Thursday, April 18, 2013

Life After Theft (Book Review)

Thursday, April 18, 2013 2:38 PM with 4 comments

Life After Theft
Life After Theft


Author: Aprilynne Pike
Publisher: HarperTeen
Number of Pages: 352
Release Date: April 30, 2013


My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars


Synopsis from Goodreads:
Moving to a new high school sucks. Especially a rich-kid private school. With uniforms. But nothing is worse than finding out the first girl you meet is dead. And a klepto.

No one can see or hear Kimberlee except Jeff, so--in hopes of bringing an end to the snarkiest haunting in history--he agrees to help her complete her "unfinished business." But when the enmity between Kimberlee and Jeff's new crush, Sera, manages to continue posthumously, Jeff wonders if he's made the right choice.

Clash meets sass in this uproarious modern-day retelling of Baroness Orczy's
The Scarlet Pimpernel.


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MY THOUGHTS:

When I saw the cover for Life After Theft on Edelweiss I didn't even read the synopsis. I just hit the download button and continued on my merry way, "shopping" for more Spring/Summer new releases . And wouldn't you? Just look at that gorgeous cover! So I had no idea what it was about when I started reading. When I realized it was about a girl ghost trapped on Earth and the only boy who could see her, I almost stopped reading. How many times can authors try to make love between a ghost and a human happen? I mean, for real, the logistics of that is just insanely stupid, but I soldiered on, and am very glad I did.

Life After Theft doesn't focus on ghost/human love. At all. Which was awesome. Instead it focuses on why the ghost, Kimberlee, is still stuck on Earth, instead of drifting off to whatever afterlife exists. Kimberlee was not a good person when she was alive. She was the pretty, popular girl who ruled with fear instead of kindness. And she was a thief. A big one. She believes that she is trapped because all of the stuff that she stole needs to be returned to its rightful owner before she can float away. That is where Jeff comes in. She needs Jeff to return everyone's things and she will not leave him alone until he helps her. He agrees to help, but is shocked when he sees the boxes and boxes (and boxes) of stuff Kimberlee has hidden in the cave on her parent's private beach.

Jeff is the new boy in school. He didn't know Kimberlee when she was alive and doesn't understand the importance of the things Kimberlee took. He quickly falls for the beautiful and sweet Sera, who hated Kimberlee and whom Kimberlee hates right back. Sera has a past that she is trying to put behind her and has a large, overprotective brother looking out for her.

When Sera's brother, Khail, finds Jeff breaking into his locker in order to return something Kimberlee had taken from him, Khail is roped into helping Jeff return the stolen loot because, even though he can't see her himself, he wants Kimberlee out of his and Sera's life for good.

I really enjoyed Life After Theft. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen, when I would roll my eyes at the cliche I thought was right around the corner, the book would surprise me. The character arc of Kimberlee was convincing and well-done. I liked the blossoming relationship between Jeff and Sera. And I was straight-up thankful that this book never once veered into the story of the love between a boy and his ghost.

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange of an honest.*

4 comments:

  1. Yay! Great review. I love that it wasn't predictable.

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  2. Great review, Nat! I am a bit over the books that try and make love between a human a ghost work, too, so I am glad this had a different focal point!

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  3. First time I've seen this title, it sounds really good! i'm glad you enjoyed it.

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  4. Hi Natalie, great review. I wasn't familiar with this book, but it sounds intriguing. I can see why the cover sucked you in- lol. It is gorgeous looking. Thanks for sharing :)

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Hello, there! Thanks for taking the time to comment. I read each and every one and will do my best to respond--usually on your blog instead of on mine. I will, however, always answer direct questions. Due to serious time restraints, this blog is now an award free zone, but I appreciate the thought!