“A cheeky take on the afterlife brimming with sass, angst, and heart.” –Christine Riccio, New York Times bestselling author of Again, but Better.Beatrice Fox deserves to go straight to hell. At least, that’s what she believes. Her last day on Earth, she ruined the life of the person she loves most–her little sister, Emmy. So when Bea awakens from a fatal car accident to find herself on an … car accident to find herself on an airplane headed who knows where, she’s confused, to say the least.
Once on the ground, Bea receives some truly harrowing news: she’s in purgatory. If she ever wants to catch a flight to heaven, she’ll have to help five thousand souls figure out what’s keeping them from moving on.
But one of Bea’s first assignments is Caleb, the boy who caused her accident, and the last person Bea would ever want to send to the pearly gates. And as much as Bea would love to see Caleb suffer for dooming her to a seemingly endless future of eating bad airport food and listening to other people’s problems, she can’t help but notice that he’s kind of cute, and sort of sweet, and that maybe, despite her best efforts, she’s totally falling for him.
From debut author Gabby Noone comes a darkly hilarious and heartfelt twist on the afterlife about finding second chances, first loves, and new friendships in the most unlikely places.
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Layoverland is perfectly Gabby Noone — hilarious, sharp, and smart, with a gooey warmth hiding inside. It’s a delightful book, and the brilliant beginning to what is sure to be an illustrious career.
Clever, charming, and unputdownable. A modern romantic comedy that’s both timely and timeless.
It’s a testament to Noone’s skills that a story that’s sad and heartbreaking and all about death is also funny and inventive and wonderfully alive. Bea is the kind of smart and flawed character that you just want to hug, even if she’s a bit prickly around the edges. I loved her colorful Tim Burton-esque world.
2.5 Stars.
Wow…I really felt my age while reading this book. Bea, our main character, is the type of person I can’t stand. She tries SOOOOOO hard to come off as this bad-ass righteous freedom-fighter, but there’s no fire behind it. She’s just an average middle-class teenage girl with no direction or life (other than smothering her younger sister, who DOES have dreams), so she’s made up this tough-girl persona that’s incredibly irritating. I knew I was officially old when I felt sympathy towards her principal during their eye-rolling exchange. Girl, you’re seventeen, you’re a nobody…get over yourself.
As for the story, I loved the idea and the setting. The airport being this kind of purgatory…a layover on your way to actual heaven. I loved the Memstractor (though not the name) and the idea of helping people who were struggling with unfinished business to move on. I loved that all the food was molded into Jell-O.
The execution? Not so much. As I mentioned, Bea sucks, but some other characters were really great and could have been fleshed out a lot more. There were also a lot of unanswered questions….will there be a second book about Bea and how she gets into heaven or was that it? If that was it, I would have loved to have known…
How was Todd given the job of manager?
Why as Jenna sent to the airport?
What was holding her back?
Does Glady’s ever get to leave?
Sadie…this book definitely needed more Sadie.
What’s the deal with the Disciplinary Council?
What awaits them all in heaven?
I also felt the whole storyline with her sister was a bit dramatic. It wasn’t Bea’s fault that Emmy found herself in the predicament she did. I did agree with a lot of what Emmy said to Bea about her attitude, but Emmy had no one to blame but herself, and frankly, her behavior didn’t really allow ANY room for her to be judgemental, but ok, sure. Everything was Bea’s fault.
And lastly, what I really couldn’t stand was the author continuously projecting her left-wing liberal views into the story-line.
WE. GET. IT
You hate Trump, women should have the right to choose, men are terrible misogynistic assholes, and lawyers and corporations are bad because HOW DARE they want to make a ton of money!
Save it. It had no place in this story and was completely out-of-place. I couldn’t care less about people’s political views, to each their own, but it was obvious here and didn’t belong.
Overall, while I loved the idea, the finished product was just mediocre. While I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading this, I also wouldn’t recommend it. It reads like it was rushed and ends like it’s unfinished. It was a disappointment.