The Afterwards

Author A.F. Harrold, illustrated by Emily Gravett
Narrator Sarah Ovens
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
Run Time 3 hours and 2 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Children’s / Teenage fiction and true stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Action and adventure stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Fantasy, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General fiction, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Death and bereavement, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Friends and friendships.

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What to expect

Fact: Ember and Ness are best friends.

There’s nothing more to say about it. It is what it is. It is what will always be. Ember and Ness.

Then Ness dies. It is sudden and unexpected and leaves Ember completely empty. How can this be?

When Ember finds a way into the Afterworld, she determines to bring Ness back. Because that’s what friends do isn’t it? They rescue each other. They help. They never give up. Ember and Ness. That don’t change.

A powerful, poignant, darkly comic and deeply moving story about friendship at its most extraordinary.

Critics Review

A brave, challenging and beautifully written book that unflinchingly confronts death, grief and denial, but which is redeemed by a dark humour and, beneath everything, a beating heart of love
Daily Mail
Gripping and poignant, a look at what it means to be brave and alive in the face of loss
Kirkus, starred review
Inventively meshes – and blurs – the realistic and the fanciful … Aided by Gravett’s evocative art, Harrold brings this eerie, Briticism-laced tale about accepting change, letting go, and love’s indissoluble bonds to an affecting finale that is very much grounded in real life
Publishers Weekly
By turns scary and funny, touching without being sentimental, and beautifully illustrated by Emily Gravett, The Imaginary is a delight from start to finish
Financial Times on THE IMAGINARY
A moving read about loyalty and belief in the extraordinary
Guardian on THE IMAGINARY
This is young fiction of the very best quality, showcasing inspiration, inventiveness and an intoxicating passion for storytelling. The Imaginary has the potential to be a family favourite and a future classic
Booktrust on THE IMAGINARY
A witty story that intimately explores loss from a child’s perspective
CBI Mind Yourself 2020 Reading Guide

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