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The Beginning of After

by Jennifer Castle (Goodreads Author)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 3,586 ratings · 465 reviews

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-...more

Hardcover, 432 pages

Published September 6th 2011 by HarperTeen

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The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Best Cover Fall/Winter 2011

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2011 Debut Authors (Young Adult and Middle Grade Lit.)

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Jan 09, 2013 Wendy Darling rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2011, young-adult, realistic-fiction, skimmed-or-unfinished, 2011-publication, cover-fraud

This isn't a bad book, although it's not really a very deep one, and its hook--a girl embracing life after her family's death--may really be its greatest weakness. It actually took awhile for there to be any discussion about Laurel's grief or lack of it at all, to the point that I was thinking This IS supposed to be the main point of this book, right?

Here are a few things you might want to know about The Beginning of After:

1. The book cover is pretty.
2. It means well.
3. But contrary to what you...more

73 likes · like · see review

Sep 23, 2011 Tammara added it · review of another edition

All reading is affected by what the reader brings to the table. That was particularly true for me with this book. Yes, the subject matter is depressing and has been done/will be done again. Why? Because people die. People you love have or will die, and sometimes it's not far out in the unforeseeable future. Sometimes it catches you unaware and unprepared to deal. And sometimes, all the time in the world to prepare doesn't help.

My little brother contracted AIDS in his late teens. He didn't get a...more All reading is affected by what the reader brings to the table. That was particularly true for me with this book. Yes, the subject matter is depressing and has been done/will be done again. Why? Because people die. People you love have or will die, and sometimes it's not far out in the unforeseeable future. Sometimes it catches you unaware and unprepared to deal. And sometimes, all the time in the world to prepare doesn't help.

My little brother contracted AIDS in his late teens. He didn't get a positive HIV diagnosis. It was the 80s and no one knew crap about how to test for it - by the time he got a positive test, he had full-blown AIDS and was given 4 months to 2 years to live. He was stubborn, my brother. Determined to prove those doctors wrong, he signed on to every possible new drug test he could. He lived 17 more years, though the last 10 of that he was in hospice/long-term care.

He'd been a gorgeous 190-lb man before he got sick. During those 17 years, he literally wasted away, bit by bit. The boy I knew, my only early playmate and best friend, disappeared, and I had trouble remembering him. My brother became the guy in the wheelchair with Tourette's, who couldn't speak clearly, couldn't stand to be touched, and looked like he came from a concentration camp photo.

When he died, something unexpected happened: I got my memories back. They came flooding in, and like Laurel in The Beginning of After, remembering her brother Toby (and her parents), the memories came whenever they wanted, without regard to what I was doing or where I was. I was frequently floored by them.

People around you don't know what to say. And then they want you get past it, so they can go back to normal around you, when all you WANT is to go back to normal. But that's the thing - there is no normal in that space between Before and After. It's limbo. AFTER is a good place to be. And getting there is hard. Castle's The Beginning of After illustrates that very well.

It's not a happy book. It's got a little romance, but that's not the gist of it, and isn't meant to be. This is the story of Laurel and David, two very different people who each lost their individual families in one horrific accident, and have to learn how to cope and how to trust anything to ever last again. If you can handle that, read it. I lost my little brother. And this is how it feels.(less)

34 likes · like · see review

Aug 02, 2011 Mery St. Clair rated it 4 of 5 stars

Desgarrador, después de perder todo, ¿Que más puede motivarte en el mundo? Sólo queda dolor, resentimiento, uff, fue un libro que me hizo sentir como estar arriba de una montaña rusa, comprendía la ira de Laurel por David,él todavía tenía a su papá con vida (en coma, pero vivo), mientras ella lo perdió todo,desde su familia hasta sus amigos, no confía en nadie, y entonces aparece David, él tmb perdió a parte de su familia y ahora comienza a sentirse atraído por la chica que tiene prohibido senti...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jul 25, 2011 tonya. rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, meh, ya, arcs, contemporary

In all fairness, this probably deserves to be rounded up to 3, but I was so disappointed I just can't bring myself to do it.

The Beginning of After tells the story of Laurel, and the way her life changes after her parents and younger brother are killed in a car accident during her junior year of high school. I expected an intensely emotional read, one of grief and sorrow and healing, however what I got was mostly a story about boys and prom dates.

