I was saddened by many things throughout the course of the story, but then, as A.S. It was true to the characters, to their story. A lesser writer would have taken the easy way out, but this.this was real. I'm sure Tara had to wrestle with it so much more than I did. I kept racking my brain, trying to figure out how to make it work out, and this was the concept I kept coming back to. I don't want to get super-spoilery because I think if you're going to read Elegy (and you should), you should be able to experience the whole thing yourself, but on the subject of the end: Much like Burning by Elana K. Sure they're being haunted by Hell and all its demonic minions, but at the root, this is a love story. This is still the story of the ghost girl and her human boyfriend trying to make their relationship work. Especially when Tara didn't lose focus of the story in all of it. That, my friends, is good characterization. Good guys went rogue and bad guys were more gray than black-and-white. Several characters who previously shook things up were made small while small characters were pushed into the spotlight. Jillian's metamorphasis is particularly bold., I think. I have nothing but respect for Tara for being able to convey feelings so well.

The depth of Josh's emotions is so incredibly well-written. In Elegy, Josh throws his entire being into trying to save Amelia, even at his own expense. In Arise, he tries to better their situation by taking matters into his own hands, even though he's being really kind of naive about it. For instance, in Hereafter, Josh is just this sweet guy who loves his ghostly girlfriend when his world violently collides with hers. It's kind of like the stages of grief, but not. For me, one of the best aspects of the trilogy is watching the characters evolve over the course of all three books.

Arise by tara hudson