Review: After by Amy Efaw (1-ARC-Tour)

After by Amy Efaw





rating: 4.0/5.0






From Goodreads:

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.

As soon as I received this in the mail, I opened it up and started reading it. After starting it I just had to keep on reading it. I read it on a Sunday - Sunday is the day I spend at my parent's house with my kids and usually it means little time to concentrate and read, but this book sucked me in so well that I read most of it during the day on Sunday.

I loved that in reading the book you slowly learned about Devon and her life, really at the same time that Devon was learning things. This was a great look inside a juvenile detention center and the wide-variety of girls who are in there. Devon is not what you would expect at all to end up in jail, but she does. Nothing is clear cut in this book - you are muddling through just as Devon is and that is what makes the book outstanding. Nothing is prettied up for the book - it's raw and real, but not in a completely unpleasant way if that makes any sense. It does put you out of your comfort zone, but in a good way.

It's an eye-opening book of a real epidemic that is out there, and Ms. Efaw handles it beautifully. It makes you think, it makes you feel and most of all it held my attention and made me read.

And isn't the cover just amazing . . .

I received this through 1 ARC Tours.

Binding: Hardcover
On-sale Date: August 11, 2009
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pages: 352