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piecesofamber 's review for:
The Beginning of After
by Jennifer Castle
Laurel Meisner is sixteen and is focused on high school, college, and her best friend Meg. Finishing her French homework and studying for the SAT are her main concerns but she has to take a break from that one night to celebrate Seder with dinner at her neighbors’ house. It is slightly uncomfortable for her because the Kaufman’s son, David, was a good childhood friend but is now a troubled teenager who hangs out with others who smoke pot and engage in other activities. Awkward does not begin to describe how Laurel feels, so when everyone decides to go out for dessert, she pleads studying and walks home. David, also, gets out of going for dessert.
Then tragedy strikes. Laurel learns that there has been a car accident and her parents, brother, and Mrs. Kaufman are dead while Mr. Kaufman is in critical condition and a coma. In one night, Laurel’s whole world changes. Meg and her mother come to stay with her while her Nana is contacted and travels down.
At first, Laurel is in shock. But even after that wears off, she is not over emotional. It is important to understand that everyone has a different way of grieving and Laurel was coping by hiding from reality. But as she goes on and is reminded of memories of her family, she has a lot of moments when she feels she is going to lose control. Most of the time she regains control, but Laurel experiences two major break downs in the novel.
Laurel is a teenage girl with depth. A tragedy can potentially change someone for better or for worse, especially someone as vulnerable as a teenager. But Laurel was never shallow before the accident and instead of it breaking her and turning her into someone unrecognizable, she became more fully herself. In that sense, the reader can see some of the good that came out of the tragedy: Laurel was able to learn a lot about who she was and who she wanted to be and she was able to find and latch on to her identity years before others find their own.
Read the full review here.
Then tragedy strikes. Laurel learns that there has been a car accident and her parents, brother, and Mrs. Kaufman are dead while Mr. Kaufman is in critical condition and a coma. In one night, Laurel’s whole world changes. Meg and her mother come to stay with her while her Nana is contacted and travels down.
At first, Laurel is in shock. But even after that wears off, she is not over emotional. It is important to understand that everyone has a different way of grieving and Laurel was coping by hiding from reality. But as she goes on and is reminded of memories of her family, she has a lot of moments when she feels she is going to lose control. Most of the time she regains control, but Laurel experiences two major break downs in the novel.
Laurel is a teenage girl with depth. A tragedy can potentially change someone for better or for worse, especially someone as vulnerable as a teenager. But Laurel was never shallow before the accident and instead of it breaking her and turning her into someone unrecognizable, she became more fully herself. In that sense, the reader can see some of the good that came out of the tragedy: Laurel was able to learn a lot about who she was and who she wanted to be and she was able to find and latch on to her identity years before others find their own.
Read the full review here.