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Review: The Afterwards

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Some books exude a need to carry them around with you, clutching them close to your chest. The Afterwards is one of those books; at least the hardback version was for me. Some might argue this is not a book for children however, I think it recognises every note of childhood assumption and optimism and allows them to resonate with all the veracity of a typical ten-year-old.   It is a story about loss and losing, of reuniting and realisations, of hanging on and letting go. December and Happiness (Ember and Ness) are best friends, inseparable and as solid as rock candy. When Ness’ death abruptly separates them, Ember is determined to find her way to the Afterworld, a transitional ethereal facsimile of her own world where the dead linger – echo - until they eventually melt from existence. The Afterworld is a sad, colourless place devoid of life’s vital spark. Yet Ember is unperturbed by the Afterworld’s morbidity and although she finds it hard to breathe the air of the soulless