After

Title: After

Author: Amy Efaw

Summary: Devon Davenport: Straight-A sophomore, star goalie, murderer? When a newborn baby is found in a garbage can behind her apartment complex, it doesn’t take long for the cops to find Devon, still suffering through the aftermath of delivery. This chilling, thought-provoking book for mature readers follows Devon from her arrest to her stay at a juvenile detention facility called Remann Hall and subsequent hearing to determine whether or not she will be tried as an adult.

This book reads almost as a mystery: Did Devon really not know, as she insists, that she was pregnant until she gave birth? What exactly happened that night? How could no one around her have noticed that Devon was about to have a baby? As her lawyer and the people she meets at Remann Hall peel back the layers of Devon’s personality and life story, readers see the catastrophic results of obsessively holding oneself to a standard of perfection.

Who will like this book?: Mature readers who like intense, realistic stories.

If you like this, try this: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin. Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles.

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian