to contact you.  Nothing more.  No additional entries, just keeping this one completely simple.  Open to the US/Canada only.  Ends 7/20/2010.

International - hang on a few weeks - I'm probably going to do a giveaway just for you.
Not a YA fan - also hang on, I have some other books on the tbr pile to giveaway over the next few weeks.

Teaser Tuesday - July 13

teasertuesdays31

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
"I was attacked in the forest! By El Chupacabra!"
The circle of men fell silent.  Two made a rapid sign of the cross.
From Running From The Devil by Jamie Freveletti
(there really is no El Chupacabra in the book - these lines were amusing to me)
Running from the Devil