Personally, I'm rather fond of paranormal fiction along with
young adult books (despite being in my mid-twenties...sigh!) In perfect honesty
here, I'll say that my interest had waned somewhat with the constant stream of
YA paranormal and 'gothic' novels that seem to be dominating the bookstores
right now. Even though there are some definite gems hidden amongst them, I was
already starting to look for something a bit different. And quite by accident,
I found it - in the form of Tamsyn Murray's ghostly teen tale My So-Called
Afterlife.
It definitely stood out. It seemed funny, quirky and somewhat reminiscent of Cally Taylor's 2009 supernatural chick-lit novel Heaven Can Wait, which is a personal favourite of mine and probably always will be. So needless to say I had to check out Tamsyn's offering, and I was glad I did.
Lucy Shaw was just fifteen when she was murdered on her way home from a New Year's Eve party. And being a ghost, she's doomed to remain in the place of her death which, unfortunately for Lucy, is the mens' loos on the corner of Carnaby Street. Unable to escape. Lucy has grown to accept that she'll be stuck haunting smelly toilets for the rest of her existence - that is, until she meets Jeremy. He may be in his late twenties and terribly unfashionable, but he can see her. And that's all that matters.
Yep, somewhat psychic Jeremy can see Lucy, and for the first time in the lonely months since her death, Lucy can finally find some answers. Such as what's happening in Eastenders, and what's going on in the world of the WAGS. But Jeremy's convinced that Lucy's still roaming the earth for another reason - that reason being her killer. And so he finds a way to release her from the loos and get her to the Dearly Departed, a London spiritualist church where ghosts regularly congregate. There she meets emotionally unstable Emo girl Rosie (aka Hep), the beautiful yet bitchy-to-boot queen bee Kimberely, and the gorgeous Ryan. Who, much to Lucy's surprise, really seems to like her too.
Whilst Lucy is enjoying hanging out with friends (and a potential boyfriend!) for the first time in months of being alone and sleeping in a toilet cleaner's cupboard, Jeremy is intent on solving the mystery of Lucy's killer, in the hope that she can finally move on. But Lucy's not so sure. Why move on now, when she's meeting some great new people and has the perfect love interest in tow? Just when the afterlife was starting to get interesting...
It didn't take me long to finish My So-Called Afterlife as it was quite addictive and I couldn't wait to find out Lucy's fate. There were some rather sad moments, but plenty of laughs and Tamsyn's hilarious writing shone through brilliantly, making the sarcastic yet loveable teenage Lucy a wonderful narrator. The characters, albeit just a little bit cliché, were still a great cast and I couldn't help but like Lucy's new band of friends - even the fame-seeking Kimberley.
This is a great book and one I'm glad I stumbled across as it's definitely a refreshing change from many of the YA novels available. It's a heartwarming, funny, romantic teen tale of the afterlife that will delight teenage and adult readers alike.
Rating: 5/5
Like this? Try Heaven Can Wait by Cally Taylor, or Jinx by Meg Cabot
