The Afterlife

The Afterlife


By: Gary Soto
Reviewed by: Janette, 15
Rating: Didn't like it


This story centers around a boy named Jésus, also known as Chuy, when he discovers the afterlife following some unfortunate events that eventually led to his murder. He discovers that becoming a soul isn’t so bad, and ventures to visit his loved ones, face the consequence of his actions, and stumbles upon a past love. A short book, amusing with its occasional humor and plentiful use of the Spanish language, Gary Soto did provide a novel that would probably make all of us think twice about what to do with our lives. “The Afterlife” starts immediately with some intense scenes of Chuy being brutally stabbed in the bathroom of a nightclub, just for complimenting on someone’s shoes. This was not a very intense book about discovering the afterlife. Instead, once the book got started, it slowed down with no warning once the main character was a soul. The following chapters are full of unnecessary scenes that don’t necessarily involve furthering the plot, just futile attempts to take revenge and to visit loved ones. Though it takes another long 5 chapters, the plot starts to hasten when Chuy discovers his mother’s ulterior motives on revenge, he finds a fellow ghost mate, and he discovers that he’s beginning to disappear. Once he discovers the true identity of his new friend, the plot slows again with more unnecessary scenes until the book comes to a close. The ending is quite sappy and unsatisfying leaving many important questions from the readers unanswered.


Recommended to: To people who want a short read