Book Review- My So Called Afterlife by Tamsyn Murray

 Title: My So Called Afterlife

 Author: Tamsyn Murray

Series: Afterlife #1

 Published: February 26th 2010 by Piccadilly Press Ltd

 Length: 184 pages

Warnings: romance (has forgotton how far this goes, not too far.) , ghosts,

 Other info: There are currently two more books in the series, My So Called Haunting and My So Called Phantom Lovelife

Summary : Aaargh!' Stumbling backwards, the man's face flooded with embarassment. 'How long have you been there?' My mind fizzed furiously. He could see me. He could actually see me! I could have hugged him! Well, I couldn't, but you know what I mean.
Fifteen-year-old Lucy has been stuck in the men's loos since she was murdered there six months ago and Jeremy is the first person who's been able to see or hear her. Just her luck that he's a seriously uncool geography-teacher type - but at least he's determined to help. Once he's found a way for her to leave the loos, she's soon meeting other ghosts, including the gorgeous Ryan. However, when Jeremy insists that she helps him track down her killer, she has to confront her greatest fear...

 Review: Lucy was murdered in a toilet and is now a ghost. Not the most fun position for teenage girl to be in, especially as no-one can hear her and its pretty boring. And then Jeremy comes in, can see and hear her, and wants to help her solve her murder. She meets lots of ghosts, like stuck up Kimberly, was-suicidal Hep and  dreamboat Ryan. Jeremy then says that she needs to track down her killer, something Lucy isn’t particularly keen on. However she does, which is the basis of the book. 

The plot was original and funny. out of all the YA books out there, theres not too many that focus on  ghosts. I liked the little subplots  going on underneath Lucy’s adventure, such as getting Hep’s unfinished business finished, and the exorcism TV show. The romance wasn’t particularly bad or good, just being an average part of the book that I don’t think added or took anything away from the story.

I liked the characters and their strong distinctive personalities. I never got mixed up with the characters, which is good, and each was well built and easy to imagine.

I like the voice that was kept up throughout the book. It made Lucy easy to connect with and a little more real. The friendly narrative was easy to keep up with, explaining everything thats going on, and kept going at a pace fast enough for me to enjoy it.

There didn’t seem to be much that really stood out for me. It  was funny, light and a really easy read, but there was nothing that seemed to make it extremely amazing. The fact I read this a couple of days ago (weeks by the time this goes on the blog ^__^) and can only give you a quick summary should show this. This book is interesting and a good book, but theres nothing that really will stick in your mind forever. Maybe its due to its length-184 pages isn’t that much to pack a lot into.  I would like to read the sequel though.

Overall:  Strength 3 tea to My So Called Afterlife, a quick read for anyone who likes ghosts and romance. Mainly for girly girls. If you’re looking for spooks and gore, this isn’t it.