After
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4.9 • 7 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A “good girl” with her life on track suddenly finds everything going off the rails in this gripping page-turner that will challenge your beliefs about conscience and consciousness.
“Skillfully written, emotionally raw.”—School Library Journal, starred review
“After is a truly touching novel that everyone should read.”—The Book Obsession Blog
Before it all, Devon was a good student, a good athlete, an all-around good girl. But then IT happened—the thing that was so horrible, so shameful, so impossible to imagine that Devon simply chose not to admit it to anyone, even herself. But denial can’t make a thing go away, and now Devon’s in a juvenile detention center, facing a possible life sentence for her actions.
Does she deserve that punishment? Did she know what she was doing? Or was her denial so deep that she was unable to register the seemingly unavoidable changes happening to her?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
According to the author's note, "approximately one baby is abandoned to a trash can every day in the United States." This "dumpster baby" phenomenon is the subject of Efaw's (Battle Dress) chilling sophomore novel. For optimal (if expected) shock effect, the perceived heartless mother, 15-year-old Devon Davenport, is a poster child overachiever star goalie for the soccer team, exceptional student, well-liked by all. But when she becomes pregnant, her carefully chiseled world turns in on itself. Fueled by a mixture of intense denial about her predicament and disgust at her behavior, Devon tries to absolve herself of what happened "That Night" by pretending "IT" (how Devon refers to the baby throughout) never happened. The result and the subsequent story of her arrest and prosecution is harrowing, if melodramatic at times. The scenes between Devon, portrayed as a frozen and shattered victim of her own choices and background, and her lawyer, Dom (especially during the trial), are strong and resonate like the best courtroom dramas. It's an emotionally wrenching story that will keep readers' attention through its surprising conclusion. Ages 12 up.