While Laurel's grief was poignant and well done...more

11 likes · like · see review

May 06, 2011 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

Hopeful, beautifully written, and nothing short of spectacular, The Beginning of After wraps the reader in for a long and amazing journey full of laughs and tears and smiles as Laurel and David make their trip to the after from the beginning. I simply could not have asked for a better contemporary read and I am sure many will agree.

They say everything can change in one quick second, but Laurel never realized this until that fateful day when everything fell apart. Before that day, Laurel was the...more Hopeful, beautifully written, and nothing short of spectacular, The Beginning of After wraps the reader in for a long and amazing journey full of laughs and tears and smiles as Laurel and David make their trip to the after from the beginning. I simply could not have asked for a better contemporary read and I am sure many will agree.

They say everything can change in one quick second, but Laurel never realized this until that fateful day when everything fell apart. Before that day, Laurel was the average girl: smart, shy, and pleasant. She had a picture perfect family life, a best friend who she could count on, and the promise of an amazing future. However, everything changes when a police offer arrives at the front door bringing with him sad news: Laurel’s parents and brothers have been involved in a car accident and are now dead. Filled with grief and anger, Laurel does not know what to do, or who to blame. Should it her neighbor Mr. Kaufman because he drove the car, or should it be herself for not being there to save the day? Either way, Laurel does know one thing; she should not be feeling strange and new things for David, the local bad boy and Mr. Kaufman’s son. Nevertheless, she cannot stop herself, because with David she can relate. He understands where she is coming from, and best of all, he is not tiptoeing around her like everyone else is. Though, are they meant to be, or this one big mess in the making? Moreover, will she ever be able to move on? Only time and more pages can tell in this fantastic story of grief, loss, and moving on.

To begin with, I loved the characters in this, especially Laurel and David. Charming and sweet, Laurel was relatable and likable from the start. There wasn’t a moment where I wasn’t cheering her on from the sidelines. However, what I liked best about her was the fact that I feel anyone would be able to resonate with her feelings over death and loss. David, on the other hand, was the perfect example of the “bad boy.” Misunderstood yet charismatic in his own right, David was the type of boy a reader cannot help but love. I particularly adored his relationship with Laurel, not only because of the way it was developed slowly (finally a YA relationship that takes time to develop!), but it was based on so much more than just attraction, instead feelings and actions played a big role, and I loved that. The side characters in this were also a breath of fresh air, as each one had their own distinctive personality that added an extra flavor to the story.

Moving on, while The Beginning of After basic premise is the basic death cliché, Jennifer Castle fully brought it alive once again and made it her own. From the plot lines, to the characters, and finally the writing, each played such a huge part in making this story simply fantastic! I particularly enjoyed seeing Laurel deal with day-to-day life such as her volunteer work and school because they added layers and charm. Best of all, I loved that The Beginning of After was so much more than just a “death” book, instead it was more about moving on and coming to peace with the past while keeping part of it close.

As mentioned before, Castle’s writing was also fabulous. She truly knows how to write an emotional read, which makes me truly think she’s going to be the next big gem in YA.

So, pick up some tissues and prepare for a long night, as Jennifer Castle’s spectacular debut is one you will not be able to put down once you start, not even for a second.

Grade: A+ (less)

10 likes · like · see review

Jul 28, 2011 Carina Tai rated it 3 of 5 stars

A heartwarming story that lacks finesse and poetic style.

Laurel is introduced as your typical teenage girl: stressed about the upcoming SATs and worried about her prom dress. However, one fateful accident is enough to turn her entire existence wayward. Her entire family is killed in an instant, leaving her alone and hurt beyond repair. But life inevitably moves forward, and now Laurel must embark on a new emotional journey and find the strength to face an uncertain future. Luckily, she doesn't...more A heartwarming story that lacks finesse and poetic style.

Laurel is introduced as your typical teenage girl: stressed about the upcoming SATs and worried about her prom dress. However, one fateful accident is enough to turn her entire existence wayward. Her entire family is killed in an instant, leaving her alone and hurt beyond repair. But life inevitably moves forward, and now Laurel must embark on a new emotional journey and find the strength to face an uncertain future. Luckily, she doesn't have to do it alone.

