After multiple reading "failures" this month, I am happy to say that Ferryman captured my interest. I loved the concept, the writing, and for the most part, the characters. It was a quick read and captivated me enough to finish it within a day.

What I loved so much about Ferryman is that it asks the question most of humanity has been asking for thousands of years, What happens to us after death? McFall does a beautiful job of giving us the possibility of life after death and building the world of the afterlife.

Characters
I probably shouldn't start with the characters because this is where my debate for star rating lies.

Dylan is a young adult who lives a relatively quiet and secluded life. Her mum is a nurse, and her dad is out of the picture. This whole story starts with her finally getting in contact with her absentee father and getting the chance to spend a long week with him. On her way to meeting her father, for the first time, she dies in a terrible accident.

Dylan, in those first 30 pages, was annoying. She was whiny, constantly asking questions, and had a very annoying inner dialogue. At times I just wanted to skip her entirely. However, she does start to gain traction and has some great growth after the beginning. She is an old soul for a young adult and reacted to her whole death very maturely.

Tristan, is a mystery. He is a Ferryman whose job is to guide souls to their eternity. Like any young adult male, Tristan was broody, beautiful, and instantly attracted to the main female character. Unlike Dylan, there is no history with Tristan. His sole existence is based on delivering souls. This ends up making him feel like a paper cut-out and only existing for the romance's sake and safe-travels to the soul.

While each character had their merits, they were cut out cardboards in the end.

Plot
For the most part, I enjoyed the plot.

The beginning, like the characters, was boring. Nothing happened for 50 or so pages, and it did become tedious to read Tristan and Dylan crossing this quite dull wasteland. Reading about hills, rocks, and Dylan's dislike of physical exercise is quite cumbersome.

Also, I could have done without the constant explanations and complaints of the bland surroundings. The author should have written a more exciting wasteland for Dylan if that's the case.

However, I loved the race against the wraiths, the challenges they faced with Dylan's ever-changing emotions and the question of what's after the wastelands. I think the plot picked up towards the last few chapters, and it makes me curious what McFall has planned for the next book.

Worldbuilding
The worldbuilding is what captured me and kept me reading. It's also why I am debating my rating for this book. McFall has created an afterlife that is both intriguing and terrifying.

Before a soul can live a peaceful existence, they have to cross the Wasteland. The in-between world of Life and Death. The exciting thing is that while the Wasteland has an actual setting (red skies, red dirt, dark, dead souls), each soul's personal preference changes the surroundings. For Dylan, it was a hilly landscape (a mirror of what it looked like when she was on her way to see her father).

This keeps the soul calm and collected as they cross this in-between world. If they aren't calm, the weather changes, it gets dark...and when it gets dark, the bad things come out, the wraiths.

The wraiths are creatures that survive, devouring the souls crossing the wastelands. If the Ferryman lets go, doesn't keep his charge calm during the journey, or doesn't reach the safe houses before dark, these wraiths will start to swarm and drag the souls beneath the earth to die permanently and rise as a wraith. I loved that these creatures existed within the story; it gives this sense that there are challenges to overcome even in the afterlife. It gave spice to the story, and it didn't make it easy for our characters.

What intrigued me was the system behind ferryman. Each ferryman appears to their charge as either a past family member, old friend, or even someone attractive. They change based on the needs of the soul. This, too, is to keep the soul calm through the journey of the Wasteland. They also can order the soul.

Romance
What would young adult literature be without insta-love or, in this case, insta-attraction? While the love did take time to build (sort of), the attraction was instantaneous. The romance is based mainly on appeal and has little to do with compatibility and ideal. While Tristan knew everything about Dylan (due to his ferryman abilities), Dylan knew little to nothing of Tristan - even in the end. So to me, the romance was quite silly, but that's young adult literature for you.

Conclusion
All in all, this was a good read. I wish we had more to the plot and less of getting from point A to B. I wish that the romance wasn't an insta-attraction situation and that the characters felt like they had more personality. 

However, I did enjoy the world build and the after-life that McFall has created. After the ending, I want to know what happens next, so I will probably pick up the next book.