Take a photo of a barcode or cover
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is an important story about grief and the aftermath of tragedy. I appreciated the open discussion of how a group of children might process a school shooting as survivors and the ripple effect that grief has on families and communities. Lucy's parents definitely do not do the right thing a the beginning of the story but they start to communicate and fix things for the better towards the end of the story, even though not everything is resolved in the final chapter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Mass/school shootings
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mass/school shootings
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's so sad that we live in a world where books like these have to exist to help people and victims process their grief and have people empathize with their loss and experience. But we do, and Emily Barth Isler captures both the heartbreaking sense of loss and trauma, as well as the hope for the future, in this beautiful middle grade novel.
I love the discussions around grief and the idea that grief can be so different for different people. Our main character just experienced the loss of her younger brother after a terminal heart condition took his life, and now she steps into a new school where many of the kids from her year were victims of a school shooting 4 years ago. Unsure how to talk about her grief in the midst of the grief of all these other children who have collectively experienced something horrible, our main character learns to listen and observe and love people as they are and listen to their stories and they to hers. This was such a beautiful book about friendship and family and loss and grief and truly depicts the impact of today's politics and our world as it is right now and the impact it is having on generations of tomorrow.
Definitely a standout middle grade for me this year. Despite all of the grief that feels these pages it was truly an uplifting novel and I loved how our characters reach a point of healing by the end. Grief is infinite, but love is infinite as well and I think that's the truly beautiful lesson shared within this novel.
TW: grief, school shooting, death of a sibling, alienation; mentions child death, death, injury detail, bullying
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
ALC gifted via NetGalley by Lerner Digital in exchange for an honest review.
I love the discussions around grief and the idea that grief can be so different for different people. Our main character just experienced the loss of her younger brother after a terminal heart condition took his life, and now she steps into a new school where many of the kids from her year were victims of a school shooting 4 years ago. Unsure how to talk about her grief in the midst of the grief of all these other children who have collectively experienced something horrible, our main character learns to listen and observe and love people as they are and listen to their stories and they to hers. This was such a beautiful book about friendship and family and loss and grief and truly depicts the impact of today's politics and our world as it is right now and the impact it is having on generations of tomorrow.
Definitely a standout middle grade for me this year. Despite all of the grief that feels these pages it was truly an uplifting novel and I loved how our characters reach a point of healing by the end. Grief is infinite, but love is infinite as well and I think that's the truly beautiful lesson shared within this novel.
TW: grief, school shooting, death of a sibling, alienation; mentions child death, death, injury detail, bullying
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
ALC gifted via NetGalley by Lerner Digital in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Mass/school shootings
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Mass/school shootings
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
AFTERMATH was a moving middle grade book about a 12-year-old girl, Lucy, who's at a new school after her younger brother dies of a heart defect -- except everyone else in her grade is processing their own grief and trauma from surviving a school shooting four years prior. This book tackles some heavy subjects, but it does so with an unmistakable middle grade voice that manages to balance out some scary things with humor and friendship; what results is that the book trusts its readers to be able to consider the subjects at hand, while keeping the sense of hope that's so common in middle grade books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for the ARC.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for the ARC.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings
Minor: Terminal illness
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Holly fuck. Sorry but…. Okay. First of all, thank you Net Galley for the audio arc of the book. I, for once, have read the summary. But I was like “cone on it’s a middle grade book. It won’t be that hard”. Ah. Joke’s on me. This book made me cry in the street and it was hard not crying in the bus. It’s an emotional m, hard and powerful book. And yet it’s hopeful. It talks about grief, family and friendship. It also talks about mental health and the fact that nobody should be ashamed of going to therapy.
Anyway, started august with this book and honestly o don’t know if I’ll like any book more this month.
Anyway, started august with this book and honestly o don’t know if I’ll like any book more this month.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Mass/school shootings
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Aftermath is a great middle grades novel by Emily Barth Isler. The story follows 7th grade Lucy in her transition to a new school. Her family moved to start over after her younger brother's death from a heart condition. Lucy is no stranger to grief, and neither are any of her classmates at her new school. Four years ago, there was a tragic school shooting at the school that killed 27 people, including students and staff. Lucy struggles with balancing her own grief while learning about her classmates' traumas.
I don't read that many middle grade novels, and I was surprised at how openly Aftermath confronted such serious topics. Still, everything was definitely handled in an age-appropriate manner. I even think this could be a great book for adults to read with the middle schoolers in their lives to open up lines of communication since that is a conflict in the story with Lucy and her parents.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Lerner Audiobooks for the ARC!
I don't read that many middle grade novels, and I was surprised at how openly Aftermath confronted such serious topics. Still, everything was definitely handled in an age-appropriate manner. I even think this could be a great book for adults to read with the middle schoolers in their lives to open up lines of communication since that is a conflict in the story with Lucy and her parents.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Lerner Audiobooks for the ARC!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Mass/school shootings
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
AfterMath was a quick read that covered some difficult topics without ever feeling sad or depressing. Lucy has moved with her parents to a new town after the death of her little brother. She starts at a school with the class of students who were the victims of a school shooting. The book does a fantastic job of showing how everyone deals with grief differently. Besides Lucy's thoughts, we get snapshots of how her parents, classmates, and teachers are all trying to move on from tragedy. Throughout the book, Lucy thinks about situations in mathematical ways and each chapter starts with a math problem. Together, these provide provide a level of symbolism that is a powerful addition to the plot.
This is also a story of friendship. Lucy struggles with losing touch with her friend from back home and the difficult task of making new friends in a middle school where all the students have been bonded by tragedy.
Though listed as Middle Grade, the topics of this book may be difficult for some readers. Despite the tough topics, I believe that this book would be great for anyone to read: middle schoolers, teachers, and families.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Grief, Mass/school shootings
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Child death, Grief
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you Netgalley and Lerner Books for the gifted book!
Whew! What a ride. This book will have you giggling at some funny math jokes and then crying as you sit in the grief of all the characters. Lucy's brother Theo recently died from a congenital heart condition and her parents have moved her to a town that is still recovering from a school shooting 4 years prior. Lucy's new bedroom belonged to a girl killed in the shooting and every member of her class has a story to tell her about their experience on that dreadful day. How does Lucy even start to fit in? How can she move on when she is harboring her own secret grief? This story explores grief, the awkwardness of middle school, and finding your voice in such a gentle and caring way. I was a little wary going in how these big topics of grief would be handled, but I thought it was so well done.
Whew! What a ride. This book will have you giggling at some funny math jokes and then crying as you sit in the grief of all the characters. Lucy's brother Theo recently died from a congenital heart condition and her parents have moved her to a town that is still recovering from a school shooting 4 years prior. Lucy's new bedroom belonged to a girl killed in the shooting and every member of her class has a story to tell her about their experience on that dreadful day. How does Lucy even start to fit in? How can she move on when she is harboring her own secret grief? This story explores grief, the awkwardness of middle school, and finding your voice in such a gentle and caring way. I was a little wary going in how these big topics of grief would be handled, but I thought it was so well done.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Mass/school shootings
Minor: Bullying