NOT EVEN DEATH CAN TEAR THEM APART
Afterlove is a story about a teenager named Ash Persaud, who died on New Year's Eve. Because she's the last person to die in the new year, she gets to join a clan of girls and take the job of a reaper(willingly or otherwise). This gang is tasked to take away the souls of those who die and help them get to the other side on a boat, that takes them to wherever they wanna be. The only condition of this job (and the one they can't deny) is to stay away from the people from their 'before' life. Otherwise, there will be consequences.! But will this stop Ash to find her girlfriend and the only love of her life, Poppy? Will she put herself and poppy in any danger, just to spend some more time with her, even if it's just a few moments?
Afterlove is a beautiful queer love story between 2 teenage girls Ash and Poppy. All the characters are spot-on. From Ash's mum to Esen, it was a perfect blend of characters. Ash is a shy Indian/Guyanese girl, who is tired of kissing girls in the dark alleys who later pretend they aren't even gay. She wants to be with someone, but she is tired of the heartbreaks and the hopelessness that these girls bring. Poppy on the other hand is bold and speaks her heart. When Ash can't express herself, Poppy does it for her. They seemed like a perfect sweet couple.
Since I am an Indian myself, the storyline around Ash's family seemed so close to my heart. Her overprotective Mom is basically all desi moms. And the electricity-saver Dad is just our Dad..... or Mom.
I laughed so hard when Ash described Chai to Poppy. So, to clarify: Guys, 'Chai' means 'Tea'. So if you order Chai Tea, you are just ordering Tea Tea. Now does that make any sense? No right.! So please, it's not Chai Tea. It's either Chai or Tea.! Period.!
The book is really well-written. Tanya Byrne is an amazing writer. It was such a smooth read, that I read the whole thing in 2 sittings. The story just flows from one incident to another. You never get bored with a single page.
What hit me hard was the second last chapter, where Ash has the realization about love and life. It was so true, that I myself teared up a bit.
To sum up, Afterlife is a beautiful queer teen romance novel involving a brown girl (Yay.!) with a beautiful heartwarming ending. It's a highly recommended read from my side if you are into queer romance or romance novels in general.