Afterwards
Publication Date: April 24, 2012
Pages: 400
Have you ever read a book that seemed so familiar to you you could have sworn you have read it before. Like literary
dejavu? That is the feeling I got when I read
Afterwards, by Rosamund Lupton. Even though it is a newly published
book (in the States) I was so sure I had read it or something similar before.
Afterwards is about a Mother, Grace, who has her worst nightmare come true. She is standing outside the school that her son, Adam, attends and her daughter, Jenny, is volunteering at this summer when she sees that the building is on fire. Grace does the one thing that any other Mother would do in that situation, knowing that Adam is safe, she runs into the burning building to save her daughter, Jenny. We next find Jenny and Grace experiencing "
out of body experiences" - together they wander the halls of the hospital and listen in as the doctors try to save their lives and the police, including her prickly Sister-In-Law Sarah, try to find out who started the fire and why. As the days pass and the situation becomes dire for Jenny, Grace tries everything possible to let someone, anyone
know that it is okay to let her go
in order to save Jenny. Will she be able to get through to her husband before it's too late? Or will both Jenny and Grace
be lost to their loved
ones forever?
Ms. Lupton made a huge splash on the literary scene last year with her blockbuster bestseller,
Sister. While
Afterwards also explores the inexplicable connections that we have with our loved ones it is also a heart racing mystery. And the "whodunit"
in the end will just leave you speechless. But it is the "connection" side of the story that had me in tears towards the end. I don't want to give anything away, but just know that it is a bit gut wrenching and
you should have a box of tissues nearby.
So the whole "
out of body experience" plot ring a bell with anyone else? I went back through my blog entries from last year and it occurred to me what it was,
If This is Paradise, I Want My Money Back by Claudia Carroll. But with a much darker theme. Bottom line is that
Afterwards is an emotionally charged mystery novel that will stay with you for
quite awhile after you read the last page.
I loved the Reese Witherspoon movie Just Like Heaven so I think I'll like this book a lot too. =]
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