Afterlove
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4.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In this powerful, all-encompassing YA love story, a girl who becomes a grim reaper must figure out what the future holds—especially when it comes to the girlfriend she left behind.
When Ashana Persaud meets Poppy Morgan on a school trip, she’s sure it’s too good to be true. Ash has never had much luck with girls, but Poppy proves different. Coffee dates turn to museum trips until, soon, the two girls can see a future together—one that’s seemingly snatched from them when a hit-and-run takes Ash’s life on New Year’s Eve.
As the last person to die before midnight, Ash is bestowed the title of reaper, tasked with finding lost souls and helping them cross over. Only those close to death can perceive a reaper, so when Ash runs into Poppy one lonely night—and Poppy recognizes her—they can't be sure if it's the second chance they've so desperately wished for, or a tragedy lying in wait.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A teenager's life—and budding romance—is unceremoniously cut short when she dies and becomes a grim reaper in this otherworldly romance by British author Byrne. Despite differing financial circumstances and their experiencing homophobia within their Brighton community, the attraction between Indo-Guyanese British Ash Persaund and white-cued Poppy Morgan, both 16, blooms into an earnest courtship. But their romance is short-lived; when Ash is killed in a hit-and-run on New Year's Eve, she becomes a grim reaper, tasked with ferrying souls into the afterlife. Alongside fellow reapers—kind, white-cued Dev and snarky, brown-skinned Esen—and their mysterious Black leader, Deborah, Ash cares for Brighton teens' departed souls. She also dreams of a seemingly out-of-reach future with Poppy, until a chance encounter leaves Ash fearing that Poppy may join her sooner than she thinks. Though Ash's friendships with her reaper found family feel underdeveloped in a narrative that reveals few surprises, her nuanced and loving relationships with her parents and younger sister, and her sugar-sweet romance with Poppy—including their immediate connection, first date, and early sexual intimacy—are balanced with pensive ruminations on death and loss. Tender, heartbreaking, and hopeful, this love story pulls on the heartstrings. Ages 14–up.
