A review by mcf
After the Fall by Kate Hart

4.0

This was a weird one for me -- I could recognize that the story was emotionally intense, yet I failed to connect with it on a level beyond the intellectual. This was perhaps because of the rapidly switching perspectives: the two main characters share narration duty, and each chapter is short so we shift constantly between their heads, never able to really take root in one or the other. There were also times when the first person narration felt a bit too on the nose for me, with teenagers offering deeply unlikely, eloquent, outside analysis of their own emotions or motives.

All of that said? I liked it. Raychel was a complex character with a convincing, interesting arc, Andrew -- the one main character we see only through the eyes of others -- was compelling, and the story featured important discussion of class, gender and consent which, even if they sometimes felt pat, are nevertheless deeply worthwhile.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC!