Thank you for the chance to read this. I ended up getting a copy from a friend, but havent yet finished it.

Confession: I’ve never read A Christmas Carol. In fact I’ve never read a Dickens novel. However it’s ingrained enough in popular culture that I know the basics of the story but I’m afraid that some of the references etc in this book might be lost on me.

Holly Chase was a rich, privileged, selfish and unlikable teenager when she was visited by three ghosts – that of Past, Present and Future. They beseeched her to change her ways, or she would die. She dismissed it, she died and now five years later she works as the Ghost of Christmas Past, helping to save others. The company she works for picks one person each year – they spend months watching them, researching their lives, picking through their memories to isolate key moments, things that changed them and made them into what they are today. They identify important people (who are given names for specific reasons that relate to the original story) and have one chance to try to convince them to mend their ways and embrace a new future.

Five years has passed since Holly ‘died’ and started working for Project Scrooge. She still appears as she did the day she died, so as a 16yo girl (with great hair, thanks to a blow out). I get the feeling Holly continues to work for Project Scrooge because she fears the alternative and she doesn’t seem to be that reformed. She has an inner voice she attributes to her stepmother, a judgemental fashion director who was Holly’s own Jacob Marley. She’s not exactly friendly to someone that is introduced as her new assistant but her biggest issue is that she’s drawn to this year’s Scrooge, a teenager named Ethan. All of a sudden Holly is breaking a lot of rules.

I was rather surprised how much I enjoyed this. One morning I woke up just after 5 and couldn’t get back to sleep so I decided to read and picked this on a whim on my iPad. I ended up reading it all in one sitting until 8am when I had to get up and get my kids their breakfast. I enjoy Christmas but I’m not what you’d call a big Christmas person. I don’t care about decorating everything and Christmas activities. I’m more just about spending the day with family but in a casual way, rather than the whole ‘Christmas spirit’ type thing so I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a bit hard hitting for me on the morals and spirit and all that sort of stuff. But I think telling it from Holly’s point of view, a 16yo self-absorbed girl, helps soften that. And yet despite that, there were plenty of really quite emotional moments in this book. Holly’s father is a movie producer and although they’d drifted apart in the years before Holly’s visit from the spirits, there are some touching moments in this book where Holly goes to see his movies, often many times and understands the significance of the plot. But it’s not something she can discuss with anyone.

I liked the various characters that work at Project Scrooge and their quirks and the jobs that they do and the way they feel about their Scrooges. Generally the people are older so Holly has never really had an issue before but when they choose a young, hot, rich teenager, Holly starts wanting to know more. When she’s sifting through his memories she’s looking for things she wants to know, rather than things she should be looking for as ammunition. I liked the way this played out – I especially like that it was surprising for me and that the whole thing didn’t end in the way in which I thought it would. It was well played.

This was a fun read. I really should read more of Cynthia Hand’s books. And actually, I should probably get around to reading A Christmas Carol too.

7/10

I was asked by the publisher if I would like to read THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE just before Christmas. Looked at the blurb and I immediately thought Christmas Carol spin off, which is a good thing. To cap it off when I received the email I was watching a Muppet Christmas Carol on the TV (as you do) so it seemed like I was meant to read it. And I am so glad I have. Because it is so much more than three ghost visiting a mean old scrooge and then that scrooge turning his/her life around with everything coming up roses. No – Holly ignores the warning and dies. Bummer!

Of course, she doesn’t go to heaven – well she is a bad girl after all – but she doesn’t go to hell either, instead she finds that she is in some sort of half-way house where she is hired as The Ghost of Christmas Past for a company that runs “Project Scrooge.” A new “Scrooge” is found every year and then the team swings into action to encourage the chosen scrooge to change their ways and not die. Lots of research goes on before the big event which takes place each Christmas Eve. As the Ghost of Christmas Past, Holly gets to mind meld with the scrooge to find out what made them like they are.

Holly, our failed scrooge, is a truly unlikable person with no redeeming qualities and totally unrepentant even in death. After five years Holly is still with ‘Project Scrooge’ with no attitude change, she just does her job and feels unjustly treated, and just a little bit lonely. Then Scrooge number 173 is picked – and he is a good looking guy who, once she starts delving into his mind, Holly discovers she has a lot in common with. And after finding that commonality she finally starts to recognise that by saving him she has to admit she might not be a very nice person after all. Can she actually start to hope that she may be able to move on to a better place? Will she find the courage to break all the rules to get there? The author portrays Holly’s growth as a character so well. The Holly on the first page is a whole different person just before THE END.

While Holly is the star of the story – and front and centre all the time. The supporting cast is very good as well and carry her story very ably. There has to be a boss, and of course if there is a ghost of Christmas past there needs to be two more for present and future. As well as the ghosts, there are the tech people and a sweet little work experience PA who is assigned to Holly just as Scrooge 173 is selected.

So that was good, now the grumble. I have to confess it got a bit bogged down for me in the middle – so no I wasn’t glued to every page from beginning to end. There was also a little bit of information dumping – where the characters in the book explained who they were talking about, and what the role was in the story. I understand this would be for those readers who hadn’t read A Christmas Carol so they could follow the action, but I found it a tad annoying. Having said that, they were tiny niggles and THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE is still an above average read and I recommend it to anyone who loves wisecracking YA paranormal and Christmas. I loved the ending – take nothing for granted.

3 stars - Above average - was very readable and I really liked it but was easily able to put it down and walk away for a while.