No one could be more disappointed about Mari's sudden death than Mari, herself. And if she ever thought about the afterlife, she certainly didn't think it would be a suburban enclave called Paradise Gate or that the biggest problem to plague her in life would follow her into the great beyond: her recently deceased mother, Faye. But that is exactly who greets her when Mari opens her eyes in the In Between - where the newly dead with no religious affiliation come to work out the unfinished business of their lives so they can ascend to whatever's next. Mari realises quickly Faye is her unfinished business and in order to ascend and join her loving grandparents, she'll have to make peace with and forgive her dysfunctional mother for being no mother at all But there's too much to forgive: never holding down a steady job, never having a stable home, Mari having to constantly change schools and in the end, Faye choosing her criminal boyfriend over Mari. It's a lot to sort through, but Mari tries to keep her eye on the ball - attending classes at the Center like Youga and sending grief scarves sailing in Expressive Arts to move her vibe tracker from an angry unsettled red to an ascend-worthy green - all the while trying to remember how she died and deal with Faye, who, of course, is in danger of being kicked out of Paradise Gate altogether. But then Mari discovers in addition to mother drama, there's even friend drama and boy drama to be found in the afterlife and none are good for her vibes. Even worse is the suspicion that Paradise Gate isn't at all what it purports to be... and revolution may be afoot.

About the Author
When Katie Bayerl isn't penning stories, she coaches teens and nonprofits to tell theirs. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has taught creative writing in schools and a variety of community settings. Katie has an incurable obsession with saints, bittersweet ballads, and murder. She is the author of A Psalm for Lost Girls and What Comes After.

Reviews
Praise for What Comes After:

"A teenage girl who's used to fending for herself dies on her way to the SATs and realizes that her life has only just begun...An intriguing examination of the things that keep us trapped-postmortem or otherwise."-Kirkus Reviews

"This innovative and existential novel by Bayerl (A Psalm for Lost Girls)-reminiscent of The Good Place-offers raw, realistic insights into Mari and her mother's troubled relationship.-Publishers Weekly



Book Information
ISBN 9780399545283
Author Katie Bayerl
Format Hardback
Page Count 416
Imprint Nancy Paulsen Books
Publisher Nancy Paulsen Books
Weight(grams) 502g
Dimensions(mm) 210mm * 140mm * 26mm