Life After Theft

by Aprilynne Pike

YA Contemporary

Book Description

Moving to a new high school sucks. Especially a rich-kid private school. With uniforms. But nothing is worse than finding out the first girl you meet is dead. And a klepto.

No one can see or hear Kimberlee except Jeff, so–in hopes of bringing an end to the snarkiest haunting in history–he agrees to help her complete her “unfinished business.” But when the enmity between Kimberlee and Jeff’s new crush, Sera, manages to continue posthumously, Jeff wonders if he’s made the right choice.

MY THOUGHTS: 3 OUT OF 5 FLEURS DE LIS

Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike

Aprilynne Pike is the author of one my my favorite series ever, Wings. Unfortunately this contemporary stand along offering from her doesn’t strike my fancy as much as her fairy series did.

The story is told by Jeff, who on his first day at the fancy Whitestone Academy discovers that he is the only one who can see the ghost of dead student Kimberlee. And Kimberlee quickly recruits him to help her accomplish a monumental task so she can pass on. Things become bigger than Jeff expects, and he soon comes to learn the truth about some of the people he goes to school with.

At first I really got into the story and found it original, but the second half really dragged for me. Jeff was sarcastic and Kimberlee was mean but funny, however, I found Sera kind of maudlin and boring. I actually enjoyed Kimberlee’s interactions with Jeff more than I did Sera and Jeff’s relationship.

After a second half that struggled, the ending was kind of meh. Everything worked out OK for everyone, but the reasons behind certain things were not fully explained.

I just don’t have much at all to say about this book, good or bad. I found it uninspiring but maybe others will enjoy it.

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