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take_me_awayyy's review against another edition
4.0
The drugs part I didn't care for and almost made me DNF it, but I had to ILL this version (cd audio) from another library, so I didn't want to waste their effort. Real review to come. Maybe.
humle's review against another edition
1.0
Just the fact that the author thanks Autism $peaks, a hate group dedicated to “fixing” and eradicating autism, instead of enabling and supporting us, by neurotypicals - primarily abusive parents (if you want to get diversity or representation right, remember ‘nothing about us, without us’) should be a HUGE RED FLAG, that the book lives up to.
bdcutkomp's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
samantha_randolph's review against another edition
4.0
When Caroline’s autistic little brother, Dylan, is rescued from a kidnapper after a few days, the police also find, Ethan, a teen who has been held captive for four years. Now that both of them are back, and in the same neighborhood, both families are dealing with the new changes. Caroline wants to know what happened to Dylan, but Ethan can barely remember it, let alone safely discuss it. As the families cope in their own ways, Caroline and Ethan find that the one thing they might need most of all is a friend.
After loving THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE, I’m always excited for a new Jennifer Mathieu book, and AFTERWARD has all the beautiful staples I’ve come to expect from her: strong, sometimes devastating emotion, powerful friendships, and nuanced discussions of families. AFTERWARD is told from two perspectives, Caroline and Ethan. Both are dealing with the aftermath of the kidnappings. Ethan’s side focuses a lot on healing, therapy, and how to find a normal again. Caroline is devastated about what might have happened to her brother, and she often has to take care of him while her parents fight every day. The hesitant friendship that grows between them is absolutely beautiful. They both mess up, they argue, they cry, but at the end of the day, they know the connection between them is meaningful.
I love the contrast between Caroline and Ethan’s families. Caroline’s family isn’t well off financially, and her parents are far from happy. Between their fighting and taking care of Dylan, she is often neglected, and she turns to alcohol and boys as a distraction. Ethan’s family is financially secure, and they hover over him since his return. They all go to therapy, and they learn how to give each other space.
Final Verdict:
AFTERWARD is an emotional journey about friendship, family, and the aftermath of severe trauma. Readers should have tissues nearby while reading and room in their hearts for two new, incredible characters.
Originally posted at The Forest of Words and Pages: http://www.forestofwordsandpages.com/2016/09/review-afterward-jennifer-mathieu/
After loving THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE, I’m always excited for a new Jennifer Mathieu book, and AFTERWARD has all the beautiful staples I’ve come to expect from her: strong, sometimes devastating emotion, powerful friendships, and nuanced discussions of families. AFTERWARD is told from two perspectives, Caroline and Ethan. Both are dealing with the aftermath of the kidnappings. Ethan’s side focuses a lot on healing, therapy, and how to find a normal again. Caroline is devastated about what might have happened to her brother, and she often has to take care of him while her parents fight every day. The hesitant friendship that grows between them is absolutely beautiful. They both mess up, they argue, they cry, but at the end of the day, they know the connection between them is meaningful.
I love the contrast between Caroline and Ethan’s families. Caroline’s family isn’t well off financially, and her parents are far from happy. Between their fighting and taking care of Dylan, she is often neglected, and she turns to alcohol and boys as a distraction. Ethan’s family is financially secure, and they hover over him since his return. They all go to therapy, and they learn how to give each other space.
Final Verdict:
AFTERWARD is an emotional journey about friendship, family, and the aftermath of severe trauma. Readers should have tissues nearby while reading and room in their hearts for two new, incredible characters.
Originally posted at The Forest of Words and Pages: http://www.forestofwordsandpages.com/2016/09/review-afterward-jennifer-mathieu/
kirstengrier's review against another edition
4.0
**I received an advanced edition of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
An unlikely friendship is formed between Caroline and Ethan when an unspeakable tragedy brings them together.
One afternoon when she is supposed to be keeping an eye on him, Caroline's younger brother Dylan is kidnapped. When he is found a few days later, police discover Ethan, a second kidnapped boy who has been missing for 4 years. The boys are returned to their families and to try to adjust back to "normalcy".
