Book Review: After

After by Amy Efaw

Click on the picture to find a library copy.

SUMMARY: Fifteen-year-old Devon Davenport lies on the sofa mindlessly watching morning TV. She is in physical pain, and her only recourse is to mentally disconnect. Suddenly her life turns upside down and she is left wondering what happened. Why is she being charged with attempted murder? Through a series of conversations with her court-appointed attorney, Devon begins to uncover deep-seated resentments and awaken to the fact that she had been pregnant, has given birth to a baby, and thrown the infant into a Dumpster. Devon begins as an unsympathetic character who grows, giving readers a better understanding of her choices. This is a skillfully written, emotionally raw story detailing one girl's difficult journey from denial of her circumstances to acceptance and redemption. (from School Library Journal)

OPINION: After is written in the third person, but the narrator is actually Devon herself. This unusual style gives voice to the fact that Devon is completely disconnected from reality, and has been for the last nine months. We, the readers, only know what Devon knows, and she is in such a deep state of psychological denial that the details are revealed piecemeal as events trigger her memory. This book is an answer to the question I think to myself whenever I hear a news story about human tragedy: "What kind of sick person would do something like that?" Get inside Devon's head in this dramatic novel, and be prepared to get emotional as Devon's case goes to trial. This book made me angry, it made me frustrated, it made me scared, and it made me cry.