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The Before Now and After Then
by
**2015 ELit Book Award Silver WInner for LGBT Fiction**
Danny Goldstein has always lived in the shadow of his identical, twin brother Sam. But when a hurricane of events forces him into the spotlight, he starts to realize that the only thing he’s truly afraid of is himself.
With the help of his costume changing friend Cher, a famous gay uncle with a mysterious past of his o ...more
Danny Goldstein has always lived in the shadow of his identical, twin brother Sam. But when a hurricane of events forces him into the spotlight, he starts to realize that the only thing he’s truly afraid of is himself.
With the help of his costume changing friend Cher, a famous gay uncle with a mysterious past of his o ...more
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ebook
Published
July 29th 2014
by Pen Name Publishing
(first published July 28th 2014)
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There’s no beginning or end just our own space suspended in time.
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This is not my normal genre of literature: I'm more of an Urban Fantasy/Epic Fantasy guy. But I knew Peter in High School. He probably has no idea the profound effect he's had on my life. I read the book because of him, and I honestly found it difficult to put it down. It's very rare that I find a book that I read in one day: I did that with the last Dresden Files book and with the last Wheel of Time book, but I found this fascinating. It was a good read, and it kept me going. I even found mysel
...more

Peter Monn's debut novel is amazingly rich and full of life. While technically this novel is geared toward young adults, it's one of those books adults can appreciate just as much. The characters are real, with problems and dreams and all the crazy baggage that makes them seem so true to life. I love Uncle Alex, the famous uncle who wrote the great American indie novel, yet is still struggling with his own past and Cher, Danny's kooky best friend whose bravado belies a sensitive girl with a big
...more

I found this author on YouTube's Book tube under his channel, "Peter Loves Books". I enjoy his channel,his enthusiasm and love of reading is infectious.
This book is so well written,the characters have such an authentic feel. The book is a sweet coming of age story that acknowledges loss, bullying, homosexuality in a very realistic way. The writing is beautiful in its simplicity,beautiful in its powerful storytelling.
I highly recommend this book,as well as the authors Book tube channel,you won't ...more
This book is so well written,the characters have such an authentic feel. The book is a sweet coming of age story that acknowledges loss, bullying, homosexuality in a very realistic way. The writing is beautiful in its simplicity,beautiful in its powerful storytelling.
I highly recommend this book,as well as the authors Book tube channel,you won't ...more

First, I'm getting this out of the way - I hate the name of this book, and I hate that cover. I don't think either do it justice because this is without a doubt, one of the best YA books I've ever read.
Sam and Danny are identical twins. Both golden-haired and beautiful, but that's where the similarities end. Sam is straight and confident, Danny is gay and quiet. Sam is Danny's protector and confidant - until something happens and Sam can't do that any more. When Danny starts a new school, he att ...more
Sam and Danny are identical twins. Both golden-haired and beautiful, but that's where the similarities end. Sam is straight and confident, Danny is gay and quiet. Sam is Danny's protector and confidant - until something happens and Sam can't do that any more. When Danny starts a new school, he att ...more

I'd rate this 4.5 stars.
Sam and Danny Goldstein are identical twins. Sam is the confident one—athletic, popular, and tremendously protective of his brother. Danny is more than content to live in Sam's shadow, sharing his friends, and knowing that the two share an inseparable bond. Sam is always looking out for Danny, and plans an elaborate scheme for Danny to finally come out to their parents.
In an instant, everything changes, and the world and the life that Danny has known and depended on is to ...more
Sam and Danny Goldstein are identical twins. Sam is the confident one—athletic, popular, and tremendously protective of his brother. Danny is more than content to live in Sam's shadow, sharing his friends, and knowing that the two share an inseparable bond. Sam is always looking out for Danny, and plans an elaborate scheme for Danny to finally come out to their parents.
In an instant, everything changes, and the world and the life that Danny has known and depended on is to ...more

This book is surprisingly non-angsty in tone, to me, for the story of a seventeen-year-old whose twin brother is killed the day he also comes out to his parents, as they also decide to separate over the dad cheating. The world has fallen on Danny, but he closes it all inside, and through the book his responses are a bit muted. That's a matter of perceptions, of course, and for some this book may evoke far more emotion. I actually thought the tone was apt especially at first, because as the main
...more

I picked up this book not knowing what to expect, but at the end my heart grew about ten times or maybe more. There are many life lessons hidden within this YA novel that I only wished I read when I was back in high school.
Peter Monn created these relatable characters who I fell in love with. Speaking of love, a majority part of the book is a love story and honestly made me realize I wasn't crazy at all to fall in love too fast.
Feelings are feelings and emotions are emotions. Love is love. I h ...more
Peter Monn created these relatable characters who I fell in love with. Speaking of love, a majority part of the book is a love story and honestly made me realize I wasn't crazy at all to fall in love too fast.
Feelings are feelings and emotions are emotions. Love is love. I h ...more

