After Life by Gayle Forman is about second chances and how life connects us in unexpected ways.

Amber was killed by a hit and run driver when she was seventeen. Seven years later she returns home feeling as though it’s an ordinary day.

Learning about her accident sets her off on a mission to make sure her life had meaning. Her first impulse is to see her high school boyfriend. This encounter does not go as Amber expected. Neither does her mom’s reaction to seeing her.

The story comes together through multiple viewpoints at different times before her death: Amber’s, her younger sister, her parents, her boyfriend, a teacher and her former best friend.

This story is well written and thought provoking. It had me reaching for tissues by its conclusion.