After by Amy Efaw

Book: After by Amy Efaw

Rating: 5 Stars

Release date: August 11, 2009 from Viking

Summary: An infant left in the trash to die. A teenage mother who never knew she was pregnant . . .
Before That Morning, these were the words most often used to describe straight-A student and star soccer player Devon Davenport: responsible, hardworking, mature. But all that changes when the police find Devon home sick from school as they investigate the case of an abandoned baby. Soon the connection is made—Devon has just given birth; the baby in the trash is hers. After That Morning, there’s only one way to define Devon: attempted murderer.
And yet gifted author Amy Efaw does the impossible— she turns Devon into an empathetic character, a girl who was in such deep denial that she refused to believe she was pregnant. Through airtight writing and fast-paced, gripping storytelling, Ms. Efaw takes the reader on Devon’s unforgettable journey toward clarity, acceptance, and redemption.

*****

Devon is not the kind of girl who does this. She is not the kind of girl who gets arrested. She is not the kind of girl to abandon her baby to die in a trash can. In fact, Devon's not even the kind of girl who gets pregnant.

Yet Devon does all of these things and they land her in more trouble than she could ever imagine. She is the girl who has straight A's and Olympic dreams. How will people look at her if they know what she has done? And how can she be part of the Olympics if she lives in jail for the rest of her life?

With the help of some new friends and a fierce lawyer, Devon might be able to salvage her life but is she willing to face the truth to get there?

After is very deserving of all 5 stars. It is a book that moved me and really made me think. I mean, before reading this, there was no doubt in my mind that Devon was guilty and deserved everything she got but after really getting inside Devon's head, I was skeptical. What could make somebody do that to their own child? Is there ever really a reason?

Reading After was a little hard. It dealt with such a delicate subject but a subject that is growing more and more every day and Amy Efaw did a fantastic job of getting inside the mind of someone who would abandon their own flesh and blood. I didn't think it would be possible to like Devon but I did find myself on her side.

Also, the ending truly left me smiling. While the story is sad I felt that Amy Efaw did a wonderful job in getting her point across and I look forward to more books from her in the future.

Similar books:

Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles

Angel's Choice by Lauren Baratz-Logsted