The Beginning of After - Jennifer Castle
Book Synopsis: Anyone who’s had something truly crappy happen to them will tell you: It’s all about Before and After. What I’m talking about here is the ka-pow, shake-you-to-your-core-and-turn-your-bones-to-plastic kind of crappy. 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. Jennifer Castle’s debut novel is a heart-wrenching, surprisingly witty testament to how drastically life can change in the span of a single moment.
Laurel knows that this is just the beginning... but what happens after this tragedy shakes her to her core?
I think I was able to finish this book in a solid 26 minutes. This is the latest book that I picked up from the library after I finished You Look Different in Real Life.
Part of me was torn in two after I read this novel. Knowing that I wanted to like it, I really did, but I just found this book to be a definite miss for me. The characters were great, and the story was sub-par at best. A low point for me was the main character, Laurel - I understand that she's practically an orphan now, but did she have to be so fickle and whiny?
She spends most of the book trying to figure out how to juggle two great guys, and it's pretty obvious from the first page that she'll end up with a certain guy.
Of course, Jennifer Castle remains one of my favorite writers, it's just that this book was a bit of a diamond in the rough. It needed so much polishing and so much more time.
Rating: ★★★★☆