The story follows a woman who finds herself in a mysterious limbo after her death. As she navigates this in-between space, she reflects on her past, relationships, and the choices that led her to this moment. Through encounters with others in the afterlife, she gains new perspectives on love, forgiveness, and the meaning of existence/second chances—even beyond death—and the power of healing. A bitter sweet novel with moments of hope interspersed with grief. I tended for teens YA.
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for an ARC in exchange for my review.

After Life involves high school senior Amber Crane, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver seven years ago and inexplicably returns one day to her bereaved family. Mom and Dad are divorcing, her sister is gay, her college-bound boyfriend works in a dive bar, and her beloved aunt has moved to New Zealand. The overarching questions are “Who killed her? and Why is she back?” Told from many points of view, the novel weaves together the current lives of people impacted by Amber’s death. Amber realizes she was not the best sister, daughter or friend, when she was alive, and she begins to try to make amends and make sense of her situation. Forman returns to the topic of teen girls in liminal states between life and death, ultimately ending the story with a satisfying conclusion.

Seven years after she was killed in an accident while riding her bike home from school, Amber, 17, returns to her family and friends. Foreman explores something we all wonder about - what people feel and how they deal with the loss of a daughter, sister, friend, girlfriend. Foreman gives us multiple points of view providing readers with a well rounded sense of Amber's impact on their lives before and after her death, including the photographer who took Amber's senior pictures. And while the back and forth of narrative points of view may sound confusing, it ultimately works out. Throughout the novel, Foreman drops all kinds of clues as to what is happening and yet, some will be surprised at the denouement. Of course, Foreman gives us a good dose of magical realism in order to make this story work. This is a well written novel with a well thought out plot. After all, Foreman knows how to write about loss and grief.

I really resonated with the afterword on Judaism and memories being a blessing, but I would’ve loved to see that mentioned throughout the book. This was a beautiful story on grief, and it has lgbtq characters! I was kinda shocked by how amber wronged Dina but it’s a very small part of the story

Gayle Forman is the master of life after death stories for teens. I love how she is able to take sensitive subject matter and cover it with care and grace. I really enjoyed reading After Life and seeing how Amber and her family are able to navigate her return years after her death. A beautiful story.

I read and remember really liking both If I Stay and Where She Went when I read them in high school, so I was excited to be approved for an advance copy of Forman's latest. After Life feels like a sister story to If I Stay, a somewhat surrealist story exploring similar themes of death and grief and family, and I think teens who enjoyed If I Stay will likely enjoy After Life, too. As an adult and notably not the target demographic, however, I kept feeling like I wanted more from the story: more mystery, more nuance, more time to really get to know these characters, both during Amber's life and after life. The resolutions in this book also felt far too neat to be realistic, and I found the stakes that were introduced toward the middle of the book and propelled the plot toward the end confusing. The story itself was interesting, though, and I enjoyed the discussions about memory and how we can immortalize those we've loved and lost through memory.

As someone who has read and liked this author’s previous books, I was really excited to pick up her new release. I walked into this book totally blind, not sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It’s an emotional, thought-provoking story about grief and how it affects different people.

After Life follows the story of Amber, who mysteriously returns after dying seven years ago. One spring afternoon, Amber arrives home on her bike, just like she did before her tragic death. Her family, friends, and even strangers who were touched by her life and death are all forced to confront the emotional aftermath of her return. Amber struggles with who she was before, who she is now, and why she’s been given a second chance. The book explores the impact of grief, loss, and the connections that bind us, weaving together heartbreak and hope in a way that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading.

The story is told through multiple POVs and timelines, which leaves the reader piecing things together to get the full picture. The multiple POVs are done really well! Each chapter has a heading that tells you whose POV it is and how many years ago the chapter takes place. Since there are so many storylines that seem unrelated but still connect, it was super helpful to know who and when before jumping in. Without that, the story would’ve been really confusing, especially as we try to figure out exactly what happened.

Overall, I found this book to be a beautifully written exploration of life, loss, and identity. The characters felt so real and their struggles were very relatable. I loved how the author balanced the heartbreak with moments of hope, showing how one person can impact so many lives, even after death. The ending was far more emotional than I expected, leaving me both heartbroken and uplifted.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review

Gayle Forman does it again! Forman does an amazing job creating a story centered around grief and how the death of one person can affect the lives of many. I will say, I didn’t enjoy it as much as ‘If I Stay’ but it was still a quick and heart-wrenching read.

After Life by Gayle Forman starts with 17 year old Amber arriving home much to the shock of her family because she died seven years prior. From here we follow how her family...mom, dad and sister process this rather unusual event.
After Life is very much a story of how different people grieve and come to terms with tragedy. We see how Amber herself deals with issues in her life before her death. An interesting story of how people deal with life and death

After Life pulls you right into the story with a shocking first chapter (though it is in the synopsis) and multiple POV spanning several years. I really liked the different characters and how their histories and stories were so interconnected. The ending was a nice touch although it still did leave me with a few questions about what actually happened in this story if I really thought too hard about it.