Although Dylan wasn't missing as long as Ethan was, what he went through is still heartbreaking and his family immediately starts to fall apart. Dylan has autism and is withdrawn as it is and this only makes it worse. He and Caroline are very close and it bothers her that she doesn't know what happened to Dylan during his captivity. He has started saying new things and she wants to be able to help him calm down like she used to do. Their parents seem to be arguing more and more and their father is always leaving the house for hours at a time. They never discuss what happened and keep everything bottled up inside. Caroline helps her mother as much as she can but feels overwhelmed at times and sometimes turns to drinking and boys as an escape.
Ethan's family is very different than Caroline's. Ethan is an only child and his parents are very overprotective when he gets back. His mother is constantly checking on him and won't let him out of her sight. The whole family is signed up for individual and family therapy, they eat dinner together every night, and try to spend as much time together as possible. Ethan isn't comfortable talking about things with his parents, especially his mother, because he doesn't like to upset them. His therapist Dr. Greenberg is fantastic and was my favorite character in the book. He was patient with Ethan and knew exactly what to say, when to lay off, and when to push a little to get him to open up. He even brought his dog Groovy to the sessions because he knew it would relax Ethan.
One night when Ethan is playing his new drum set in his garage Caroline rides up his driveway on her bike. They slowly start a friendship that not everyone is comfortable with. They rarely talk about the kidnapping, but it sometimes scratches the surface.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were so well developed I felt like I was in the story. I didn't want to put the book down, because I wanted to see what would happen with each family and with Caroline and Ethan's friendship. I loved how Ethan's family was able to start to overcome their obstacles, and it saddened me how Caroline's family started to fall apart. The book referenced how Ethan's family was able to afford fancy therapist sessions, and a nice new expensive drum set for Ethan, while Dylan's family didn't seem to have a lot of money. I thought this was an important subject that could have been discussed further but since this is a YA book, it was good that the subject was mentioned at all. It's important for people to start to understand that not only the wealthy deserve help in these types of situations.
The story never went into specific details about what happened to the boys during their captivity but there were certain parts where you could infer sexual abuse that happened, which might be a trigger point for some readers. I would recommend this book!
An unlikely friendship is formed between Caroline and Ethan when an unspeakable tragedy brings them together.
One afternoon when she is supposed to be keeping an eye on him, Caroline's younger brother Dylan is kidnapped. When he is found a few days later, police discover Ethan, a second kidnapped boy who has been missing for 4 years. The boys are returned to their families and to try to adjust back to "normalcy".
Although Dylan wasn't missing as long as Ethan was, what he went through is still heartbreaking and his family immediately starts to fall apart. Dylan has autism and is withdrawn as it is and this only makes it worse. He and Caroline are very close and it bothers her that she doesn't know what happened to Dylan during his captivity. He has started saying new things and she wants to be able to help him calm down like she used to do. Their parents seem to be arguing more and more and their father is always leaving the house for hours at a time. They never discuss what happened and keep everything bottled up inside. Caroline helps her mother as much as she can but feels overwhelmed at times and sometimes turns to drinking and boys as an escape.
Ethan's family is very different than Caroline's. Ethan is an only child and his parents are very overprotective when he gets back. His mother is constantly checking on him and won't let him out of her sight. The whole family is signed up for individual and family therapy, they eat dinner together every night, and try to spend as much time together as possible. Ethan isn't comfortable talking about things with his parents, especially his mother, because he doesn't like to upset them. His therapist Dr. Greenberg is fantastic and was my favorite character in the book. He was patient with Ethan and knew exactly what to say, when to lay off, and when to push a little to get him to open up. He even brought his dog Groovy to the sessions because he knew it would relax Ethan.
One night when Ethan is playing his new drum set in his garage Caroline rides up his driveway on her bike. They slowly start a friendship that not everyone is comfortable with. They rarely talk about the kidnapping, but it sometimes scratches the surface.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were so well developed I felt like I was in the story. I didn't want to put the book down, because I wanted to see what would happen with each family and with Caroline and Ethan's friendship. I loved how Ethan's family was able to start to overcome their obstacles, and it saddened me how Caroline's family started to fall apart. The book referenced how Ethan's family was able to afford fancy therapist sessions, and a nice new expensive drum set for Ethan, while Dylan's family didn't seem to have a lot of money. I thought this was an important subject that could have been discussed further but since this is a YA book, it was good that the subject was mentioned at all. It's important for people to start to understand that not only the wealthy deserve help in these types of situations.
