What an emotional roller coaster this book was for me.
I didn’t read the blurb about this
book, wanting to be surprised.
Mission accomplished.
The cover is absolutely adorable, so
I figured this would be a cute little love story. While there was a great deal
of blush-worthy romance, this book was so much more than that. The main
character, Sadie Reynolds, is constantly tormented by shadows of the
past, and once you've gotten a glimpse of what happened to her,
it's not at all surprising that she has consistent nightmares as well
as fear of the dark. Bullying is also a major issue that is addressed
regularly. Sadie is friends with absolutely horrible people, known as
the “Atwood Elite”, who not only torment those who the deem to be below them,
but they are also condescending to each other. It’s very obvious right off that
Sadie and her best friend Jenna hate being friends with these people and would
like nothing more than to leave the AE. The only thing that seems to hold them
is fear of the wrath of the other members, mainly the leader Brit, and the connections
that they have. While Sadie and Jenna don’t take part in any of the bullying
and name-calling, they stand by and do nothing, which is just as bad.
The main recipients of the AE’s
torture are Sadie’s neighbor Ian and his friend Newton, who have
not-so-affectionately been named “Douche One” and “Douche Two”. Throughout the
story we get glimpses of the AE in action against these two undeserving victims
and how it gradually changes them. As it would turn out, the love interest ends
up being Ian’s cousin, Hayden Pope. Hayden is forbidden fruit for Sadie, as he
is a recent transfer from Wayverly, and those students are off limits to the AE,
with the exception of a one-night-stand.
Classy bunch, this AE.
I won’t get into the Sayden
(Haydie?) details because I want you to enjoy it for yourself, but let’s just
say that Elisa Dane doesn’t hold back much. If you’re reading the Ebook version
like I did, you better have another paperback handy to fan yourself with
because things get heated between these two.
I enjoyed the romance aspect, not only because it was juicy, but
because it helped offset the seriousness of everything else going on. I really
wanted this book to take a turn. I wanted the villain to be redeemed in the
end. But this wasn’t a fairy tale with a happily-ever-after. This story was real
and truthful, and the villain was actually the victim.
Every time I thought things might come
around, they went and got upturned again. In the beginning I judged Sadie for
not standing up to these terrible people and telling them exactly how she felt
about them and how they treated others. As the story progressed, however, and I
saw just how easy it was for them to twist things around and isolate their
victims, I realized I would be just as terrified to speak up.
Each and every person on this planet
deserves to be treated with kindness and respect, until they prove otherwise
(most of the AE being those cases that have proven otherwise). It is so easy to
make a mean comment, or a joke at someone’s expense, and while it means very
little to us, it could be just one more piece being chipped away from their
resolve. We all have our breaking points. We’re all human. We can only handle
so much.
In The After drives home so many
important messages about acceptance and kindness, things that we need so much
in this day and age. There is so much violence and ugliness in the world right
now, and it is absolutely senseless and can so easily be minimized with each of
us taking our words and actions into consideration before inflicting them on
others.
My heart hurts for this imaginary
character in this fictional story because he was so beat down, and broken, that
he felt the only way to make it stop was to do what he did. He may not be real,
but he represents so many real people who deal with the same things on a daily
basis. He represents those people in real life who took the same drastic
actions that he did. He represents so many young people in or world today who
were so hurt and so mistreated that they thought death was the only solution.
Death. Violence. Revenge. It does
nothing but cause more hurt.
Love. Kindness. Sympathy. Those are
the solutions, and it is up to ALL OF US, as a species, to continue the effort.
There is so much hurt and sadness in
the world and I can’t fix it all.
And that kills me.
I don’t want anyone to ever feel
unworthy.
I don’t want anyone to ever feel
that they are somehow WRONG because they think, look, act, feel, love, live
differently than others.
I don’t want anyone to hurt for
reasons that we as fellow human beings can prevent.
Oh man, this
book messed me up.
Violence Rating: R (Multiple murders, attempted sexual assault)
Romance Rating: PG17 (Nudity, comment-worthy bulges in pants, non-descriptive sex)
Violence Rating: R (Multiple murders, attempted sexual assault)
Romance Rating: PG17 (Nudity, comment-worthy bulges in pants, non-descriptive sex)
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