Title: After
Author: Kristin Harmel [Website] [Twitter] [Facebook]
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Purchased
Parental Warning: death of a parent, alcohol

“Once I’d had the idea of getting us all together, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  I thought about it at school.  I thought about it at home.  I lay in bed at night thinking about how I just might be able to help everyone who hurt the same way I did/  I imagined scenarios in which the program was such asuccess, I would be asked to travel all around the country to talk to grown-ups about how to help kids who’d lost a parent.”

Summary (from the publisher):
What if you didn’t get a chance to say good-bye?

Lacey’s world shattes when her dad is killed in a car accident.  And secretly?  She feels like it’s her fault.  If she hadn’t taken her own sweet time getting ready that morning….well, it never would have happened.  Her mom wouldn’t be a basket case.  Her brother Logan wouldn’t drink.  And her little hbtother would still have two parents.

But life goes on even if you don’t want it to.  And when Lacey gets the chance to make a difference in the lives of some people at school, she jumps at it.  Making lemonade out of lemos is her specialty.  Except she didn’t count on meeting a guy like Sam.  Or that sometimes?  Lemonade can be a pretty bitter drink to swallow.

Opinion:
A sweetly told story of a teenaged girl’s struggle to survive the unexpected death of her father, After, was a quick subtle read.

There was a fair share of angst, as one would expect from a story based on the loss of a parent, but it wasn’t of the hang-wringing, over wrought into hysterical depression variety.  It was understated and for a book of short length paced very well.  Surprisingly, Harmel was able to deep dive into the subject matter with ease and tremendous focus despite the book’s brevity.  Kudos to her skill as a writer.

To do so she created a unique plotline with the invention of Lacey’s community service type endevor.  I don’t want to spoil what that endeavor was here, but it seemed to me to be a productive and healthy way to work through the emotion and loss she was feeling.  A further advantage was the addition of a cadre of support characters.  None of which felt unecessary or took on too much focus.

That is, except Sam.  As the object of Lacey’s affection the new boy in town was a kindred spirit directly upon his arrival in her life.  Bonding with Lacey over a shared sense of loss the two became fast friends that blossomed into more.  But wait, there may be a bit more to it than the typical boy meets girl, boy and girl fall for each other, and boy and girl live happily every after.  Again, I’m not going to spoil the finer and most intriguing points of the story, but I will say that as the relationship develops and you get invested in it, there is a pretty powerful punch waiting along the way.  It was good too!

I’ve made not qualms about being a fan of Kristin Harmel’s.  I’ve read all but one of her books and loved each.  After is no exception, it is a fantastic read and one that may help a child who has lost a parent deal with the aftermath in a positive and constructive way.