The Everafter by Amy Huntley

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posted: Jul 26th, 2009
under: Entertainment, Randomness, Reviews

Wow. Let me say that again. Wow. The Everafter by Amy Huntley is a unique and mesmerizing story told from the afterlife.

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.

I hadn’t read that copy when I started the book. I had no idea what I was getting into. I was actually wanting to read another book but couldn’t get the file to work on my ereader. So, I skipped to this book. Once I started it though, I had a hard time putting it back down again. I ended up finishing it in one sitting.

This story is imaginative and gripping. What pulled me in was Huntley’s approach to the afterlife. It’s an item that went missing that pulls you back to a scene from your life and seeing that scene is what helps restore your memories. Plus, you only get to see the scene from where you lost said item. I loved that. I’d never seen something like that done before. I got absorbed in watching how that worked. Somewhere along the way, I connected with Maddy and her attachment to each item…and to life itself. I laughed and cried right along with her. Maddy has a voice that lingers with me still. I will definitely need to reread her story. This time I’ll have a box of tissues handy.

I’ll also add that shortly after I started reading this book, I was reminded of Emily Dickinson’s poetry, Margaret Atwood’s “This is a Photograph of Me” and Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones. This story is only similar to the latter two in that it is narrated in the afterlife. However, a few of Dickinson’s poems are featured within. They add well to tone of the tale and it almost seems like Dickinson’s voice is there too. I was happy to see them there.

The cover: I like it. I think those are orchids floating there. It reminds me of the objects floating in the afterlife space or “Is” as Maddy refers to it. Orchids were one of the things she lost. Plus, I can imagine the objects having that ethereal quality floating around her.

tagged: Amy Huntley, Books, The Everafter