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Title: Afterlife Academy.
Author: Jaimie Admans.
Publication Date: March 15th, 2013.
Publisher: Create Space.
Format: Kindle eBook.
Source: Recieved e-copy for blog tour.
My Rating:
Even being dead isn’t enough to get you out of maths class.
Dying wasn't on sixteen-year-old Riley Richardson's to-do list. And now, not only is she dead, but she's stuck in a perpetual high school nightmare. Worse still, she's stuck there with the geekiest, most annoying boy in the history of the world, ever.
In a school where the geeks are popular and just about everything is wrong, Riley has become an outcast. She begins a desperate quest to get back home, but her once-perfect life starts to unravel into something not nearly as great as she thought it was. And maybe death isn’t really that bad after all...
Welcome to Afterlife Academy, where horns are the norm, the microwave is more intelligent than the teachers, and the pumpkins have a taste for blood.
Review
I received an ARC eBook copy of this book for a blog tour, in exchange for an honest review.
Riley didn't think her boyfriend 'borrowing' his brother’s car and joy riding around town was a bad thing. That is until her boyfriend, Wade, runs over their high school nerd and bullying target; Anthony. After trying to swerve, a few seconds later everything is dark and Riley finds herself at Afterlife Academy; a high school for the dead - along with Anthony, who she was pretty sure Wade just killed. Afterlife Academy is a duplicate of their old high school and suddenly, Riley finds herself an outcast, pretty much friendless – and getting a taste of what life is like to those she tormented. Riley doesn’t want to stay at Afterlife Academy, she wants to go home to her friends and family, and there are rumours of an escape vortex. So Riley and Anthony decide to search the school to try and find their way home.
I loved this book so much; it was a lively and fantastic read. Even though it was a little tame and predictable at times, I found myself laughing with and at the characters and almost tearing up at one point. I’d recommend this book to anyone with a sense of humour, who loves example setting novels with a paranormal plot and anyone who just wants a light read.
Riley's character started off rude, mean and overly popular; pretty much all the characteristics that I hate. However, her character really grew on me as the book went on and I found that her character was funny, sort of sweet and was doing what basically like every girl in the world wants to do. She was trying to fit in. Riley is immature, even for her age of sixteen - she thinks the world revolves around her and her boyfriend. I know this is typical teenage behaviour at times, but you would think dying at your boyfriends hands would sombre you a bit - but apparently not. As the book goes on, Riley does mature a bit and finds out firsthand how horrible it is to be picked on and what it’s like to be an outcast. Because of this, her character blossoms and she realizes what she's been doing to people is wrong and wishes she could redeem herself.
Anthony's character was lovely. Even after all Riley did to him in the past, he was still willing to put it behind him and let bygones be bygones. Anthony continues to prove how much of a sweet guy he is throughout the book, being friends with Riley and being there for her all the time. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't be all too willing to befriend someone that had tormented me so much - so props to Anthony for being a mature adult about the situation. Along with being smart and a bit of a geek, Anthony is also funny, kind and generous - he's definitely a character I'd like as a friend!
Even though I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, there were a few things that bugged me. I found it increasingly annoying how Riley kept saying about Anthony having a calculator in his front pocket. I know she keeps trying to remind herself that he's a geek, but the repetition of that phrase really, really irked me. I thought that the book was a little rushed in places and I believe that it could have been slightly longer and more detailed. Also, I was a little disappointed about the way the romance was played out, I thought it could have been a little more in-depth – but that might just be me being a romance fanatic.
Overall, I really loved this book. Afterlife Academy wasn’t a perfect book, but very few are. I believe the 4/5 star rating fits it perfectly, it would have been given a 5/5 star rating if it weren’t for the few things that bugged me – but every book has its faults. Jaimie Adman’s writing is fantastic, fresh and funny – I honestly can’t wait to read more by her in the future.
Quotes
The growling sounds louder now, and when I glance down I'm not sure that I believe what I'm seeing. The candle inside the pumpkin is flickering madly and I'm almost positive that it's the jack-o'-lantern growling at me. The pumpkin.
Pumpkins don't growl. At least, they don't in my world. I stare at it. No. It's not possible. But still it growls. - Loc 585, 15%.
“Where is this growling pumpkin?”
“In my dorm room,” I say. “Sitting on a table by the window.”
“You sure it wasn’t a dog outside or something?”
“No, it was definitely the pumpkin. I felt it move. It looks seriously evil.”
“I don’t know why I’m surprised. So far we’ve seen a woman who dies in 1949, a kid disappear into thin air, and a woman with horns coming out of her forehead. And my resident advisor is so old I have no idea how he can stand up.”
“Mine too,” I say. “And he can run up the stairs like nobody’s business.” - Loc 675, 17%.
"So you're trying to get yourself expelled?"
I nod sullenly.
"Dare I ask what three little pigs have got to do with that?"
"They're just a prank," I say. I pull a marker out of my pocket and hold it up. "I was going to write on them. Label them numbers one, two and four and then let them loose in the school. The teachers will spend all day looking for number three." - Loc 3246, 85%.
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Jaimie is a 27-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, drinking tea and watching horror movies. She hates spiders and cheese & onion crisps. She has been writing for years, but has never before plucked up the courage to tell people. She writes mostly chick-lit and young adult. Kismetology is her first novel and there are plenty more on the way!
Thank you so much, Tiffa! I'm really glad you enjoyed the book, and thank you for all your comments. You've given me something to think about! I really appreciate that!
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