The story never went into specific details about what happened to the boys during their captivity but there were certain parts where you could infer sexual abuse that happened, which might be a trigger point for some readers. I would recommend this book!
skelleycat's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars. I'm not big on contemporary, but I'm a big fan of Jen Mathieu.
feldy's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
bookishly_faith's review against another edition
2.0
(I received this copy on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!)
I'm thinking that maybe [a:Jennifer Mathieu|6549106|Jennifer Mathieu|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1415034495p2/6549106.jpg]'s books aren't my thing. I can totally appreciate that she writes very well about difficult subjects, but I'm not a big fan of the plots of her books and the way her books are written. If you REALLY like realistic books about teens, you might like this book more than I did. So note, my criticisms are all my opinion. You may end up liking this book for the reasons I didn't like it.
This book is about Ethan and Caroline; two people who were affected by a kidnapping. Ethan is the guy who has been kidnapped for 4 years while Caroline's autistic brother, Dylan, was kidnapped recently by Ethan's captor. Together, these characters try to figure out how to live with the aftermath of this situation.
[b:Afterward: A Novel|29370366|Afterward A Novel|Jennifer Mathieu|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1457997724s/29370366.jpg|47463591] is told in dual POVs by Caroline and Ethan. I think my favourite chapters were by Ethan. I liked reading about him and his situation. He has been living for the past 4 years with his captor, trying to act normal in front of the world but in his head, fear blocks out his worst memories. Watching him struggle to feel like a normal teenage boy was really interesting to watch. His therapist was also interesting, but lacking some originality. I like that the characters were diverse.
I think the part I didn't like about this book was just how realistic it was (which might not be a problem for some people). Don't get me wrong, I hate it when the characters don't seem like teenagers, but this book was so realistic, it made me uncomfortable. I didn't like reading about Caroline and her relationship with Jason or her experiences with drinking and smoking weed. I also wasn't a fan of the stream of consciousness kind of writing that this story was told in. I was wondering where exactly this book was leading to and what the story actually accomplished.
I think depending on your feelings toward contemporaries, you may have different opinions than I do. If you like really blunt and realistic contemporaries that talk about serious issues, this book might be your cup of tea. I wasn't a huge fan of [b:The Truth About Alice|16068341|The Truth About Alice|Jennifer Mathieu|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391607111s/16068341.jpg|21860558], but if you were, you might like this book more than I did.
I'm thinking that maybe [a:Jennifer Mathieu|6549106|Jennifer Mathieu|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1415034495p2/6549106.jpg]'s books aren't my thing. I can totally appreciate that she writes very well about difficult subjects, but I'm not a big fan of the plots of her books and the way her books are written. If you REALLY like realistic books about teens, you might like this book more than I did. So note, my criticisms are all my opinion. You may end up liking this book for the reasons I didn't like it.
This book is about Ethan and Caroline; two people who were affected by a kidnapping. Ethan is the guy who has been kidnapped for 4 years while Caroline's autistic brother, Dylan, was kidnapped recently by Ethan's captor. Together, these characters try to figure out how to live with the aftermath of this situation.
[b:Afterward: A Novel|29370366|Afterward A Novel|Jennifer Mathieu|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1457997724s/29370366.jpg|47463591] is told in dual POVs by Caroline and Ethan. I think my favourite chapters were by Ethan. I liked reading about him and his situation. He has been living for the past 4 years with his captor, trying to act normal in front of the world but in his head, fear blocks out his worst memories. Watching him struggle to feel like a normal teenage boy was really interesting to watch. His therapist was also interesting, but lacking some originality. I like that the characters were diverse.
I think the part I didn't like about this book was just how realistic it was (which might not be a problem for some people). Don't get me wrong, I hate it when the characters don't seem like teenagers, but this book was so realistic, it made me uncomfortable. I didn't like reading about Caroline and her relationship with Jason or her experiences with drinking and smoking weed. I also wasn't a fan of the stream of consciousness kind of writing that this story was told in. I was wondering where exactly this book was leading to and what the story actually accomplished.
I think depending on your feelings toward contemporaries, you may have different opinions than I do. If you like really blunt and realistic contemporaries that talk about serious issues, this book might be your cup of tea. I wasn't a huge fan of [b:The Truth About Alice|16068341|The Truth About Alice|Jennifer Mathieu|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391607111s/16068341.jpg|21860558], but if you were, you might like this book more than I did.
