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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

I feel really good after reading this book. I mean, that's kind of an odd thing to say and/or feel considering the plot of the story, but whatever. The struggles with grief in The Beginning of After are expressed so genuinely and truly from the point of view of a teenager suddenly thrust into a world of hurt and unknown.

I've suffered a great loss just as Laurel did in the story, and I can empathize with the struggles of day-to-day living and suffering being the center of attention and not knowi More...

THE BEGINNING OF AFTER by JENNIFER CASTLE

When I spotted THE BEGINNING OF AFTER by JENNIFER CASTLE, I was immediately drawn to the cover, and the title was intriguing. Upon reading the blurb on the back cover, I made the decision to read it.

When Laurel Meisner's world suddenly changes, she's left with a whirlwind of emotions, unsure of which direction to turn. In a blink of an eye, her family is taken from her, leaving Laurel's grandmother, the only surviving family member, to care for Laurel. Bu More...

it started off weak, and i almost stopped reading it, but i kept on (mostly because i was stuck in a waiting room). i am glad i didn't stop though.

the relationship between laurel and david and joe and megan was kind of superficial. i liked joe. i liked nana the most, i think. and i get david. i get laurel and david's relationship - except that i don't think the end was really realistic.

i kind of liked suzie, and don't really know how i felt about everything else. it covered a lot of emotion, w More...

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...