Review: Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Hereafter by Tara Hudson
Published: June 7th, 2011; HarperTeen
404 pages

From Goodreads:
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.

My Rating:
3 stars

My Thoughts:

Hereafter is the story of Amelia, a ghost that wanders the streets of a small town  and has no recollection of her past, other than that she drowned. Everything changes for her when she rescues a boy from drowning, and her whole world is turned upside down.

                I was first drawn to this story because it's plot sounded so unique - I haven't read many books where the main character is a ghost with no memory of her past. I read it with high expectations, and while I can't say it completely let me down, I wasn't totally enthralled by it either.

                The book started off well enough, with Amelia rescuing a handsome boy named Joshua - who can see her -  from drowning in the river where she died - she doesn't pull him out of the water or anything, she just wills him to live. That seemed sort of strange to me, but still, the romantic in me (I try to keep her locked away as much as possible...) was swooning at their chance encounter.

                Their romance heats up as the story goes on, and I thought Hudson did a good job with building romantic tension between Amelia and Joshua, which included a fireworks-and-electricity reaction whenever they touched. But at the same time, their interactions were extremely cheesy. Joshua was the perfect hero, with his dark hair, blue eyes, and innate ability to compliment the heroine and make her feel all tingly. And I had to roll my eyes every time Amelia's voice cracked/squeaked when she was talking to Joshua. I'm pretty sure it happened every time she spoke to him, and it made her sound like a middle-schooler talking to her crush. Their interactions became a constant repetition of Joshua being perfect, and Amelia swooning at how perfect he was.

                And Eli wasn't very menacing as an antagonist. Amelia went back and forth between whether or not she could trust Eli, and Amelia's final "battle" with him was pretty anticlimactic (in my opinion). I would definitely preferred an antagonist with a bit more menace. Joshua's grandma posed a bit of a threat, but even she was more like an angry kitten.

                My main problem with Hereafter was the ending, which lacked an amazing cliffhanger that would have made me run out and buy the next book ASAP. There was a final showdown and everything, but no setup for the next book. In my opinion, a lot of events were rushed, so the author left little setup for events that could happen in the next book.

                I liked Hudson's writing, but Amelia wasn't really deep enough for me to feel like I could relate to her, and Joshua was too much of a cut-and-paste YA "hottie" for him to be believable. I didn't hate this book, but it could have used a bit more work. The plot had promise, but it went downward from there. I will be reading the next book in the series, and I'm just hoping the characters develop more and become more than just their relationship. I really have no idea what's happening in the next book in the series, but I'm hoping for the best.

                I know I've pointed out a lot of negatives about this book, but Hereafter wasn't a horrible book. I don't regret reading it, but it doesn't stand out from other run-of-the-mill YA novels. I would recommend reading it, since it has an interesting plot, and Tara Hudson's writing is pretty decent. I wouldn't put this on the top of my list, but it was still a good read.