Riley and her live in heaven

Radiance by Alyson Noel. First Scholastic printing, January 2011

Genre: a novel 

Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she’s summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher,Bodhi, a curious boy she can’t quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who’s been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he’s never met Riley…

The workings of afterlife, called “Here” in this case, are commonly disputed and the perfect basis for world-building. You can do anything with it that you’d like – it’s fiction! Alyson’s take on the afterlife in Radiance is like nothing I’ve read before. In fact, it’s like nothing I’ve ever considered or heard of. The concept of there being levels and goals you must reach to in order to get to the next level is an intriguing, almost video game-like one. Immediately, there’s a goal, there’s a purpose, and I, as a reader, know where the book is heading.

"You do know you can manifest a whole new wardrobe right? We’re really not bound to the mistakes of our past. So go ahead, knock yourself out. Just close your eyes and ask – What would Joe Jonas wear?"

I pick this book because the topic it seems interesting to me what happens after you die?. And I related this story with what happened to my mom and her sister. My aunt that I never met, died very young in her twenties, she was older than my mom. My mom admire her, my mom always said that my mom was very pretty and she likes her personality. My aunt died in a car accident too just like Riley. My aunt's name was Beatriz Silvia Duran Alicedo and my mom named me Beatriz Silvia Quinteros Alicedo. 

I give the book 5 paws.