After Book Review

By: Amy Efaw
Release Date: August 11, 2009

Summary (from Amazon):
An infant left in the trash to die. A teenage mother who never knew she was pregnant . . .Before That Morning, these were the words most often used to describe straight-A student and star soccer player Devon Davenport: responsible, hardworking, mature. But all that changes when the police find Devon home sick from school as they investigate the case of an abandoned baby. Soon the connection is made—Devon has just given birth; the baby in the trash is hers. After That Morning, there’s only one way to define Devon: attempted murderer.

Review:
Character Development: 9/10
Originality: 10/10
Hookability: 10/10
Ending: 5/10
Voice: 8/10
Recommendation: 10/10
Total Score: 52
Grade: A

Age Appropriate Rating:
Cussing: 2/10
Drugs, alcohol, etc.: 0/10
Sexual Content: 6/10
Violence: 2/10

After dealt with the unthinkable crime—murdering your own child, disposing of it like garbage. Even though nowadays stories similar to this one are popping up in the news more frequently, rarely does the reader get a chance to see the mother’s point of view.

Though this book was very raw at points it was refreshing to read a book with such a unique, but controversial, topic. You could tell that this was thoroughly researched. The characters at the juvenile center, the lawyers, the court room, the cell, and the feelings were portrayed with such realness and honesty. After reading about Devon’s past, I wasn’t just an innocent bystander to the book; I was living it.

Little by little Devon’s past is exposed and someone who should be very unlikeable turns into a character we can all sympathize with. She was normal. She had dreams and goals and problems at home. And as sad as it is to believe, Devon’s story convinced me that this could happen to anybody. Her worries, denial, and final decision really made you think, what would I do in this situation? Of course the obvious answer is to scream that you would never commit an act so violent and unfair! And even though after reading this novel I still feel like I would say that, I have much more empathy towards those who couldn’t.

I’m not usually a fan of 3^rd person novels but I couldn’t see this one any other way. I still got a clear idea of Devon’s voice and personality even without it being told in 1rst person, not only through her thoughts, but through her conversations with her lawyer and the witnesses in the courtroom.

The only thing I was not satisfied with was the ending. Where yes I can see how it concluded things in a correct and fitting way, it only tied up about half of the loose ends which was disappointing.

AFTER is an eye opening novel with excellent prose and believable characters that help you to begin to understand and sympathize with the tragic dumpster baby phenomenon. Without being preachy, Amy Efaw takes this heart wrenching subject and delivers an unbelievable, powerful, and painfully real novel.

thanks.
Jill
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again sorry for me being MIA for what seems like forever. I'll be back full force soon enough but like I said before school needs to take top proirity now. I just needed a break and decided to write a review but don't expect this again until the 25th. Hey! Good news though! I just reached page 300 on my boring 600 page book that's required for school. Maybe I'll actually finish before school starts.....

thanks again to all my followers and unknown readers though for being so loyal even when I'm not being as kind and up to date with my posts like I should be. I appreciate it more than words can say. So thank you very much.

Now back to the world of King Arthur....