Summary
When Bea died, she was driving her car around, aimlessly, thinking about her little sister – her best friend, Emmy – and how she ruined Emmy’s life. One moment she’s looking into the eyes of the kid who hit her. The next, she’s on a weird airplane with strangers.
Turns out, Bea is in purgatory. And because of the abrasive, disagreeable way she lived her life, she has to work in the Memory Experience department, helping other souls deal with the regrets of their lives that have kept them from going to Heaven. Bea just has to help 5,000 others work through their issues, and then she gets to go to heaven, too.
But Caleb is one of the first soul’s assigned to Bea. And she realizes he’s the one from the accident. The guy who killed her. There’s no way she’s going to help him move onto Heaven after that! She’ll just have to find a way to sabotage him. Not enough so she gets into trouble and gets sent to Hell, but just enough to push him back into the lottery to wait for another chance at Heaven.
Review
This was SO quirky! The whole premise is a hoot! Bea spends the entire book in the “airport” of purgatory, with its gross food and odd characters and blank books. Periodically there’s a chapter about what happened before the accident on the day Bea died. It’s actually pretty tragic to think of what things could have been like for her family after her death.
Caleb’s a nice guy who has no idea about the connection to Bea. He goes along with every question she asks, trusting her completely in the Memory Experience process. Which leads to an interesting dynamic between them.
This is a pretty secular view on the afterlife. There’s no reference to Jesus. And people can move out of purgatory when their number is called if they cooperate with the process to figure out what repressed issue has gotten in their way. Bea is freakishly good at discerning what people need to help with that process. The ending of this was interesting.
While this was quirky from start to finish, it was also compelling. I was curious about what happened between Bea and her sister. I wondered what would happen with Caleb when he discovered the truth. I had to know if a loophole would get Bea to Heaven sooner or if she’d really have to work with 5,000 souls first.
If you enjoy odd, existential stories, don’t miss this one! (Language, references to underage drinking and abortion)