After

Last night I started and finished After by Amy Efaw. It's about the 10 or so days following the main character, Devon, after she gives birth in her bathroom without actually knowing she was pregnant before those moments. Devon was 15 or 16, I forget, and she was a star soccer player and student. After she gives birth, she puts the baby in a trash can, and though the baby is found, she is arrested for attempted murder and abandonment. One of the most important parts of the book is the trial to determine whether she will be tried as an adult or as a juvenile. I could tell that the author had to put a lot of research into the book and that she cared a lot about the topic to write such a sensitive account of a story that happens a lot more often that you would expect it to.

Most people wouldn't be able to fathom putting their own child out with the trash, but after reading this book, I can understand that Devon did not have a bond with the child because she didn't know she was pregnant and therefore didn't spend time loving the baby before it was born. Giving birth is painful as it it, but at least most people are expecting it and know they already love their child, Devon didn't have that and probably just wanted to get rid of the source of pain, which was the baby. The trial was very interesting, and I really liked Devon's lawyer. Her lawyer was smart and well-spoken and taught Devon to be strong throughout such a tough time. Devon's mom, on the other hand, disappeared after her daughter was arrested and didn't show up til the night before the hearing.

I liked following Devon's emotional journey, and though we are left not knowing about her actual trial or sentence, it is nice to know that the judge thought she could be rehabilitated and had potential to give back to the world by keeping her in the juvenile system.

I'm now starting After the Moment by Garret Freymann-Weyr. I think it is supposed to be about young love and how sometimes it doesn't work out how you want it to. I'll let ya know.

Pretty Little Liars

I wouldn't say that Pretty Little Liars was a fantastic book, but I did enjoy it very much. It was a nice, easy read and was definitely a good choice to go for after finishing Catching Fire. I liked the chapters focusing on the different girls and their secrets, though I kept wishing people would get over themselves and just be honest. It was nice that the girls weren't annoying and that they really seemed like people, with thoughts and fears and emotions.

I liked Spencer a lot, and I kept feeling bad for Hanna because her mom just sort of dismisses her, even when she ends up at the police station twice in a week. Emily seems like the nicest and the most confused, and I really like Aria for being sort of different. "A" is very interesting, and I want to know who it is that knows all this stuff, maybe they're the person who killed Alison, and they made her tell her friends secrets or something.

I really want to know what "The Jenna Thing" is. If I read more of these books, that will be the main reason. I am very curious about it, and I want to know why Spencer seems to know more about what happened with it than the rest of them.

Alison seems like maybe she wasn't a very good friend to them all when she was alive, although it's hard to judge someone based on who they were in 7th grade. Most people grow a lot and stop being bratty or manipulative at some point. I was sort of hoping it wouldn't be her body that was found, so I was actually sad when it came time for the funeral. But I really liked that it brought the other four girls back together. Maybe they will get a little closer as time goes on, even though they are all so different from each other.

All in all, I would say it was a good read and that I enjoyed it. It wasn't life-changing or thrilling, but it was entertaining and had a good bit of mystery to it. I might pick up the second book sometime when I need another break from intense books like Catching Fire. The prequel-ish book to Graceling by Kristin Cashore (it's called Fire) comes out next month, so maybe that will be how I let my brain relax after it.

Next up I am reading After bye Amy Efaw, which the jacket says is about a girl who is charged with attempted murder for putting her newborn baby in a trash can, after she apparently didn't even know she was pregnant til it was time to give birth. I'm expecting this to be a quick read, but maybe not an easy one, since it's about a very emotion-filled topic. We'll see how it goes and I'll keep you posted.