Books about grief are very hit or miss with me because everyone grieves differently and not every story of grief is going to resonate with everyone who has experienced grief. But this one has a message that I find the easiest to relate to, which is that the ones you love are never really gone when you keep them close to your heart and alive in your memory.

Seventeen year old Amber rides her bike home from school but when her family sees her they all react in extremely different ways because Amber is supposed to be dead. She died in a hit and run seven years ago.

I don’t find it easy to connect with YA contemporary anymore but I wanted to read this purely for nostalgia as an If I Stay fan. The writing delivered with the nostalgia but lost me with the YA contemporaryness of it all. Some scenes read really young and illogical. Being inside Amber’s head was also a bit frustrating at times. I just wanted to shake her and tell her to get her priorities in order. She read a bit younger than seventeen to me too. Aside from all that, there were some really touching moments. I could definitely see this book having a way bigger impact on me if I read it as a teen. It’s something I could see sitting on a shelf in a school library next to The Lovely Bones waiting for the right person to come across it and change their life.

A kaleidoscope of emotions roll from every page, offering hope, healing, and heart.

After following the same path home that she has for entire high school career, Amber parks her bike outside of her house and finds that everything's changed. She has no clue that she died seven years before and can't even begin to explain her sudden presence to her shocked parents and sister when she finds them. Of course, each of them handles her sudden resurrection differently, and she's doing her best to understand them and give them space. Still, guilt weighs down hard. She knows that she could have been kinder to her younger sister, her aunt has moved overseas, and her parents have long since divorced. The desire to fix things haunts her, although she's struggling herself with the strange mess. But maybe, that's what she's supposed to do. After all, that must be the reason for her return.

This is a carefully crafted read and handles some very difficult themes with finesse. It's also a read full of hope and dealing with grief. Family, the fragile balance of emotions, and facing the results of bad decisions are only the beginning of the messages woven into the tale. But most importantly, it sinks into the theme of grief and the struggle of living on.

While the story bases itself on Amber's point of view, it also switches between various characters. This not only ensures depth in the various subplots and allows the decisions made to be more understandable, but also adds information exactly then when it's needed. Flashbacks come in quite often, too. Thanks to the character names and time periods at the beginning of each chapter, it never grows confusing.

The writing style, extremely short chapters, and emotional dance make it clear that this read is for thought, feeling, and thoughtful depth. The main plot, while seeming to follow Amber's own struggles, actually clings more to those around her...which also means that several aspects of her are never really fleshed out...as if she's missing a little substance like a ghost. Some of her concerns surprised me and felt superficial, while others hit with a wise maturity. So, she has an odd balance and keeps it's feet firmly in the YA realm.

It's a beautifully done read with tons of sink into and consider long after the book is done.

I liked this book, but unfortunately I cannot put it in my Texas High School library. I almost stopped reading early on due to the use of an extremely crude and unnecessary word, but wanted to see how the story played out. Turns out it is a good story, but there are too many descriptions of arousal to make it legal for me to place in my library.

Content Warnings: Language!, bullying (including a boy meowing at another - tied to the crude language used), death, grief, drug use, alcohol use.

Review will be posted on 1/23/25
Amber Crane had her whole life in front of her. It was a gorgeous day right before her graduation and she was enjoying a bike ride down the hill to her house. All that changed in a split second when she got into a biking accident that killed her. Time passes and then one day, seven years later, she shows up at her house. Her mother can't believe it (and is in shock - do you blame her?) and her sister, now much older, can't quite believe she is "home" as well. Things are different though. Her mother seems different, her parents' relationship isn't the same, Missy isn't the same either (she has blue hair!), and what happened to her boyfriend with whom she shared so many plans? Amber tries to figure out what brought her here and has come to realize how her death has impacted the people around her; even people she never met. After Life by Gayle Forman has her signature emotional style that will have readers flipping the pages to find out what happened to Amber and why she is back.

Forman has been ripping my heart out for years now. If you read If I Stay, then you know. However, After Life didn't quite pack the same emotional punch. I feel like it was trying to be a little too much like If I Stay as it shares many of the same themes, but it didn't quite get there. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed Amber's journey (albeit sad at times) and her quest to figure out what happened to her and what happened to her family after she was gone. Forman asks readers to reflect and think about many spiritual topics in After Life. The novel also begs readers to understand how a life can impact so many others - even those who have never met you - and when you are gone, there is a hole. Readers who want a moving story that lends itself to a lot of discussion, especially if they lost someone important in their lives, will appreciate Forman's After Life.

Another huge thank you to NetGalley for granting me early access to this ARC before going to publication.

This story is a love letter to the invisible string theory, solidifying the belief that everyone is connected on some cosmic level.

