The Everafter

By: Amy Huntley

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

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 she has in this place are luminescent objects that turn out to be all the things Maddy lost while she was alive. And soon she discovers that with these artifacts, she can reexperience - and sometimes 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 sometimes frightening truths about her life - and death.
This is a haunting and ultimately hopeful novel about the beauty of even the most insignificant moments - and the strength of true love even beyond death.

©2009 Amy Huntley (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Short, but Thoughtful YA Novel

This was an interesting little listen. I found the book after doing a narrator search for Tavia Gilbert, having listened to another of her books. This book was pretty good. I didn't have much of a clue what it would be like going in, and I found it pretty entertaining. The plot is a bit meandering, and there wasn't much suspense or build-up, but it was short enough that I didn't really mind. It jumped through time a lot, creating cool little vignettes about the main character's journey through life. There were, of course, a few story lines woven throughout, but the chapters pretty much could have been written in any order.

It was a cool premise and a good execution. I would definitely read another of Amy Huntley's books.

Intriguing Book!

I read this primarily because my daughter suggested it and I'm very glad I did. The narration was top notch. The story and characters were well crafted and interesting. ~ JTC ~

A Pleasant Surpise

Where does The Everafter rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Any additional comments?

This is a book about the Afterlife, or perhaps the pre-Afterlife is a better term. Madison awakes in a bubble floating in nowhere, she has no body and at first no sensations. She assumes she is dead. After a bit she can see points of light, which, upon closer examination turn out to be objects she lost during her lifetime (sweatshirt, bracelet...). These objects allow here to briefly return to the time and place where she lost them. This is all revealed in the first few pages.

(Spoiler, sort of) It doesn't get any more conventional as the story proceeds. I loved this book. Different, imaginative, and very well written. My only criticism is the story is too short! I wanted to learn more about Madison's past, her future, and the strange place she found herself in.

Tavia Gilbert is one of the best narrators I've heard and I've listened to a hundred or so books over the last 15 years. Rob Inglis (Lord of the Rings) is my current number one. If Ms. Gilbert demonstrates that she can present multiple characters (such as in The Hobbit) as wonderfully as this (mostly) first person narrative I will be impressed indeed.