The Beginning of After Review

Monday, July 11, 2011

Title: The Beginning of After
Author: Jennifer Castle
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: September 6, 2011
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 432
Source: Publisher/Netgalley

Sixteen-year-old Laurel's world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new reality in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive.

Through it all, there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel's life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss, a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.
Laurel's teenage life was forever changed when she learned that life and living can be changed in a single, fleeting instant. In that moment she goes from the ordinary girl-next-door to the girl who lost her family to a horrific accident caused by the town bad-boy's father. Laurel is forced to navigate her grief while balancing the life she once had, but it begins to slip through the cracks and as her friends drift away, she isn't sure who she can trust anymore. But there's David - David who is the bad boy...David who's father caused the death of her family...and David who understands her loss. Why does something so right have to feel so wrong?

I'll be honest. I'm going to throw it out there that I'm a bit tired of the whole death in teenage contemps thing, but I am pleased to see just how delicately The Beginning of After navigated the depths of such a painful and powerful issue. It would have been easy to become lost in the cliche of the story, but author Jennifer Castle created a touching cast of characters with Laurel and David in the forefront, giving the reader a firsthand glimpse at the depth of sorrow, the beauty of hope and the potential for love to spring from even the darkest, most painful depths of life. With a powerful voice and a rich, hopeful message, The Beginning of After is a story that truly steps out of the mold and into a new realm.

I think the true beauty of The Beginning of After was the believability of the characters and Laurel in particular. Watching how Laurel navigated the stages of grief in her own way was both harrowing and intriguing. In a sense, she pushed her grief aside and fixated herself on the intricacies besides the loss of her parents and brother, but in others, you saw her walls crumble just a little to see this hole of despair eating away at her. David was the perfect balance for Laurel. While she was a shy, somewhat ordinary teen, David was this rebellious character filled with angst and tension. Yet, their dual loss spun them in a web of grief together. The Beginning of After balanced a precarious relationship by building it slowly through their feelings, rather than some cliche and overdone physical attraction that usually kills the story. Rather than passion, we get comfort, and rather than a surface-level love, we get a soul-like spiritual connection between two vastly different but entirely charismatic characters. So, while the plot of The Beginning of After might have been the cliche I was anticipating, the characters made the story.

All in all, The Beginning of After was a powerful read that I truly believe anyone can and will appreciated. With a fresh voice and perspective, it's sure to carve itself into a nice niche in the YA market. I give it a 4.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it to all fans of YA, as well as adult fiction, especially those who enjoy contemporary fiction.

I received this eARC free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

26 comments:

  1. I have read such extreme reactions to this book. It handles a very relevant issue, which is why I want to read it. But I am still not sure about it. Great review, Melissa! :)

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  2. I read this and loved it. It definitely wasn't my favorite YA novel, but the story really did imprint itself permanently in my mind.]

    Looking forward to hearing back from you,
    Cory @ Anti-Drug Reads

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  3. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who gets annoyed by the prevalence of dealing with death in contemps. So it really means a lot that you would find the way this one was approached as being very believable! That is most definitely something that I want to hear.

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  4. I loved your review, Melissa. And um, I'm really looking forward to this books. It looks like my kinda book.

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  5. Even though this is about grieving and moving on I am really excited for the romance element. It sounds beautiful (and plus I am a romantic sap). Great review Melissa :)

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  6. I am definitely tired of the whole death in teenage contemps as well and for that reason probably would not have picked this one up. That being said I am also all about characterization and it sounds like the author did a great job with this. Guess I need to rethink picking this one up.

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  7. Beautiful, beautiful review Melissa. I finished this book last week & completely agree with your take on the story. I was hesitant because I feel like this topic gets thrown around a lot. However, this book took a real approach to it & I appreciated that.

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  8. I'd heard mixed things about this book, but now I'm definitely eager to read it! I'm so glad The Beginning of After takes a tired topic and turns it on its head. Fabulous review! :)

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  9. Love that the relationship in this one is not the instant-love, overly-dramatic-with-the-passion type:) I like how you described as slow building and more about comfort than anything else. Beautiful review as usual!

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  10. I am glad it was good but yes sad :/ I am not a fan of death in any book

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  11. I'm glad that you liked it. I can't wait to read this book:) Great review Melissa!
    Danna
    http://friendlyreaderohyeah.blogspot.com

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  12. I definitely really liked this one, and I agree with all the things you said about it. Loved the characters, especially Laurel's relationship with her Nana.

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  13. thanks for a very honest review!

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  14. I agree with you 100%, the way the author captured the characters so well made the book really great. It isn't normally a plotline I go for, but this book really hooked me in.

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  15. Like you, I'm a tad tired of all the death but I like to hear that it's handled well. Sounds like I need to check it out. Thank you for the great review.
    Happy reading,
    Mary @ Book Swarm

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  16. I just got this one off Netgalley, and I'm looking forward to reading it, even though, just like you I am getting a little bit bored of the death angel in contemp YA's.

    Great review! :)

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  17. I usually have problems with these types of books because on a norm the Author themselves have not lost a close loved one around that age and I did when I was younger. So a lot of the times I just get disgusted. So I'm thrilled you enjoyed that they seemed more real. I'm going to have to pick this up.

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  18. This one sounds like a stunning read...So glad that the characters were realistic. Wonderful review, Melissa! :)

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  19. I have been curious about this one, but still am not sure it is for me. I hate to cry and I can see me balling like a baby with this one. Stunning review as always, tho.

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  20. While I do enjoy original plots (although they are becoming harder and harder to find), I really read books in search of strong characters. Perhaps it because I am a bit of a loner, but I just love meeting awesome characters in books - the kind of people I wish were real and lived next door. This book sounds a little cliche but it seems like the characters saved the book for you and made me feel a bit more willing to give it a chance.

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  21. This sounds wonderful. Like a fulfilling but difficult novel. It's nice having characters who balance each other well. Sets off some of the heaviness.

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  22. This book is certainly going on my list! I love deep characters who drive stories more than the story itself. Wonderful review.

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  23. It´s next on my pile, and Im relieved to read your review, it does seem like the kind of book I might enjoy. Nice Review :)

    -Mariana S
    http://smartgirls-read.blogspot.com/

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  24. That was a great review. I definitely want to read it now.

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  25. This is one l will definitely be looking out for, l have wanted it seen l first saw it!

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  26. I'm finding the reviews of this book to be SO interesting. Contemporary is my favorite genre. And I read a LOT of it. & I didn't love this book. It was alright, but I thought it was a bit... false. I feel like the deaths of her family was used as a gimmick to make us care more about a main character who was ultimately just another teen girl trying to figure out boys. I've seen quite a few reviews that agree with me on that.

    But, most of the reviews like yours, that are really positive, are from people who aren't typical lovers of Contemporary. Which I find fascinating, that people who don't normally read Contemp really feel this one, & from what I've seen, those that do, well... don't.

    Great review though! I am glad you liked it! :)

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