If you've ever read Gayle Forman's 'If I Stay,' you'll know that the main plots are very similar. In fact, it's your typical five step process.

1. Teenage girl's family dies in a car accident
2. Teenage girl does not know how to move on with her life
3. Teenage girl slowly starts to relive her normal life
4. Teenage girl falls in love with teenage boy who understands her pain
5. Teenage girl is still sad, but ultimately finds the strength to move forward

However, Forman and Castle's books are different in a sense that Forman was able to weave a world of painful color through vivid descriptions and poetic style. Especially in books such as these, the writing style is what separates a masterpiece from a lukewarm novel. This review is not meant to compare the two authors and their books, however, after reading 'If I Stay,' a gorgeous book in this genre, I can't help but feel disappointed! I understand that many readers enjoyed this story, and I can see why, but overall, Castle's inexperience as a young adult writer is glaringly obvious.

As much as I hate to define a story by the word "typical," it is often true in most family trauma-esque young adult novels. Jennifer Castle's is no exception. Surprisingly, it wasn't the story line that I found dull, it was the execution and characters that lacked a personality. Laurel is, sadly to say, very very boring. Everything she did was methodical and cautious. I didn't feel as if she matured or grew as a character, and the way she handled the death of her family, was actually quite controlled. There was almost no emotional journey for me as a reader, and thus, the impact of this story was quite short-lived.

Ultimately, I feel that the author lacked finesse in her style of writing. It was very casual, conversational, and fluid, but overall unimpressive. Compared to other books of very similar plot lines, Jennifer Castle's novel failed to touch me on an emotional level. That's not to say that there weren't any strong points, but they too were masked by her writing's holistic monotony.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 07, 2012 Ira rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, romance, sad

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...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 03, 2011 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

I don't generally gravitate toward sad books, but I wanted to give this one a shot because I saw comparisons of it to Sarah Dessen's The Truth About Forever and Gayle Forman's If I Stay, both of which are books that I have enjoyed.

The book takes you on Laurel's journey to recovering and going on with her life after both of her parents and her little brother die in a car accident. The pace of the book was much slower than I expected (it took me longer than usual to read it), but the slow pace wa...more I don't generally gravitate toward sad books, but I wanted to give this one a shot because I saw comparisons of it to Sarah Dessen's The Truth About Forever and Gayle Forman's If I Stay, both of which are books that I have enjoyed.

The book takes you on Laurel's journey to recovering and going on with her life after both of her parents and her little brother die in a car accident. The pace of the book was much slower than I expected (it took me longer than usual to read it), but the slow pace was fitting for the story because one would expect that it would take a lot of time for someone to recover after such a tragedy.

When I read stories with first person narration, I generally can slip into a character easily and "become" her, but in this case I felt like I was watching from the outside throughout the book. Maybe that's a good thing because I really wouldn't want to be in Laurel's situation, as she was suffering from so much loss, but I felt disconnected from the story. Additionally, even though Laurel was very intrigued by David, the son of the man who was driving the car in the accident, I never connected with him either. I didn't really care whether they would get together because he just didn't interest me.

I did love that Laurel began working at an animal hospital after the accident because I am a firm believer that cute animals can help a person heal! I loved the fact that she was able to save and rescue kittens, and I liked that she took care of David's dog, Masher, when he was away trying to sort out his own life.

I feel like this is the type of book that I should like more than I actually did. I would recommend either The Truth About Forever or If I Stay (the books I saw this one being compared to) over this one if you want to read about people getting their lives back in order after losing loved ones. Despite not completely loving this book, I am glad I read it because I want to read more contemporary realistic fiction books and this was a start. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Jul 10, 2012 Amy (Turn the Page) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-library

I struggled with this one. I was expecting an emotional tear-jerker, unfortunately I found myself reading a dry, plodding book.

The trouble is that we barely get introduced to Laurel’s family before they are all killed in a car accident. But unlike If I Stay (which this book is unavoidably being compared to), we never get to know them through Laurel as she grieves their deaths. In fact, neither her parents nor her little brother are barely mentioned again.

