What Comes After

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81l+FvZ+nML
Author(s)
Age Range
12+
Release Date
April 29, 2025
ISBN
978-0399545283
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Mari never gave much thought to the afterlife before her untimely demise, but she certainly didn’t think it would be an experimental wellness enclave called Paradise Gate—a place where the newly dead go to sort out the unfinished business of their lives. She also didn’t think the biggest problem to plague her in life would follow her into the great beyond: her also recently deceased mother, Faye. Mari quickly realizes Faye is her unfinished business, and in order to move on to whatever’s next, she’ll have to find a way to forgive her dysfunctional mother for being no mother at all. But there’s so much to forgive: never holding down a steady job, never having a stable home, and abandoning Mari in the end.

It’s a lot to sort through, but faced with the possibility of being turned out into the abyss, Mari gets to work. She enrolls in the prescribed self- actualization classes (think: journaling, positive self-talk, and lots of Youga™). It all seems pretty hokey, but still, the assignments force Mari to confront difficult truths about her past.

When a shocking revelation about Mari’s death captures the attention of the afterlife media, Mari is suddenly in the spotlight, her messy history being judged by the whole realm. She finds escape in an equally troubled boy, who takes Mari to an obscure part of Paradise Gate and introduces her to rebels who show Mari that this “wellness center” is not all it pretends to be. With classmates disappearing and an afterlife revolution brewing, Mari must decide whether to play it safe or break the rules. At stake? Her eternal fate. Literally.

Editor review

1 review
What Comes After
(Updated: June 11, 2026)
Overall rating
 
3.7
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
3.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
After sixteen-year-old Mari dies, she finds herself in a place that isn't the stereotypical version of heaven. Seems that she's in a place that requires all souls to do endless self-motivation projects to prepare to 'ascend' to whatever is next. When she dies, she finds her roommate is her dead mother, who had her own issues. Add to all this are rumors that some souls are going missing. But where? And why doesn't anyone like it when she questions what's happening?

What worked: The Good Place meets an afterlife filled with conspiracies. The humor is dark and filled with pop culture and social media references. There's even computers and self-help gurus. Youga is a hilarious attempt at yoga that focuses on you!

Mari is the girl who tries so hard to get ahead, even when her flaky mother seems oblivious to anyone besides herself. So when Mari dies and finds the very person she tried not to be around is now her roommate, that causes more than a little friction.

The social media cues are sprinkled throughout this fast-paced paranormal story that has a wicked twist on the whole 'pearly gates of heaven.' Seems the troubles and issues you had while alive follow you in the next life.

I liked how the author doesn't make Faye the villain but rather more multi-dimensional. She has a good heart but isn't perfect. But who is?

Mari's attempts to find out more about the missing souls lead to her self-reflection. When it's mentioned that she was a hero before her death, Mari questions that. The paparazzi are also part of the hereafter with their half-truths. Plus, some are part of a rebellion to unveil what's really going on and why some souls are just 'disappearing.'

Intriguing concept of a hereafter that isn't the typical angels and endless choirs singing hallelujah. This is a story of a teen who searches for the why behind her death and the truth behind mysterious disappearances.
Good Points
1. THE GOOD PLACE meets conspiracy theory
2. Intriguing concept
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