Feb 26, 2017
Elizabeta
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
lovers of "We Are the Ants"
I'm a big fan of Peter's blogs and wanted to check out his book. I liked that there were some "Peterisms" in the book, like his dog's name, his husband's name, Venezuelan boyfriend, taste in music, love of curly hair and many more :)
It totally reminded me of "We Are the Ants".
I hope one day we can get a memoir of Peter Monn :D ...more
It totally reminded me of "We Are the Ants".
I hope one day we can get a memoir of Peter Monn :D ...more

3.75
A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.
Throughout the time I was reading this book I found it difficult to judge how I was going to rate it. I'm a very instinctive rater, I go with my heart. For me reading is about the passion it inspires, the love I feel for the story and characters, so I often know quite early on if I'm going to rate a book highly. Equally, some stories aren't for me, and these (if I'm reading for the blog) I read with an analytical eye - I try and ...more
A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.
Throughout the time I was reading this book I found it difficult to judge how I was going to rate it. I'm a very instinctive rater, I go with my heart. For me reading is about the passion it inspires, the love I feel for the story and characters, so I often know quite early on if I'm going to rate a book highly. Equally, some stories aren't for me, and these (if I'm reading for the blog) I read with an analytical eye - I try and ...more

Sam y Danny son gemelos idénticos, pero sólo físicamente. Sus personalidades no podrían ser más diferentes.
The way he was always so protective of me would make you think that he was the older one, but that wasn’t the case. I had left him behind in the womb for greater ventures of a new world exactly 18 minutes before he chose to follow me, kicking and screaming, as I lay quietly in my father’s arms. This grand entrance would set the direction for the rest of our lives; Sam fighting while I sa...more

Nov 05, 2016
Carrie (The Butterfly Reader)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
november-2016
OMG you guys! This book is everything I've been looking for to fulfill LGBT needs! It's a cute, heartbreaking, and eye opening kind of novel.
It's all about a guy trying to find out who he is after the death of his twin. It's about his family coming to terms with the death of their son and their other son being gay. It's about Danny finding this first love and first true friend. It's about his growing up in such a short period of time. It's about loss and love. It even had bullies. This novel ki ...more
It's all about a guy trying to find out who he is after the death of his twin. It's about his family coming to terms with the death of their son and their other son being gay. It's about Danny finding this first love and first true friend. It's about his growing up in such a short period of time. It's about loss and love. It even had bullies. This novel ki ...more

4.5 stars Holy crap, the Feelz! Get your box of tissues ready for this one. This is a wonderful story about life and loss and being young. The struggles that come with trying to find yourself, and the fact that it's okay if you haven't. It made me miss my crazy eccentric magenta haired high-school friends, and at the same time thank fucking God that high school is over.
Really well done. Amazing characters, not only Danny. I wish that we had spent more time on Danny and Cher together, once they b ...more
Really well done. Amazing characters, not only Danny. I wish that we had spent more time on Danny and Cher together, once they b ...more

The novel follows Danny Goldstein and his journey in the aftermath of losing his twin brother on the day he plans to come out to his parents while his parents contemplate a separation. Six months later, Danny is a lost, lonely teenager starting his senior year at a new school...there he meets the fabulous Cher, his school bully Pat and his crush Rusty. I really like his Punk Rock parents, gay uncle Alex and the romance that ensues between Danny and Rusty...It's a story about finding your own ide
...more

This book wasn't perfect.
I think the next book by this author could be. Here's why
The imperfections were just little glitches in the writing. Some redundancy, a little too much description here, not enough there. Little stuff.
But the ideas? The stories, characters, and theme? They were right. They were true.
I felt myself leaning into the characters. Hoping for the best for them & waiting for the author to piss me off by getting too tragic or too Pollyanna. But he didn't. He didn't make any of ...more
I think the next book by this author could be. Here's why
The imperfections were just little glitches in the writing. Some redundancy, a little too much description here, not enough there. Little stuff.
But the ideas? The stories, characters, and theme? They were right. They were true.
I felt myself leaning into the characters. Hoping for the best for them & waiting for the author to piss me off by getting too tragic or too Pollyanna. But he didn't. He didn't make any of ...more