And that’s the main issue with The Begin...more I struggled with this one. I was expecting an emotional tear-jerker, unfortunately I found myself reading a dry, plodding book.

The trouble is that we barely get introduced to Laurel’s family before they are all killed in a car accident. But unlike If I Stay (which this book is unavoidably being compared to), we never get to know them through Laurel as she grieves their deaths. In fact, neither her parents nor her little brother are barely mentioned again.

And that’s the main issue with The Beginning of After. Laurel displays little emotion over loosing everyone and falls back into normal life remarkably quickly and easily. She never really talks about them, not to her grandmother who moves in to look after her, not to her best friend, not even to David, who she supposedly has a connection with. Not weeks after their death, she is back at school, thinking about prom and trying to decide whether a boy at school really likes her or just pities her. Laurel doesn’t even come across as heartless. She just comes across as an incredibly boring, solitary, slightly selfish girl. We get one display of emotion from her when she breaks down near the end of the book, but by this point, I’m afraid I had lost all interest. The book is simply far too long, and dreadfully dull.

A love interest with David, who also looses his family in the same car crash, is hinted at, but like everything else, took a long time coming. David is barely in the story for the majority of it, and I really felt nothing between them. He, at least, shows signs of grieving and though his father is alive (albeit in a coma), he really has lost everything, while Laura at least still has a home and is loved. But we never get to experience David’s grief either, as he pops in and out of the book briefly. It’s almost as if the author decided to write a book about dealing with the death of a loved one, but then found she didn’t know how to express that grief on the page.

The Beginning of After is a humdrum look at a girl’s life after loosing her family. Though not badly written, there isn’t much in the way of a plot, and the characters lack… well character. For a story about grief, I saw very little of it, and it simply lacked emotion. I also detest books that spend any amount of time on the protagonist’s pets (particularly if it’s a dog) which unfortunately was the case here.

Dull, safe and far too long. Unfortunately, there are other books out there which have dealt with a very similar storyline and done it far better.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Aug 27, 2011 Jen (A Book and a Latte) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally posted on my blog, A Book and a Latte. You can read my interview with Jennifer Castle here.

Heart-breaking. Honest. Beautiful.

The Beginning of After follows Laurel’s journey of grief and learning to move on after losing her parents and brother in a tragic car wreck. I was gripped from page one. I lost my mother at the age of 16, and though my story is completely different, I could relate with a lot of the aspects of grief in this novel. The Beginning of After is possibly the best depic...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 07, 2011 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-mt-bookpile

This is another of those "what happens after your family dies" books - in this one, Laurel's family (along with Mrs. Kaufman, a neighbor) are killed in a car accident following a Passover seder. Laurel claimed too much French homework, and David (the neighbor's son) went off to be with his friends; Mr. Kaufman was driving and is now in a coma.

We follow Laurel over the next year and a few months of her life as she copes with her loss, getting on with her life, while living with her grandmother (w...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 20, 2011 Ashley - Book Labyrinth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, netgalley, from-publisher, dac-2011, signed-copy, my-books

4.5 stars

First of all, I cannot believe this is a debut. The characters are so strong and the story was so beautiful and engaging. The book examines a lot of interesting issues such as the process of grief, big life changes, and what are our lives are “supposed” to be.

I absolutely adored the main character, Laurel. I found her voice to be so true! All the grief, humour, love, and questioning felt absolutely real. Even though ‘The Beginning of After’ is very different from ‘The Sky is Everywhere’...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Zemira Warner rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of If I Stay

Shelves: romance, realistic, contemporary, death

I would recommend The Beginning of After to those who recently lost someone dear. It was really a book of healing.

I have read reviews on this book and find people saying that nothing happens. It really is not a story with a lot going on. It is a story about growth, loss and life. The interactions between people and even how pets can help with loneliness. The human need to have something or someone to care for. Looking to others for strength and that sometimes moving on is a very slow process wi...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 06, 2011 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think I picked a horrible day to read this book. I started the day off crying this morning watching the remembrance ceremonies on television and spent the entire day in a somber mood, not only because of the day itself but because of this novel. Yet, at the end of the day I felt a sense of contentment. We may never forget, but we can still heal.

That is what The Beginning of After was for me. It wasn’t a book about a girl losing her entire family. It was a story about a girl healing from a ter...more

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 15, 2013 Kat rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: love-triangle, sad, ok, strong-main-chracter, stand-alone

My god, I don't even know what to say about this book. I guess it was good, but it was incredilbly sad. For most of the book i wanted to cry. I didn't have any issues with the characters and the plot was good, but like i said really really sad. This book is mostly about sixteen-year old Laurel trying to move on after the unfortunate death of her family. This book definitely made me think about life and how you can't take what you have for granted because it might not always be there. This book m...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 26, 2013 Soph...*Lock&Key* rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: predictable-reads, read-in-2013

What do I think this? Well......it was okay, I guess.

The thing about this book is that it was steady, from start to fnishh I had a strait face, my feelings never once changed, don't get me wrong steady can be a good thing, just not when it comes to a book that is supposed to make you, wonder, cry and feel every emotion the main character feels. This did not happen to me, no where near.

There were no gut wrenching moments, no shocking revaluations about love, life and everything in between. It was...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 19, 2011 Cassie Gutman rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was really excited to read this one, but after the fact I think I didn't know what to expect. Meaning, I had an idea of what I wanted the book to be, but it turned out completely different. And in a good way. I've read a lot of reviews of this one, and some kind of make me mad. This isn't really a grief story in any way, other than the fact that Laurel loses her family. It is about her life continuing, and the fact that life doesn't stop, no matter what happens. It says so right in the title....more I was really excited to read this one, but after the fact I think I didn't know what to expect. Meaning, I had an idea of what I wanted the book to be, but it turned out completely different. And in a good way. I've read a lot of reviews of this one, and some kind of make me mad. This isn't really a grief story in any way, other than the fact that Laurel loses her family. It is about her life continuing, and the fact that life doesn't stop, no matter what happens. It says so right in the title. This is what happens after. And I think that's where people got confused. They wanted it to be a grief story, just like I did. But it was such a well-written after-the-fact story.

I loved Laurel and David, cliche as it is to do a good-girl, bad-boy premise. But they were both such lovely characters, developed really well. They also had good dialogue back and forth, and I loved that a dog kept the two together even though they were far apart at times. I hated Joe. Joe was a guy Laurel had liked at school, and he finally asked her out to prom. However, I felt the whole time he had asked her out of pity, and then he didn't put any effort forth in continuing a relationship. He only did things when drunk or when Laurel acted first (anything at all, not just romantic-y stuff. texting. calling. everything. he drove me nuts. man up!). And I really didn't like Laurel's best friend, either, though I understand her purpose and her hidden storyline.
One thing that really drove me crazy (alert to ALL AUTHORS) was the texting. PEOPLE DON'T REALLY TEXT IN COMPLETE ABBREVIATIONS. I use full sentences and punctuation. And I didn't know what half of the words were in their texts. And honestly, they were unnecessary. Description could have done the job better. They were a huge disruption to the story and frankly, I hated them. And I hate to see texts in books anyway. It's just annoying.

Moving on. I loved the progression of this book. It didn't dwell on too much of one particular time period, but it focused when it needed to. I never got tired of reading description and happenings in the narration. It was all done very well. I also loved the animal focus in this book, giving Laurel a new purpose and something to focus on. This was a very real and believable aspect because this could actually happen. Laurel's Nana didn't really like the whole animal thing (not sure why...), but I did and thought it added great depth to the overall effect of the story.

Overall, it was a pretty good one, once people get it out of their heads that this is a grief story. Remember, it's a story about life moving on no matter what, and how Laurel manages the "after."(less)

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Jun 09, 2013 Aimee rated it 1 of 5 stars

I picked this book out completely randomly from my library our of sheer boredom. Normally I always go on goodreads to see if the book is good or not. With this one I hoped that it would be interesting.

But really it wasn't. I found it to be INCREDIBLY slow, long, and dragging. I stopped at page 157, because I found I really couldn't connect with the characters or the story line itself. It was all about grief and sure I wouldn't expect this to be fun and happy, but it still came out very boring a...more

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Jun 06, 2013 Megataylorashley rated it 5 of 5 stars

I think I liked this book so much because I could related to it. Not to Laurel, but to Meg. This past year two of my good friends lost people to suicide (unrelated to each other). To me, I had to be the Meg to try to help them move on. One of my friends was similar to Laurel in the beginning, quick and wanting to move on. When she'd talk about it, I'd feel super awkward because she seemed so happy and upbeat, but slowly we fell into place. My other friend was quite the opposite and for awhile I...more

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Jun 01, 2013 Katie G rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-book-list, young-adult

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. Well, “enjoyed” wasn’t really the right word. I found it very emotional. I was skimming through cheap books on my Nook, and I started reading the free sample of this one. When I found myself in tears after a few pages, I knew I had to buy it. To be fair, it doesn’t take much to make me cry, or at least it hasn’t for the past few years, so it’s entirely possible that the book wasn’t really that well written in the beginning. It was really, really late...more I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. Well, “enjoyed” wasn’t really the right word. I found it very emotional. I was skimming through cheap books on my Nook, and I started reading the free sample of this one. When I found myself in tears after a few pages, I knew I had to buy it. To be fair, it doesn’t take much to make me cry, or at least it hasn’t for the past few years, so it’s entirely possible that the book wasn’t really that well written in the beginning. It was really, really late when I read it. That said, the beginning hooked me.

We don’t really see a lot of Laurel’s family before they’re killed, but I think we see enough to feel her pain. I don’t feel sad for the characters who died, but I did feel sorry for Laurel. We get a few glimpses of her family as the book goes on, but the book isn’t really about them. It’s about Laurel dealing with the aftermath of their deaths.

This book held my interest for the first quarter of the book because it was really emotional. The next quarter was sort of boring. She was shopping for a prom dress, and she was sort of going out with a guy I didn’t really care about, and it was just sort of boring. Of course, the writing also sort of mimicked what I imagine grief might feel like – sadness at first, followed by a period of numbness, followed by an attempt to get your life back together and focus on other things. I’ve never lost anyone close to me, so I’m not sure if that’s true, but I could sort of deal with the boringness because it seemed to fit Laurel’s emotion.

I started getting interested again when David became more of a main character. There’s the obligatory love triangle, which I wasn’t expecting in a book about a girl whose family just died. (I guess I didn’t read the synopsis very well before I started reading.) Part of me is sort of annoyed that her family’s dead and she’s worried about boys, but on the other hand, her family has been dead for several months by the point David becomes a big deal, and I can understand her needing a distraction. She doesn’t stop thinking about her family during those times, though. They still pop up in random moments, and she goes from being okay to being on the verge of tears. I thought that was handled well. I could feel what Laurel was feeling most of the time. When she was mad, I was mad. When she was sad, I was sad. She doesn’t always make the best choices, but there was a never a time when I was taken out of the story by the unbelievableness of it, which is something.

Overall: I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would, and I didn’t like it for all the reasons I thought I would, but I still enjoyed it. It was less literary and more contemporary as the novel wore on, but it was still a book that focused largely on characters, and it held my interest outside of that second quarter. I don’t know that I’d recommend anyone buy this, but if you were already considering it, it might be worth the read.(less)

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May 08, 2013 Vivian Xia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, must-reads, read-rated-and-reviewed

I thought this book was good and sad at the same time. I thought the car crash that launches the story is too coincidental and too "out there". How coincidental that your family and your neighbors family except for the two main characters David and Laurel get into a car crash, leaving the two of you alone? Sounds like a drama to me, but it is a book so I give it credit.

I really liked David and Laurel but it hurt me to see them hurting. Laurel seemed so strong in the beginning, with all her ambit...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Esther Shaindel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Full review on Reader's Dialogue: http://readersdialogue.blogspot.com/2...

Laurel's voice throughout the whole book is very strong, so that you really feel what she's going through. For most of the book, she's actually pretty numb and denying things, suppressing thoughts. Because we hear it in her voice, the narrative gets dragged down a bit as we wait for her to start admitting her feelings. But when she does that, it's a wham and everything starts happening at once. A big scene, and the afterma...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Katrina Passick Lumsden rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not really sure how to review this book. I read it a couple of weeks ago, and I've forgotten a lot of the things that happened, so I don't think that's a very glowing recommendation. It definitely didn't stay with me, but I do remember it wasn't terrible. The writing is pretty good, the characters are actually fairly unique and all have their own issues. The pacing just seemed to drag, and I felt like there was a lot in there that just didn't need to be there. Laurel's entire family is kille...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Good, powerful, not romance-centric; This book is more about self worth and personal growth.

