The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: How a Remarkable Woman Crossed Seas and Empires to Become Part of World History
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From the author of 'Britons', the story of the exceptional life of the intrepid Elizabeth Marsh - an...
Secrets of the Spitfire: The Story of Beverley Shenstone, the Man Who Perfected the Elliptical Wing
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This book tells the tale of the brilliant aerodynamicist Beverley Shenstone MASc, HonFRAes,...
Freedom Highway by Rhiannon Giddens
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Freedom Highway, Grammy Award–winner and 2017 Grammy nominee Rhiannon Giddens’ follow-up to her...
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A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction
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You can use this book to design a house for yourself with your family; you can use it to work with...
The Swimming Pool
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'I can't take my eyes off the water. Can you?' It's summer when Elm Hill lido opens, having stood...
Melanie Caldicott (6 KP) rated Afterlove in Books
Apr 29, 2021
Afterlove is the story of Ash and Poppy and so powerful is their love for each other that it can transcend everything, even death!
I have mixed feelings about this book.
Ash and Poppy were likeable characters who Byrne depicts authentically with gorgeous, small details which helped to bring them to life. However, there were aspects of them that were opaque and I felt that some of the events they shared needed to be explored in more depth as sometimes I felt it made them seem a little shallow. For example, their family lives are explored in certain parts of the book but it felt to me like they were ignored when it was convenient for the author.
Their relationship was at times beautifully depicted, yet I also felt it had a tinge of Romeo and Juliet to it where it felt a little bit too all-consuming, too tragic and didn't reflect the other parts of who Ash and Poppy really were. I think love stories that constrict the meaning of a person's life to this one relationship can feel a little unrealistic and over-simplistic. I would have preferred to have the complexity of the grief the characters must have felt for the the loss of life explored more broadly than just how it related to the love of each other.
It was obvious that Byrne had a lot to say about grief and loss in this book and this was handled well, exploring their pain with tenderness and the emptiness loss leaves with hope. However, whilst the device of Ash becoming a grim reaper was novel I felt it left me a little dry and, along with the conclusion of the novel it did not adequately cover the depths of loss or what it can feel like to be left alone when someone dies.
I'm sure that there are many readers who will enjoy this YA book both for its exploration of teenage lesbian romance and for the way it grapples with grief and loss. Overall, I found the book enjoyable and engaging, but with a few flaws which led to the plot not quite melding with the themes it was trying to explore.
You can also read my review and others at https://roamingthroughbooks.wordpress.com/
Lil Pics - Photo Editor
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Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy
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"With great compassion and analytical rigor, Cottom questions the fundamental narrative of American...
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Can you survive in the world destroyed after a nuclear war? With radiation, hunger and diseases...