Written by Jennifer Mathieu
The book Afterward, by Jennifer Mathieu, was an interesting book. The moment I opened the book my attention was caught. The story follows Caroline, who has a brother that is non-verbal autistic. He is kidnapped. On the hunt to search for Dylan they find a boy named Ethan who had been missing four years earlier. He went missing after going on a bike ride. Caroline becomes friends with Ethan and tries to get answers to find if his kidnapping is related to Dylan’s. Ethan suffers from PTSD, making it hard for him to concentrate, and has anxiety thinking about what happened to him.
The parents don’t do much about it and are rather annoying. Reading this story really made me hate the parents and I hated the fact that they made Caroline feel even worse about herself. She feels bad enough for her brother. Also the fact that they don’t even bother to get the help Dylan needs, as he is not okay. He lives in fear due to the accident and can’t even function properly and breaks down crying all the time. He is a powerful character.
With this book the emotion is really strong as the author makes you feel the pain the characters go through. I felt connected with the characters and shared the same emotions they were going through. I believe the author did excellent with how she developed the characters. I felt connected to them and I believe that anyone who reads the book will also feel the connection. I cried as I read about the pain that Ethan and Dylan were going through, and could feel just how terrified he feels. He has flashbacks and I began to sob along with them. Caroline blames herself and so do her parents. I felt upset reading about how she copes with her pain. Yet I could understand that they get along and find comfort in each other.
Do you recommend this book?
Yes
Language
PG-13
Sexual Content
PG
Violence
PG-13
Drug and Alcohol Use
PG-13
Review by Gissel, Student, Cyprus High School
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Interest Level: YA Fiction
Afterward
Written by Jennifer Mathieu
Roaring Brook Press
314 pages
Release Date: September 20, 2016
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