I enjoyed being taken on another journey in a Gayle Forman universe as it’s been so long since that’s happened and she’s one of my favorites. Her characters show a level of maturity that are not common among YA writing. I’d love to read more versions of stories like these as the after life (😉) is beyond interesting to me. Further, a huge thank you to Gayle Forman for a lovely author’s note at the end and the generous nods that she gives to librarians. 💛

I’ll definitely be adding this to my YA collection.
*recommended for grades 10+ as mature language and scenarios are mentioned frequently throughout the book*

😊

Just like every other day Amber arrives home from school on her bike, only to put her mom into a screaming state of shock. Unable to process what is going on, Amber's little sister Missy (now seven years older and referred to as Melissa) calmly explains that Amber died seven years ago after being hit by a car while riding her bike. Is Amber's return someone's idea of a sick joke, a twisted ___, or a miracle. Her once happily married parents now are divorced, and the love of Amber's life is a shadow of his former self. It seems that Amber's life (and death) had a major impact on those she knew and loved and others who only quickly met her. As Amber and her family try to figure out next steps, the question that begs to be answered is why Amber?

THOUGHTS: This was such a unique title, artfully written by Gayle Forman who has the ability to address tragic situations with compassion and ease. Its concise page count will attract reluctant readers who will race to figure out why (and maybe how) Amber's family has been given another chance. Highly recommended for high school collections.

Gayle Forman writes an intriguing story in After Life and I was glad to read it thru NetGalley. The story begins with Amber who died at 17 returning to her family 7 years later. The themes of love, loss and death are prevalent throughout as different members of her family, high school friends and strangers deal with the death and her reappearance. I read it quickly and really liked this story

I have complicated feelings about this book. The concept hooked me, and there were, ultimately, some scenes of beauty, grace, and depth. I was charmed by the scene of Arnold at the animal shelter, liked the relationship between Amber and her younger sister, Melissa, and found the revelation of what had brought Amber back both moving and fitting.

There were also several major problems. Chief among was the narrative's execrable treatment of Dina, the former friend Amber had ditched. Dina is Black. This is incredibly relevant for what's to come.

Point the first: Did Forman really think it was a good idea to constantly associate one of her two (2) Black characters that strongly and consistently with animals? And I don't mean in the 'wants to be a vet' sense. Did none of her authenticity readers cringe at that, even a little bit? Seriously? Sure, little girls pretending to be animals together is a cute anecdote in a vacuum. But there are connotations! And Amber keeps bringing it up, to the point of making it a motif. They could have just as easily pretended to be fairies, or aliens, or skaters at a roller derby. WTF?

Secondly, despite how horribly Amber has treated her in the past (more on that later,) Dina sticks by her side, loyal and steadfast, an accessory to this white chick's tears. She is Good and Forgiving, and the narrative doesn't care to give her internality beyond that. This is made worse by certain deeply spoilery revelations late on in the book, which further cement how much the narrative does not care about Dina's pain.

Speaking of Amber. While she was an okay character in her own right, the constant shilling of her in flashback chapters made me resent her more than anything else. I understand how people would valorize her after her death, sure. But before? That's just lazy writing. For most of the book, I just saw her as the most mid person ever, even as I found her <i>situation</i> interesting.

Then, I found out what she did to Dina in the process of friend-ditching her. The book continued to paint Amber as 'mid but growing,' but at this point and with this information, I could only see her as either a wretched idiot or a complete monster.

Beyond that, I found that Forman went for far too many low-hanging fruit to establish her emotional stakes. Of course Amber thinks her high school boyfriend, Calvin, is her One True Love. Of <i>course</i> they have the Huge Guy/Tiny Girl dynamic going, and no one will shut up about it. (I'm actually kind of angry, I used to find that dynamic cute, but it's been used so frequently and infantalizingly in recent books, it does nothing but annoy me now.) There's so much more, all of it cliche, all of it spoilery.

Actually, let me talk about Calvin in a bit more depth. I found myself hating his guts, and not for the reasons Forman seemed to remotely intend. To wit, he was a creeper. What else can I call a twenty-five year old guy who tries to have sex with a seventeen year old?

And yes, Amber's still seventeen, no matter how many times she/Forman try to introduce the ambiguity of 'is she seventeen or twenty-four?' She has not aged physically, emotionally, or experientially, since the day she died. She's seventeen.

The closest Calvin has to an excuse is that he was drunk off his ass at the time, and thought he was hallucinating. To be fair, the scene was written in such a jerky and abrupt manner, I had to reread it several times, just to make sure it actually happened, myself. Still. It was gross. Moreover, it was not brought up again, not discussed as something Calvin feels remorse for, and not challenged by the narrative. Seriously?

I don't get the sense that Forman was writing in bad faith. I can't imagine she intended the subtext After Life manifested. But by god, that's what wound up on the page, and maybe someone in the editing process should have pointed it out before now. With this in mind, I will round up my 1.5 star rating to a 2 instead of rounding it down to a 1. But truly, I had to weigh this decision.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books/Quill Tree Books for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions within are my own.

Gayle Forman's After Life is pitch-perfect., even if I suspected how it would end. The plot moved well, the characters were believable. Hard to believe it is a YA novel, as it has much to teach adults, too.

I wasn't quite sure what direction this novel was ultimately going to take but I became very invested in this story and how all the characters lives are interwoven and connected. This was a really emotional book that really makes you think about what's important and how people impact your life.