ARC Book Review | Find Me After by A.Connors – The best book of the year so far.

Dearest Readers, today I am so excited to bring you my book review of one of my most anticipated reads of 2024. Last year I read an incredible debut that was my favoruite book of last year, The Girl Who Broke the Sea. It’s a book that I haven’t stopped recommending. So today I’m bringing you my glowing review of Adam’s second book, Find Me After – which is out in July.

Find Me After by A. Connors
Published by Scholastic on July, 4th 2024
Genres: Action & Adventure, Dystopian, Sci-Fi, Thriller, UKYA, Young Adult Fiction
Amazon | Waterstones

Where do you go when you're not quite gone?
After suffering an epileptic seizure, Kyle finds himself in a world that looks like ours but where nothing feels the same. This is the Stillness: an eerie, liminal alternative reality populated by those who are caught between life and death.

Here, he meets his real-world crush, Farah, who is also unconscious back home. But as they get to know each other in the Stillness, they must face the possibility of forgetting each other in the real world. The way back to life is fraught with danger, and time, for both of them, is running out...

*First off I want to start by saying HUGE thank you to Scholastic who has gifted me a pre-proof ARC copy that I read as soon as I got it. I feel very lucky to have recieved this. Made my week.*

Do you feel nervous when you love the first book of author so much and wonder what their second book will be like? That was me. As soon as I got this book, I dropped everything to read it and just like last time, I couldn’t put it down. I love a book that completely consumes you, that invades you every thought process. To give you a book hangover. It will be no surprise if you follow me that I devoured and loved The Girl Who Broke the Sea last year and it’s now one of my all time favourite books. I believe I said ‘This book is impossible to put down’ and ‘This book is genuis’ and this was exactly the same for Find Me After.

Kyle is epileptic, but what happens during a seizure, what happens if you find yourself in fragment of the ordinary world. That’s exactly where Kyle find himself, on the opposite side of his seizure, into the Stillness. It feels wrong but right at the same time. His journey through this world, he meets Farah a mean girl from school who he had a crush on and little boy name Chui. Together they explore and play Uno a lot whilst searching for a way a back to the real world.

Adam’s books are epic combination of character and plot driven. But what I love about his writing is the character development. Kyle is shell of who he is in the ordinary, real world. He’s hidden at home as his eplisesy consume him and his life. It stops him from being who is but in this world, in this Stillness he’s able to do things he always wanted to. A way to see the best version of himself and that there is hope and not let epilepsy define him. This world has given Kyle a second chance especially with Farah. His bravery, courage is held no bounds in this existence, he was able to right his mistakes he didn’t have the courage to make including asking a Farah out.

You really empathise with the characters. I loved the relationship between Kyle and Farah developed, the slow burn romance and found friendship they built especially when they brought Chui into the fold. It’s almost like the outcasts of the real world had become the hero’s of the Stillness.

A. Connors is a very unique writer. Find Me After is YA book that is inspired by real and personal experiences. I loved the change in direction in this book and I was pleasantly surprised by how different the plot-line was. His books are founded on real if a little horrifying scientific research that gave me goosebumps just thinking about it. It feeds off it. The atmosphere reminded me of War of the Worlds, with the desolate landscape and world building, the world itself doesn’t play by the rules. You can’t help but be sucked into the book. His writing style is movie quality for me and what I found that makes his books such an immersive experience.

Find Me After is another incredibly compelling book that I couldn’t put down. I read and devoured this book and it’s easily my new favourite of the year. Imaginative and hauntingly real. Inspired by true experience. A page turner. Still to this day it gives me goosebumps.

Thank you again to Scholastic UK for sending me a pre-proof in exchange for a review.