Laurel, the main character, is very relatable at times, with her foil, David, making up any places where Laurel might seem too nice or too good.

The story spans a time period of about two years, following Laurel and, in part, David as they try to move past the deaths in their families. Laurel's Nana is a low-key important sort of character who stands by Laurel as much as she can without sacrificing herse...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Kate T. rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book written and published by Megan Castle. If she publishes any more books as good as this one she will become a big hit. The main character of the story is a teenage girl named Laurel. Her family goes over to her neighbor's house for a family dinner and it is the same as usual. Then after dinner they realize there was some confusion about who was supposed to bring dessert and they decide to go out for icecream. Laurel uses the excuse that she needs to study and she walks home...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Erica rated it 5 of 5 stars

I get so frustrated when we perceive teens as other species. As adults, our teen experiences can shape us so much, we emerge from our teen years but not having necessarily "finished" everything we've encountered. This book tells a story that I find rich with possibilities, inviting us as readers to find what makes us come alive, especially when we feel alone in the world, a theme that is in no way limited to the teen years. I really enjoyed The Beginning of After, especially these delicious bits...more I get so frustrated when we perceive teens as other species. As adults, our teen experiences can shape us so much, we emerge from our teen years but not having necessarily "finished" everything we've encountered. This book tells a story that I find rich with possibilities, inviting us as readers to find what makes us come alive, especially when we feel alone in the world, a theme that is in no way limited to the teen years. I really enjoyed The Beginning of After, especially these delicious bits -- can't wait for Castle's next book!

p. 131
"...one of the many ways that will help you ... is to think of your relationship with your mom, your relationship with your dad, and your relationshp with your brother as things you can work on and develop, even though these peope you love are not living."
I deeply appreciated the theme of resistance to receiving help after the tragedy, and the very present way the main character was guided with the help she did get. Over time, every single one of us experiences loss, and I think the key to surviving it is understanding the very real presence of that relationship in our lives for years to come, even without that person's physical presence. I loved this advice from the therapist to Laurel.

p. 150
"Laurel, you had everything back then, and you didn't even know it."
What hit me about this idea was the mundane world it emerged from. She was just a young woman living her life, studying for the SATs, arguing with her brother. Now she is challenged to confront the idea that *that*, that mundane world of daily life, was *everything.* For a teen. Not just an adult looking back, but a teen. Do you see how we can all relate to this? I loved the viewpoint of someone telling that to a teen.

p. 247
"I thought of my Wondering Well. It had been Suzie's suggestion. Every time I felt myself drowning in what-ifs, I wrote them down on a piece of paper, folded it up, threw it in an old mayonnaise jar, and screwed the lid back on tight. It was a way of getting them out, letting them go."
I adore this idea. I think it gives power to the person going through a rough time, and it keeps it personal, nothing has to be shared unless the person wishes to open up the jar to someone else. Sometimes there's so much pressure to solve problems as they come up, but time can really help with perspective on it. This seems to me to be a great way to hold the space.

p. 357
"What can you give your parents and Toby for christmas? ...I don't mean a traditional present. More like, some way to honor them. Or honor the gifts they've passed on to you as a person."
Again, this gives traction to the truth that each of us matters. That what we do matters. Not just honoring the person for who they were, but for who YOU ARE as a result of that person. This has altered my life view of gift-giving, from appreciation to recognizing the love and power that person holds for me in my life. This is also yet another color in a palette of love, for teens, for anyone.

p.421
"I'd lived in this house my whole life. I was coming back, of course. Then I realized, it wasn't the house I needed to say good-bye to. It was just this time, this state of being."
My favorite, favorite part of the book, because it captures the entire point of the story: It's about a state of being. We get to choose that state of being, no matter what happens to us. It invites us to be in the big picture, not focus on the "things," like a house or baby pictures or what if's. That we are constantly moving, changing, growing, the we are constantly Beginning our Afters.

