You know when you are being polite and letting everyone else go first at the buffet line? Maybe you see that tasty treat sitting there, calling your name? But being overly polite, you look away, hesitate, and shuffle around a bit, until everyone else seems to have filled their plates and walked off to find a seat.
That's how I felt waiting, waiting, waiting to see if anyone else had taken @gracepro's story for the @dreemport collaboration with @hivebookclub and #Scholarandscribe! I REALLY wanted the chance to review her, because you see... she was the Scholar of the Year for 2022!
Imagine my delight as everyone had filled their plates, wandered off to find a seat - leaving me with this tasty little treat to devour!
Go ahead and click on that image if you'd like to be swept away into her story!
@gracepro is a 12 year old writer that is already mastering the art of pulling her readers into the heart of her novella! Right from the beginning, it starts with intrigue. There are no heavy details to bog you down with too much information -nothing to keep track of, as you flip the pages! Instead she gives you bits of info along with dialogue and interesting character development, so that you have all that you need as the plot unfolds.
The Afterlife is a tale about the supernatural world of souls who have passed on. In the first scenes we meet a small group of "young" souls (those who have died as children) whose purpose is to assist those still on earth in various ways: guiding them to the afterlife, affecting the weather, infiltrating their dreams, etc. The main character is given a sort of vision as he is helping a new "trainee", and must decide if he will try to interfere in earthly matters to save a life, or if he will remain uninvolved.
As the first scene opens, you're hit with a lot of first person narrative statements, but they work well. In this fast-paced setting, that constant drip from the Alex (the protagonist) is welcomed, as he quickly relays his supernatural surroundings to the reader.
The author's use of dialogue in the story is smooth and fluid, allowing you to actually see the conversations happening. Before you realize it, you're watching the characters act out a "play" before you - instead of merely reading text. @gracepro's characters are likable, relatable and easy to form reader-character connections.
Several times, @gracepro breaks the fourth wall with dry humor and sarcasm! This subtle nod to the reader beyond the pages doesn't feel forced, or break her stride. A simple acknowledgement that you're still tracking with her is all she needs, and then she's off and running with the story again.
The pace of the book is my preferred pace. When authors pull back from the characters and dialogue to describe the scene, it can be difficult to pull their readers back into the previous momentum. @gracepro avoids the need for this by balancing her writing out well, making it easy for the reader to hunger for more! I found myself smiling and leaning into the screen as I gobbled up the sentences faster and faster. Indeed, her flow tugs you along so effortlessly, that you're finished with one blog and onto the next before you realize!
This on-chain serial fiction is still in creation, and though you might be initially intimidated by committing to following a story in progress, I would highly recommend that you join Alex in The Afterlife, for a great read! And while you're at it, you can encourage one of our up and coming YOUNG authors here on #hive to keep creating valuable content! Well done, @gracepro! Please feel free to ADD ME as a tag on the post, or in the comment section as you continue this story!
cover image is screenshot, edited from @gracepro's public blog.
This post has been a review for the DreemPort Challenge this month where we are collaborating with the @hivebookclub and @scholarandscribe communities! We still have 2 more weeks of book reviews (both on-chain and off-chain) and lots of prizes and rewards up for grabs! If you'd like to join in - follow along at @dreemport to get the details for next week!