Jul 20, 2016
Graham Wilhauk
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-september-2016
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Loved, loved this book
This book revolves around teenager Danny and the loss of his twin brother Sam in an accident he feels he was partly the cause of. Danny is a gay teen, very unsure of himself because he always self identified through his brother Sam. In the coarse of 6 months Danny , through a little help from his friend Cher and strong willed boyfriend Rusty ( and pretty amazing parents and uncle) he ventures out to figure out who he really is. This book was extremely well written, the char ...more
This book revolves around teenager Danny and the loss of his twin brother Sam in an accident he feels he was partly the cause of. Danny is a gay teen, very unsure of himself because he always self identified through his brother Sam. In the coarse of 6 months Danny , through a little help from his friend Cher and strong willed boyfriend Rusty ( and pretty amazing parents and uncle) he ventures out to figure out who he really is. This book was extremely well written, the char ...more

I've read all of John Green and David Levithan's books and this one holds its own with both authors. I just finished this book as a recommendation from a friend on Goodreads. I didn't really know what to expect before I started it although I knew that it was a gay young adult book and had been compared to Will Grayson, Will Grayson and Boy Meets Boy. I didn't expect to get so attached to the main character Danny and I'm definitely not much of a crier in books, but this book really melted my hear
...more

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a wonderful and heartfelt exploration of one twin trying to figure out who is he both in terms of his position in the family, his sexuality and his very personality, in the wake of his brother's death. There was just a whole lot of yay about it. I do wish though that the character of Cher had been fleshed out better. She didn't really add much aside from being the wacky friend. And honestly, Danny wasn't much of a friend in return, so I wasn't sure wh
...more

This book gets ALLLLLL the stars! One of the very best YA books I've EVER read. It was sweet, funny, romantic, painful, poignant, heartbreaking, uplifting ... it had everything. Danny's journey to figure out who he is and who he wants to be is one that everyone can relate to, but that's what makes it so absolutely wonderful. The pain of loss, the wonder of first love, the disappointment that your parents aren't perfect, the fear of the unknown, the hope for the future -- it's all here in an incr
...more

This is another one of those indie-publishing-company books that I like to find--and it was just lovely. Heartbreaking and hopeful and funny and gooey--everything I want in a good teen drama/romance. Danny is the perfect imperfect male narrator (which I'm currently obsessed with), and the relationships he forms with the other characters (Rusty, Cher...even his parents) just unfold in a way that is emotional and pleasurable. Some of the romance is a LITTLE cheesy and cliche, but I honestly didn't
...more

Very nice book, with interesting characters. I tend to fall for main characters, but I don't think Danny really got me here. But I understand a lot of things about him and we have, in fact, a lot in common.
It's also important to register that this book has the coolest parents (and other adults) in YA! I would love to read some Angry Alice / Alex stories from their teenager years. ...more
It's also important to register that this book has the coolest parents (and other adults) in YA! I would love to read some Angry Alice / Alex stories from their teenager years. ...more

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book
This book stirred up a lot of emotions in me, mainly because I identified with Danny a lot better than most people can. I live in Indiana, toured the same colleges he has, have a similar best friend, and I even have a twin (non-identical and alive thank god). I felt Danny's emotions because I could literally slip into his life. I can't imagine losing my twin, no matter how annoying he can be, and the mere thought of it makes my ...more
This book stirred up a lot of emotions in me, mainly because I identified with Danny a lot better than most people can. I live in Indiana, toured the same colleges he has, have a similar best friend, and I even have a twin (non-identical and alive thank god). I felt Danny's emotions because I could literally slip into his life. I can't imagine losing my twin, no matter how annoying he can be, and the mere thought of it makes my ...more

1.5 stars
okay, so good things first: the writing was nice (maybe a little... faux-deep in places, but overall this was well-written) and it wasn't really offensive. otherwise- there was little i liked about this.
cher was... a strange character. it's not that she was loud, bubbly and quirky (there does seem to be an overabundance of those characters in YA books, but that wasn't what particularly bugged me)- it's just... beautiful boy? when they first met? it's just not realistic. (view spoiler) ...more
okay, so good things first: the writing was nice (maybe a little... faux-deep in places, but overall this was well-written) and it wasn't really offensive. otherwise- there was little i liked about this.
cher was... a strange character. it's not that she was loud, bubbly and quirky (there does seem to be an overabundance of those characters in YA books, but that wasn't what particularly bugged me)- it's just... beautiful boy? when they first met? it's just not realistic. (view spoiler) ...more

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Danny has always been following his twin brother, Sam. From the clothes he wore, to the friends he hung out with. Danny w ...more
"In the end, we're all just one big group of freaks I guess, trying to find ourselves in this crazy world. And all I'll ever be is that gay boy, trying desperately to find my own something to live for, never realizing that those things most important are always right in front of your face."
Danny has always been following his twin brother, Sam. From the clothes he wore, to the friends he hung out with. Danny w ...more

I will preface this review with letting other readers know that I am not the best review writer, but here goes... First of all, I thought that Peter Monn was effective in informing the readers about the issues that today's teens face. Some issues like teen pregnancy and suicide were issues when I was that age (a long, long time ago), and now others are in the media spotlight like bullying and hate crimes. I liked how Monn managed to touch upon so many teen issues without making any of them steal
...more

I really enjoyed reading The Before Now and After Then. At times, the story had a very Perks of Being a Wallflower-feel to it. While some parts of Danny's character annoyed me (saying he's in love after one weekend, completely ignoring his best friend once he's in a relationship), I still felt like these parts lent authenticity to the character. Because teenagers, of course, aren't always perfect. They're often selfish and impulsive and fall in love too fast.
The relationship between Danny and R ...more
The relationship between Danny and R ...more

This showed up as a suggested book for me on Amazon based on others I have purchased, and I'm glad it did. Between the fun and intriguing cover and the story line, I knew this was something I had to read. I started and finished it in a day; I couldn't put it down.
There was something about the relationship between Danny and Rusty that was just so sweet. They experienced the innocence of a first love and the hardships that come with it. I loved the character of Cher, with her quirky and feisty na ...more
There was something about the relationship between Danny and Rusty that was just so sweet. They experienced the innocence of a first love and the hardships that come with it. I loved the character of Cher, with her quirky and feisty na ...more

I was granted the right to read this book for review a long time ago, it was one of the first ever books I had the right to read for review and therefore a very special book to me. The books cover itself has changed since I read it.
I have to admit the book completely blew me away, I wasn't worried about the book but I just kind of wasn't fully excited to read it but once I got into it I just couldn't stop. I connected with all of the characters, it was hard not to and there were almost instanta ...more
I have to admit the book completely blew me away, I wasn't worried about the book but I just kind of wasn't fully excited to read it but once I got into it I just couldn't stop. I connected with all of the characters, it was hard not to and there were almost instanta ...more

I mean, I don't really know how to feel.
On one hand, the whole premise of the book is that Danny doesn't know who he is because all of his life he just followed in his twin brother's foot steps. So you would think this book would be about Danny discovering himself after his twin brother Sam dies in a car crash. But to be honest, I don't know how you can find yourself when you instantly enter into a relationship and everything you like becomes the things they like? That's not really discovering y ...more
On one hand, the whole premise of the book is that Danny doesn't know who he is because all of his life he just followed in his twin brother's foot steps. So you would think this book would be about Danny discovering himself after his twin brother Sam dies in a car crash. But to be honest, I don't know how you can find yourself when you instantly enter into a relationship and everything you like becomes the things they like? That's not really discovering y ...more

If I've ever read a book that is simultaneously sweet and gut-wrenching, it is this one. Danny had me hooked from the first page; his sorrow and quiet strength are so obvious is everything he does.
I felt myself whispering to Danny that it would be okay, and smiling at his old-soul comments to his parents, who are unique and complicated and amazing characters.
I like a character driven novel, and that's what this is...it's a bath of striking personalities in various stages of conflict, commotion ...more
I felt myself whispering to Danny that it would be okay, and smiling at his old-soul comments to his parents, who are unique and complicated and amazing characters.
I like a character driven novel, and that's what this is...it's a bath of striking personalities in various stages of conflict, commotion ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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YA LGBT Books: * November 2014 BotM - The Before Now and After Then -*Spoilers* | 5 | 111 | Nov 27, 2014 12:43PM | |
YA LGBT Books: New LGBT Book Coming in July...The Before Now and After Then | 2 | 36 | Oct 30, 2014 02:51AM | |
It's a flash sale! | 1 | 3 | Oct 15, 2014 04:20AM | |
Cher | 1 | 5 | Aug 25, 2014 09:11PM | |
Available Now! | 1 | 6 | Jul 29, 2014 12:53AM |
Peter Monn is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana where he lives with his dashing husband Alex and their brood of dogs named after their favorite literary muses. . Besides being a YouTuber, a dreamer, a romantic, a moon-child and a lover of carnivals, night swimming and driving around late at night, he is also a writer. His first book, The Before Now and After Then, was released in 2014 and he is cu
...more
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“I smiled at her, but she didn’t smile back. Sometimes pain likes to be alone.”
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“Maybe, just maybe, the perfection of the world was found in the imperfection.”
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