After Hello

 After Hello by Lisa Mangum is a realistic-fiction novel about fate, and letting go. In the book there are two main characters, Sam and Sara who meet by chance in New York City while Sara is on a business trip with her father. Sara is an aspiring photographer and only has one day to spend in New York, but finds herself spending the day alone when her father is not able to be with her. As Sara is standing alone she takes a picture of somebody she does not know, and later ends up following him. This person is Sam. Sam is a finder, he finds what people need and trades them for something else in return. When Sam and Sara officially meet they decide to spend the day together. The two of them end up having to go on a "quest" for unique artwork to give to a celebrity who Sam's brother works for. If they do not find something wonderful for the celebrity, Sam's brother will be fired. Sam and Sara travel all around the city in the search to find a piece of art. Along the way both characters learn how to deal with their tragic pasts, and change themselves for the better.
     In After Hello the point of view the story is being told from switches between Sam and Sara each chapter, much like Flipped. However the way this book chooses to do it, is pretty confusing. When Sara is telling the story, it is told from first person. When Sam is telling the story, it is told in third person. For me, when I first read one of the chapters being told from Sam's point of view, I was so confused and had to re-read some of it to actually realize what was happening. Throughout the story it gets easier to get used to the way the book switches points of view, but in the beginning the reader might be thrown off a little bit.
     Also this book is very predictable. I could easily guess the ending of this book from the beginning of the story, and it is so obvious that I think anybody could tell you how it will end by reading just a few chapters. At some points it was frustrating because you wanted the characters to see the so obvious solution the problem, but they don't realize it till the last few chapters. There are very few exciting, unexpected moments in After Hello. The only parts in the story that were somewhat unexpected are when we learn more about Sam and Sara's past. But I think that most people could get a pretty good guess on those too. Bottom line is, this book didn't keep me hooked for the entire time.
      Overall I did actually enjoy this book. I like the concept of fate and how everything happens for a reason which this book demonstrates perfectly. Both characters in the book learn important lessons from each other that I believe everybody should learn at some point in their life. They learn how to open up about things they may otherwise keep a secret, and how to move on from their past. Sam and Sara bring out the best in each other, only if they are together for no more than one day. At the end of the book they are both changed for the better and finally learn to let go. None of this would have happened if Sara wouldn't have taken the one photograph of Sam. It just shows how everything really does happen for a reason, and I find that fascinating. I think that if everyone could learn to let go and just live in the moment, we would all have a much happier and better life.
     I ended up giving the book a B- because I think the idea for the story is really great and teaches a good lesson, but it's just plain predictable and sometimes that's not always fun to read.