After two happy centuries in the prelife, Faythe is battling the most dangerous human emotion. She’s bored.
But when she accepts a once-in-a-prelifetime opportunity to become Apprentice at the magical Shop Before Life, her days become dreadfully interesting.
Now she helps customers with the most important choice they’ll ever make: who to become in the afterprelife–or “life”, for short. Will they be born on Earth with MATHEMATICAL GIFTS? Or perhaps they’d prefer DELIGHTED BY CATS?
But Faythe has questions of her own. Like–what exactly is in these jars of human traits? And who is the mysterious Supplier who creates them?
Unfortunately, these questions could awaken an ancient conflict and even destroy the Shop itself. They should maybe mention that sort of thing during orientation.
Management are going to be furious, but their divine punishment must wait. Right now, Faythe needs to discover the secrets of the Shop in order to save it.
If she fails, nobody will become themselves ever again . . .
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique)
Life is a fickle b!tch. People are born. People live. People die.
People speculate what comes after death. Some people believe there’s a heaven and hell. While others stand firm in the knowledge, nothing is awaiting us in the afterlife. With all the discussion on the after, people rarely speak of the before. This is where The Shop Before Life became very interesting to me.
Whether you have faith in a higher being or not, this story will get you thinking. I can’t disclose the bombshell Faythe discovered when she met Management; however, I will briefly talk about the shop and the jars of traits.
Every possible trait was available to those who entered the shop.
1.) Grab a basket and browse the numerous aisles.
2.) See something you like, add it to your basket.
3.) Once you fill your basket and can’t carry anymore, head to checkout.
4.) Now, you are all set to journey to Earth and be born.
Sounds simple, right?! Ah, the simplest ideas and jobs often prove most challenging.
Have you ever been to the store and the shelves haven’t been restocked yet?
Something you want is out of stock?
Maybe your favorite store closed down?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then how upset did you become?
The people of prelife reacted in the same manner you’d expect a living, breathing person to behave. Yup, they went off the rails.
Life on Earth was affected because of the events happening in and around the shop. I won’t say how though. (No Spoilers)
I encourage everyone to read this story. It’s highly entertaining, thought-provoking, and the perfect book for many age groups.
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest)
Score:❤❤❤❤
As well as The Shop Before Life, Neil Hughes is the author of Walking on Custard & the Meaning of Life, a hilarious and useful guide to life with anxiety. Along with writing more books, he spends his time on humorous talks about mental health, standup comedy, physics, computer programming, and everything from music, video games, languages and pub quizzes. He struggles to answer the question “so, what do you do?” and is worried that the honest answer is probably “procrastinate.” He would like it if you said hello at enhughesiasm.com
