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A review by skyhazzard
The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Reread December 2024
This is such a fun story and honestly I forgot some details so it was nice to be surprised again.
Original Review
“But love doesn’t always have to be about the happy ending. Love can be about beginnings, too.”
This book surprised me with how much I liked it. I figured I was going to enjoy it but not nearly as much as I did. I listened to the audiobook for this and they did a fantastic job, the narrator did a good job of conveying Holly's emotions and really making me feel for her character.
So basically Holly is kind of a terrible person at the beginning of this book, so much so she is deemed the Scrooge for the year and is visited by three ghosts to show her how much of a brat she's become. But instead of heeding their warnings she blows them off and ends up dead a couple days later and then is recruited to be the new Ghost of Christmas Past for Project Scrooge. 5 years later we pick back up with her and that's where the story continues.
It was really interesting to see the process behind Project Scrooge, it was a lot more than just showing up on Christmas Eve and presenting the past, present and future to the current Scrooge. They did a lot of research into their subjects, setting up surveillance, knowing where they'd be at all times, searching through their dreams and memories...it's basically a year round operation with a few months vacation.
Holly's still pretty much the same old Holly when we pick back up with her, she's basically just going with her new role because what else can she do. Slowly throughout the book you notice little changes about her and it was nice to see her progress.
I did kind of predict the ending but I liked it, it didn't happen in the exact way I thought it was going to. I really wish we'd gotten to see a bit more of her at the end.
"I can tell some of you want to be upset because this is a story where the girl doesn't end up with the hot guy. You were shipping me and Ethan."
OMG YES I FREAKING WAS!! That's the one thing I was sad about because I liked them together so much. In my mind, a few years down the road when he's no longer 12 in her current time, I'm hoping they bump into each other and something starts up again. Especially in a world where his dad didn't die and he grew up being the nice, charming guy he should have been.
Also, I think about midway through I realized that that years Scrooge was all set up for her to redeem herself. I really liked how it all came together.
This is such a fun story and honestly I forgot some details so it was nice to be surprised again.
Original Review
“But love doesn’t always have to be about the happy ending. Love can be about beginnings, too.”
This book surprised me with how much I liked it. I figured I was going to enjoy it but not nearly as much as I did. I listened to the audiobook for this and they did a fantastic job, the narrator did a good job of conveying Holly's emotions and really making me feel for her character.
So basically Holly is kind of a terrible person at the beginning of this book, so much so she is deemed the Scrooge for the year and is visited by three ghosts to show her how much of a brat she's become. But instead of heeding their warnings she blows them off and ends up dead a couple days later and then is recruited to be the new Ghost of Christmas Past for Project Scrooge. 5 years later we pick back up with her and that's where the story continues.
It was really interesting to see the process behind Project Scrooge, it was a lot more than just showing up on Christmas Eve and presenting the past, present and future to the current Scrooge. They did a lot of research into their subjects, setting up surveillance, knowing where they'd be at all times, searching through their dreams and memories...it's basically a year round operation with a few months vacation.
Holly's still pretty much the same old Holly when we pick back up with her, she's basically just going with her new role because what else can she do. Slowly throughout the book you notice little changes about her and it was nice to see her progress.
I did kind of predict the ending but I liked it, it didn't happen in the exact way I thought it was going to. I really wish we'd gotten to see a bit more of her at the end.
OMG YES I FREAKING WAS!! That's the one thing I was sad about because I liked them together so much. In my mind, a few years down the road when he's no longer 12 in her current time, I'm hoping they bump into each other and something starts up again. Especially in a world where his dad didn't die and he grew up being the nice, charming guy he should have been.
Also, I think about midway through I realized that that years Scrooge was all set up for her to redeem herself. I really liked how it all came together.