After Ever After by Jordan SonnenblickAR Reading Level: 5.2
On the library stacks: Young adult fiction
Series: Book 2 of 2
Recommended for: Grades 7+
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Now it's Jeffrey's turn as an 8th grader! (He's the younger brother from Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie.) Like his older brother Steven, Jeffrey has a significant year as he develops a better relationship with his parents, faces academic challenges, experiences first love, and learns the true meaning of friendship.
One neat thing about this book is that explores what it might be like to be a cancer survivor: How would classmates respond to you? How do you view the meaning of life? What is fair? There are ideas and questions put forth in this book that I don't think the average teen would normally think about. It's a book that I think has the potential to help teens really think about how they treat others without being preachy in any way.
Steven's a bit of a loser/non-event in this book, which I was sad about. But I enjoyed watching Jeffrey grow. This wasn't as funny as the first book, and I really hate 'in-jokes' that disparage mothers. But I did like the use of emails and IMs which accurately portray a teen today. It's a worthwhile book and I even shed a few tears at the end.
Also reviewed by: Bloggin' 'bout Books ~ Becky's Book Reviews ~ Ms. Yingling Reads ~ my thoughts exactly ~ Your link here?
Book 49 of 50 for the YA Reading Challenge
Source: Library
3 comments:
This does sound like a good book for teens and I love the fact that the protagonist is male.
I've been a little hesitant to read this one because I loved Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie so much and also because I'd heard (either from my daughter or from a synopsis) that Steven is "a bit of a loser/non-event." I'm glad to hear it's a worthwhile read!
Thanks for the review. It sounds like it's a good teen read.
Ann
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