Read this for yourself, read this for your teen or tween, and gift someone else's life with a copy.(less)

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Oct 22, 2012 Caly Farina rated it 4 of 5 stars

After reading The Beginning of After, it made me realize what some kids in life actually go through. This book was about a teenager named Laurel who's parents died in a car accident. Throughout the book, it explains her struggles and problems she is facing.
The Author shows great character and development throughout the book for the main character Laurel. I think the authors message is that even though something tragic happens to you, always believe and never give up. because it can make you str...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Felicity Disco rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, ya

When you hear that Jennifer Castle's The Beginning of After is about a girl whose parents and little brother die in a car crash, you might think that it sounds a lot like If I Stay. But let me clear that up - though a few very basic facts of the premise are similar, this is a completely different book, both in tone and content. This one is focused on how Laurel starts to pick up the pieces and figure out what she can and should do with her life once her family is gone, and how her relationships...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Lindsey rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, romance, teen-books, didnt-like-it, beautiful-covers

I picked this up at random off the library shelf. Which can be pretty risky because you have no idea what the book is potentially about or what could be in it. But I scanned it and read the back cover. I didn't see any signs this might have inappropriate content in it so I took it home.

This was... a very depressing book. Laurel's family, her mom, dad, and brother, die in a car accident while driving to ice cream with their neighbors. So the whole book was about her getting over their deaths. I...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Harmony Beaufort rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Beginning of After is a sweet and sad novel about a girl who loses her parents in a car accident and has to live with the emptiness of losing her entire family, the guilt of not being in the car with them, and the confusion of how in the world is she going to live her life without them?

I'm going to start with the negatives, but I did like this book, for the record. I think I went in expecting something really poignant and heart-wrenching (ala Gayle Forman or Wings of the Wicked) but while La...more The Beginning of After is a sweet and sad novel about a girl who loses her parents in a car accident and has to live with the emptiness of losing her entire family, the guilt of not being in the car with them, and the confusion of how in the world is she going to live her life without them?

I'm going to start with the negatives, but I did like this book, for the record. I think I went in expecting something really poignant and heart-wrenching (ala Gayle Forman or Wings of the Wicked) but while Laurel's story was sad and awful, it didn't affect me. I wasn't crying or feeling awful or really, really clinging to her character, so some of the emotion was lost on me. And then there's the fact it sometimes slowed down in parts and I'd feel like skimming a bit (which I totally didn't!) to see what was going to happen next. While contemporary is not my strong suit genre, I don't want that to happen while i'm reading a book!

On the other hand, I thought Laurel was a very realistic teenager. She was grief-stricken and sometimes even unable to function but even if she acknowledged it felt strange, she still cared about things like school and Prom. It was moving seeing her clinging on to things that could make her feel normal and I could definitely relate to that. Her grandmother plays a large role in her life, which I really appreciated. She was a constant and stable rock for Laurel, which the girl really needed.

BONUS FACTOR: The popular girls at Laurel's school play a part in her recovery story and they're not total biotches. Right? I'm so sick of reading books where the popular girls in school are mean and awful to the heroine and while the girls in this book were shallow, they genuinely wanted to help Laurel out and make her feel better.

I didn't really feel the romance between Laurel and David, to be perfectly honest. I enjoyed it and I understood their connection with their dead or dying families and the fact that they grew up together but when they did finally collide, I didn't feel the sparks as much as I wanted to. But the build-up was fantastic! I actually liked Laurel's relationship with Other Guy, to be perfectly honest, even though I understand why she couldn't be with him.

Overall, a good book but not very deep or moving for me personally.(less)

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About Jennifer Castle

Jennifer Castle received her B.A. in Creative Writing at Brown University and worked as a celebrity publicist’s assistant, an advertising copywriter, and a struggling screenwriter (yes, that’s an actual job) before falling into a niche producing websites for kids and teens. Her first novel, THE BEGINNING OF AFTER, was a 2012 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection as well as a Chicago Public...more

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Quotes from The Beginning of After

“It seemed like the only way to keep breathing was to focus on the here and now, moment by moment, keeping my mind frozen cold to anything else.” — 39 people liked it

“That's the whole thing about grieving... It's part of the deal: You get to be alive and to love, but in exchange you also have to put in some serious hurt time.” — 33 people liked it

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