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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There’s no way for me to vent about this without major spoilers, so I’m sorry about that.
I’ll start by saying I hated the way the story was packaged. 4 timelines?! The Before, Before the Before, The After, and whenever the hell the months were taking place… I often lost sight of *when8 we were in Claudia’s story. I saw someone else suggest this was the point—to make us feel as disoriented as Claudia—but it made for a convoluted read.
Perhaps I wouldn’t have minded that so much if the characters weren’t so irritating. Every adult failed these kids at literally every possible turn. The individual people as well as the organizations. And this will be my privilege showing but I can’t imagine they would all fail this bad. You’re telling me a small child was dead for almost two years and then his sister was dead for several months, and everyone who showed up to investigate didn’t think it was strange that no one could find them?? The amount of effort to find the truth was literally the bare minimum. So simple, in fact, that a mentally checked-out teenager got closer to the truth than they did.
Along those same lines, the Coleman’s failed Claudia all over again in The After. These devoted parents thought it was better to have an entire community lie to their grieving child for two years instead of getting her the therapy and help she really needed??
The further I got, the angrier I was. And again, perhaps I ran face first into the point here.
Perhaps I wouldn’t have minded that so much if the characters weren’t so irritating. Every adult failed these kids at literally every possible turn. The individual people as well as the organizations. And this will be my privilege showing but I can’t imagine they would all fail this bad. You’re telling me a small child was dead for almost two years and then his sister was dead for several months, and everyone who showed up to investigate didn’t think it was strange that no one could find them?? The amount of effort to find the truth was literally the bare minimum. So simple, in fact, that a mentally checked-out teenager got closer to the truth than they did.
Along those same lines, the Coleman’s failed Claudia all over again in The After. These devoted parents thought it was better to have an entire community lie to their grieving child for two years instead of getting her the therapy and help she really needed??
The further I got, the angrier I was. And again, perhaps I ran face first into the point here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Gaslighting
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder
Oof. Heavy, emotional, hard-hitting. Although this is a YA fiction novel, I don't doubt that events like this take place every single day which is what makes this such an important POV for all walks of life to consider. Read it and let it sink in.
brb sobbing
this book handled sooo many different themes. from claudia having dyslexia to the mom being abusive to the older sister “doing what she has to do” wow. just wow. heartbreaking but seriously beautiful.
this book handled sooo many different themes. from claudia having dyslexia to the mom being abusive to the older sister “doing what she has to do” wow. just wow. heartbreaking but seriously beautiful.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated