What do you think?
Rate this book
Taylor Before and After
In journal entries alternating between two timelines--before and after a tragic accident--this heartfelt coming-of-age story follows the year that changes one girl's life forever.
Before, Taylor Harper is finally popular, sitting with the cool kids at lunch, and maybe, just maybe, getting invited to the biggest, most exclusive party of the year.
After, no one talks to her.
Before, she's friends with Brielle Branson, the coolest girl in school.
After, Brielle has become a bully, and Taylor's her favorite target.
Before, home isn't perfect, but at least her family is together.
After, Mom won't get out of bed, Dad won't stop yelling, and Eli...
Eli's gone.
Through everything, Taylor has her notebook, a diary of the year that one fatal accident tears her life apart. In entries alternating between the first and second semester of her eighth-grade year, she navigates joy and grief, gain and loss, hope and depression.
How can Taylor pick up the pieces of what used to be her social life? How can her house ever feel like home again after everything that's happened? And how can she move forward if she can't stop looking back?
An Imprint Book
Before, Taylor Harper is finally popular, sitting with the cool kids at lunch, and maybe, just maybe, getting invited to the biggest, most exclusive party of the year.
After, no one talks to her.
Before, she's friends with Brielle Branson, the coolest girl in school.
After, Brielle has become a bully, and Taylor's her favorite target.
Before, home isn't perfect, but at least her family is together.
After, Mom won't get out of bed, Dad won't stop yelling, and Eli...
Eli's gone.
Through everything, Taylor has her notebook, a diary of the year that one fatal accident tears her life apart. In entries alternating between the first and second semester of her eighth-grade year, she navigates joy and grief, gain and loss, hope and depression.
How can Taylor pick up the pieces of what used to be her social life? How can her house ever feel like home again after everything that's happened? And how can she move forward if she can't stop looking back?
An Imprint Book
320 pages, Hardcover
First published February 18, 2020
18 people are currently reading
696 people want to read
About the author
Jennie Englund
1 book17 followersJennie Englund began Taylor Before and After, her first book, during her time as a National Endowment for the Humanities fellow in Hawaii. She lives in Oregon, where she works as a teacher.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
January 30, 2020
This book, like young adulthood itself, is complex and multilayered. The reader must navigate two alternating story lines: life "before," and life "after," a tragic event that upends a family, a community, and most important to Taylor, the delicate balance of social acceptance. Taylor tells her story through writing prompts, which feels similar to books conveyed through journal entries - we are meant to experience, through Taylor's eyes, the drama and discomfort of living in two different worlds at once. Taylor struggles to reconcile the sunny, pineapple cocktail version of Oahu with the real people, and real experiences, of the island. She sees the shiny-haired girls who play reality-tv style social games, the golden surfer boys who seem to float on life like they do on the waves, and the local families who (literally) don't have a dollar to spare for education. Taylor experiences fleeting moments of belonging and then helplessly watches as her carefully-navigated social status crumbles "after" the tragedy. Mostly, though, we experience through Taylor the gap between mental wellness and mental illness. When the story lines merge with an unexpected and satisfying conclusion, Taylor is forever changed, and the reader has a new appreciation for the beautiful, vicious, spirit-lifting and spirit-crushing swings of everyday young adulthood.
January 29, 2020
Wow. This book was not what I expected, when I set to read a young adult fiction novel about a girl in the paradise of Hawaii. I was surprised in so many great ways, pulled into this girl’s family, friendships, and her relationship with her own mind and heart. Taylor, her friends (and frienemies), and her family members all carry traits of people I’ve known. I can relate to several of them, which made my heart swell and break like those very Hawaiian waves.
I loved the culture, the personalities, the little details, (the pets!) and the way this story is woven together to create a comforting blanket of togetherness. I feel now, more than I did before reading this book, that I am not alone in my joy or my pain. I am personally inspired to write, now! I can’t wait to read what this author has coming, next, and I really want to visit Hawaii!
This is certainly not some graphic novel, or a strictly romantic vampire/babysitter/talent show/reality star flip-through. This is a book written for young adults, today, living in a complicated world, with moving parts all around them, and more questions than answers.
A gem, a treat, and an honor to read.
I loved the culture, the personalities, the little details, (the pets!) and the way this story is woven together to create a comforting blanket of togetherness. I feel now, more than I did before reading this book, that I am not alone in my joy or my pain. I am personally inspired to write, now! I can’t wait to read what this author has coming, next, and I really want to visit Hawaii!
This is certainly not some graphic novel, or a strictly romantic vampire/babysitter/talent show/reality star flip-through. This is a book written for young adults, today, living in a complicated world, with moving parts all around them, and more questions than answers.
A gem, a treat, and an honor to read.
January 8, 2020
This book helps teens work through life challenges, both internal and external in a gentle yet hopeful way. It has an interesting and unique format of 2 timelines told through journal entries, but the change in voice makes it easy to understand.
We can all relate to main character, Taylor, in her quest to be popular, and then realize alongside her that there are many more important things in life.
We can all relate to main character, Taylor, in her quest to be popular, and then realize alongside her that there are many more important things in life.
October 16, 2023
I felt like Taylor was writing right to me and I was her friend. She is honest, and the struggles she goes through are real. Her entries before and after show how life changes people, for bad and good, and what we can do about it. And what we can't. Middle schoolers will connect with how it feels to be on the outside. But also, readers will see that maybe being on the inside isn't so great. I loved Brielle, the villain. She's complicated. You can see WHY she is how she is and even end up feeling sorry for her. Hawaii is shown from different sides too. It's not like the Hawaii most people know about. It's more.
Through Taylor's problem-solving, the journal ends with hope. This is a story of kindness. And meanness. Survival. And family, true friendship, pain and healing, surfing, fashion, and a cat that eats enchiladas.
Through Taylor's problem-solving, the journal ends with hope. This is a story of kindness. And meanness. Survival. And family, true friendship, pain and healing, surfing, fashion, and a cat that eats enchiladas.
January 29, 2020
After several of us fell in love with Taylor and her story, we will be adding this to our preteen-teen-adult book club in New York City! We can’t wait to share this fresh, deep, relatable, smart, fun, humorous, sometimes heartbreaking but always heartfelt, novel with our readers have of many ages. This book will take you on a journey, and you’ll be glad you went along for it. #2020topcontender!
January 7, 2020
Great read, well written. The narration through writing prompts gives the reader a unique ride through the life of Taylor. This book will make you think about the social challenges of kids and the pain they go through.
February 8, 2020
This story was incredibly touching and realistic. It is often that books lack the ability to make me feel raw emotion. That is not the case with Taylor before and after! I am happy to report that this young adult story taught me about empathy, and loss. I recommend this book to anyone with a connection to Hawaii, anyone with a kid in High school, anyone in high school or collage. And even older generations as it opens a window to a culture that is unfamiliar to most. This book left me wanting more! When is the next book coming Mrs. Englund?!?
Read
January 6, 2020I sadly DNFed this one pretty early on. The writing style wasn't working for me at all. I can normally vibe with stream-of-consciousness writing well enough, but this was just too choppy and jumped all over the place way too much, and honestly, I can't see this being a successful read with most kids in its intended age range, either.
Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
March 7, 2020
Taylor Before and After is the one of the most beautiful odes to tragedy followed by hope that I’ve ever read. Although the broken plot can often be difficult to follow, the strong, empowering message of hope even in the darkest times makes up for anything. Taylor herself made the story impactful. I remember not wanting to continue reading in fear of Taylor being broken again... along with her, each of the characters were elegantly crafted with reason and purpose, especially in relation to Taylor’s life and development. This book WILL help you in your darkest hour, and even if you’re in a good spot?
Read it. It hurts, but it’s worth it.
Read it. It hurts, but it’s worth it.
April 16, 2020
Taylor Before and After is a beautifully told and deeply moving account of the torment of being young, the fear around fitting in and making friends, and how a single event can shatter your whole life. It's a book every middle school child should read, a book every parent of a middle school child should read. There's so much brilliance in how this novel is structured - the way it moves back and forth in time through Taylor's personal journal, slowly revealing pieces of what's happened and how the events of a single day can ripple. This is one of the best books I've read in a very long time - don't be fooled by the tag of YA Fiction. It's for everyone.
March 8, 2020
I loved this book! Once I started reading, I did not want to stop. When I was interrupted, all I could think about was getting back to the story.
March 31, 2020
We’re all in a time of before and after right now. The book began with the premise that someone else’s choices can have monumental consequences for us. But as Taylor came to know herself better, she realized the role her own choices had in her before and after.
Although this is not a mystery, the cross-cut structure between winter (after) and fall (before) metes out the story in tantalizing increments. As readers we know the consequences before the causes. It’s fitting for a book that explores whether any of us recognize our own cause and effect as we live it. Although Taylor is the fulcrum of the story, we see this theme developed most strongly through the mesh of secondary characters- her brother, Eli, but also Li Lu, Brielle, her father, and even the grandmother who is more a presence than actually present.
For some, Taylor’s interest in fashion and pop culture will be something to relate to. Her ‘Make it Major’ refrain reveals a real underlying knowledge and passion. Others will find it part of a larger commentary on how we relate to each other. Perhaps, on priorities. In the end, it wasn’t the fashion that was rejected, but the cutthroat climate surrounding it. The inherent drama.
In the end, people are complicated. Can we manage to see their good as well as their bad?
Although this is not a mystery, the cross-cut structure between winter (after) and fall (before) metes out the story in tantalizing increments. As readers we know the consequences before the causes. It’s fitting for a book that explores whether any of us recognize our own cause and effect as we live it. Although Taylor is the fulcrum of the story, we see this theme developed most strongly through the mesh of secondary characters- her brother, Eli, but also Li Lu, Brielle, her father, and even the grandmother who is more a presence than actually present.
For some, Taylor’s interest in fashion and pop culture will be something to relate to. Her ‘Make it Major’ refrain reveals a real underlying knowledge and passion. Others will find it part of a larger commentary on how we relate to each other. Perhaps, on priorities. In the end, it wasn’t the fashion that was rejected, but the cutthroat climate surrounding it. The inherent drama.
In the end, people are complicated. Can we manage to see their good as well as their bad?
February 17, 2020
Loved this book from the first page to the last!
The book successfully highlights issues that so many young adults face. Taylor is a relatable character - one that I think young adults will admire and look up to. As I was reading, I could really feel her grief and felt like I was there in the story with her. I also loved the journal entry format and two timelines, which kept the story unique and interesting.
Although this is a book intended for young adults, it has lessons and wisdom for people of any age or gender.
The book successfully highlights issues that so many young adults face. Taylor is a relatable character - one that I think young adults will admire and look up to. As I was reading, I could really feel her grief and felt like I was there in the story with her. I also loved the journal entry format and two timelines, which kept the story unique and interesting.
Although this is a book intended for young adults, it has lessons and wisdom for people of any age or gender.
February 4, 2020
When I was a young adult, I struggled with mental health issues just like Taylor. The character is immensely relatable.
The environment around Taylor is realistic and easily imagined. The author did a great job with the secondary characters like Brielle.
Overall, a great book that I will recommend to my sister, a 7th and 8th grade teacher.
The environment around Taylor is realistic and easily imagined. The author did a great job with the secondary characters like Brielle.
Overall, a great book that I will recommend to my sister, a 7th and 8th grade teacher.
March 18, 2020
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” ~ Ferris Bueller
Taylor and her family have moved to Hawaii. Struggling to make friends, besides her best friend, Li Lu, she watches her brother, Eli make friends instantaneously. Eli and his friends, like so many in Hawaii, are addicted to the waves. Riding a board makes his life complete. Watching his group of friends makes Taylor in an odd way complete. But life is not complete at all, what happens in the front of others is not what is happening behind the scenes in her home. Eli struggles with the authority of his father, goes places that he shouldn’t, breaks curfew all the time. Taylor worries about constantly about everything happening in her family. Finally, Taylor becomes friends with the most popular girl in school sadly at the expense of Li Lu.
Taylor Before and After goes beyond trying to fit in and the loner girl becomes part of the "populars" type coming of age story. This book discusses through prompt questions from her Language Arts teacher the trauma of substance abuse, death, mental illness and trying to navigate through all of it as a teenager who feels like she is responsible for all that is happening in her community and neighborhood.
Man, I love a good Epsilatory story. I love a story that isn’t afraid to touch onto sensitive topics and places it into the world of a Middle Grader. Taylor Before and After doesn’t have chapter titles it has seasons as the chapter headings most of the book is like the moods of Taylor’s life — Winter and Fall. The end of the book is full of Spring but no summer. The book spends those seasons giving us the building up the story and dealing with trauma all though it takes a while to find out what that trauma is; it then finally comes to the full realization of Taylor’s change in view ending in Spring as hope can bloom like an orange Hibiscus.
Taylor went through so much in her family and her strength and honesty through her LA notebook is a great tool to deal with feelings.
Coming of age is hard. Dealing with all that change can suck you into living life with blinders on where whatever tragedy or trial you are living with seems as if the tragedy will never end. Taylor lives like this. However, Taylor Before and After is a book that can help an 8-12-year-old deal with emotions that they could be facing after a death of a loved one, or in the middle of the reality of life dealing with a parent who suffers from mental health issues and that there is hope even if it is just a glimmer of an old friend’s reconnection or learning that you are stronger than you thought you were. Although Taylor Before and After can be a great coping book, it is also a great book just to read for the fun of it. I find that the coming of age books make for a great empathy-building experience.
This is a heart wrenching juvenile book that we need more of to help speak with our children about mental illness, substance abuse, and bullying.
Jennie Englund does a wonderful job of being sensitive handing these tough subjects for younger readers and still creating a good read.
Taylor Before and After should be at the top of the list for required reading in 6th and/or 7h grade.
I appreciated the chance to read this book and review it. Thank you Edelweiss Plus, Imprint (Macmillan) for the opportunity to read this book in lieu of my honest review.
Taylor and her family have moved to Hawaii. Struggling to make friends, besides her best friend, Li Lu, she watches her brother, Eli make friends instantaneously. Eli and his friends, like so many in Hawaii, are addicted to the waves. Riding a board makes his life complete. Watching his group of friends makes Taylor in an odd way complete. But life is not complete at all, what happens in the front of others is not what is happening behind the scenes in her home. Eli struggles with the authority of his father, goes places that he shouldn’t, breaks curfew all the time. Taylor worries about constantly about everything happening in her family. Finally, Taylor becomes friends with the most popular girl in school sadly at the expense of Li Lu.
Taylor Before and After goes beyond trying to fit in and the loner girl becomes part of the "populars" type coming of age story. This book discusses through prompt questions from her Language Arts teacher the trauma of substance abuse, death, mental illness and trying to navigate through all of it as a teenager who feels like she is responsible for all that is happening in her community and neighborhood.
Man, I love a good Epsilatory story. I love a story that isn’t afraid to touch onto sensitive topics and places it into the world of a Middle Grader. Taylor Before and After doesn’t have chapter titles it has seasons as the chapter headings most of the book is like the moods of Taylor’s life — Winter and Fall. The end of the book is full of Spring but no summer. The book spends those seasons giving us the building up the story and dealing with trauma all though it takes a while to find out what that trauma is; it then finally comes to the full realization of Taylor’s change in view ending in Spring as hope can bloom like an orange Hibiscus.
Taylor went through so much in her family and her strength and honesty through her LA notebook is a great tool to deal with feelings.
Coming of age is hard. Dealing with all that change can suck you into living life with blinders on where whatever tragedy or trial you are living with seems as if the tragedy will never end. Taylor lives like this. However, Taylor Before and After is a book that can help an 8-12-year-old deal with emotions that they could be facing after a death of a loved one, or in the middle of the reality of life dealing with a parent who suffers from mental health issues and that there is hope even if it is just a glimmer of an old friend’s reconnection or learning that you are stronger than you thought you were. Although Taylor Before and After can be a great coping book, it is also a great book just to read for the fun of it. I find that the coming of age books make for a great empathy-building experience.
This is a heart wrenching juvenile book that we need more of to help speak with our children about mental illness, substance abuse, and bullying.
Jennie Englund does a wonderful job of being sensitive handing these tough subjects for younger readers and still creating a good read.
Taylor Before and After should be at the top of the list for required reading in 6th and/or 7h grade.
I appreciated the chance to read this book and review it. Thank you Edelweiss Plus, Imprint (Macmillan) for the opportunity to read this book in lieu of my honest review.
April 12, 2020
Huge thank you to Raincoast for this ARC!
Ho boy, this book. For a book that is considered middle grade, this actually feels like it should have been categorized in young adult. I want to stress that this book goes over a lot of difficult subject matters, and I am not saying a middle grader can't comprehend them, but what I am saying is just be aware that this is a wonderful but difficult book with some hard conversations attached.
Taylor Before and After is told in a unique "before" and "after" style, alternating between two timelines. It's a style that even with the journal entries will take a bit of getting used to. This is a story of friendships going wrong, family relationships crumbling at the seams, and one girl's attempt to comprehend all of it as she compares her past to her present. Taylor is difficult, she' not the most open of protagonists, and often the journal entries require a bit of detective work to get the whole story of why she is friendless or why her brother is missing. It's done very well, might I add, and Taylor is a character you definitely can empathize with.
I want to add this book is very hopeful, and the style is inviting to say the least. I found myself constantly wanting to know what was happening between the timelines and piece together the large part of this story. It's a bit of a mystery, which I appreciate, but it's also a story that rings true I think for a lot of kids who may be coping with too much happening at once and are struggling to articulate it. Taylor Before and After is a very rewarding read, and one I'll happily recommend to those who love difficult stories with complex kids at the heart of it.
Ho boy, this book. For a book that is considered middle grade, this actually feels like it should have been categorized in young adult. I want to stress that this book goes over a lot of difficult subject matters, and I am not saying a middle grader can't comprehend them, but what I am saying is just be aware that this is a wonderful but difficult book with some hard conversations attached.
Taylor Before and After is told in a unique "before" and "after" style, alternating between two timelines. It's a style that even with the journal entries will take a bit of getting used to. This is a story of friendships going wrong, family relationships crumbling at the seams, and one girl's attempt to comprehend all of it as she compares her past to her present. Taylor is difficult, she' not the most open of protagonists, and often the journal entries require a bit of detective work to get the whole story of why she is friendless or why her brother is missing. It's done very well, might I add, and Taylor is a character you definitely can empathize with.
I want to add this book is very hopeful, and the style is inviting to say the least. I found myself constantly wanting to know what was happening between the timelines and piece together the large part of this story. It's a bit of a mystery, which I appreciate, but it's also a story that rings true I think for a lot of kids who may be coping with too much happening at once and are struggling to articulate it. Taylor Before and After is a very rewarding read, and one I'll happily recommend to those who love difficult stories with complex kids at the heart of it.
March 2, 2020
I was given a free copy of this book from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Something bad has happened in Taylor's life, and at first we quite don't understand what. With the story told through journal entries from before the accident to after, it slowly unfolds that he brother has died and she was somehow involved. Contains grief, mental instability, teenage angst, and bad teenage decisions. Very timely and important read for some of our youth.
July 4, 2020
Such a good book about hope. Taylor is struggling with depression because of something her brother did, and feels like she doesn't have a life anymore. Through many toxic friendships and good ones, she learns what it means to be a true friend and help other people with their problems. It was truly inspiring to see Taylor grow through the story, she was super brave throughout the entire thing. I would totally recommend this book to anyone.
March 4, 2020
This is a beautiful book about grief, depression, and the confusion that can surround you in times of crises. Englund doesn’t just show Taylor’s struggles, but those of her family around her and the different ways we all try to cope.
Taylor Before and After, is a difficult read, but a rewarding one. To look at an honest portrayal of depression and not shy away allows us to really see ourselves and address our own realities.
Taylor Before and After, is a difficult read, but a rewarding one. To look at an honest portrayal of depression and not shy away allows us to really see ourselves and address our own realities.
April 23, 2020
I think anyone who survived young adulthood can relate to this story, and if you have young adult children of your own, it becomes even more resonant. Taylor Before and After shatters the illusion we have about younger people. It's not easy, nor safe, nor tidy. This is a deeply honest and revealing work.
April 23, 2020
I loved this book! It was challenging and engaging, and best of all, unique. Highly recommend!
April 23, 2020
A heartfelt story about the very real struggles in one teen girl's life. Great read—buying for the many YA readers in my life!
Read
July 13, 2020"There aren't just two kinds of people in the world!" Oh, gosh this couldn't ring more true. This phrase sounds inconsequential but like so many other lines from this story, it resounds with implication.
Taylor Before and After is a novel that delivers exactly what the title proclaims: a look at one young girl's life before and after a life-altering event. The before and after are segmented into seasons that represent promise, Fall or Autumn - the before, and grimness and despair, Winter - the after. Towards the conclusion, Spring makes an appearance but more on that later.
Taylor is a tween starting a new school in a new American state which happens to be the island of Hawaii. Nearly everything is exotic and evocative at first. She is intoxicated by the tropical perfumes of the island, its mesmerizing views and it's addictive surfing culture. However not all that sparkles is diamond and soon the charms of an island lifestyle decay leaving Taylor feeling entrapped and suffocated by its corrupt undercurrents and the banal atrocities that tourists are too sun-struck to notice.
Her discomfortiture and the slow dismantling of her confidence, is told in a succession of epistolary styled writing entries; a regular free-writing exercise set by her creative languages teacher. Through these journal entries, Taylor develops an internal dialogue with herself that allows us glimpses of her mental health and well-being.
At first both states of being appear severely marred. Weakened, bruised beyond repair. Entries are disjointed and indirect yet each provide a clue to what really lies beneath Taylor's intense pain. We gradually learn more as her entries develop in depth and detail and she begins to purge her grief and frustration; as she shares her deepest thoughts and dreams. It is interesting to note that Taylor's Autumn / Fall entries, her Before, reflect a voice that is still innocent and girlish, unaffected and cheerful. Winter entries feel not only more sombre but sound as though they are the thoughts of a much older teen, which is fitting as the passage of time describes Taylor's emotional maturing as much as its destruction.
There is as much humor as there is tragedy in this story line of loss, gains, betrayals and dealing with grief. For those who've experienced a cataclysmic event like the death of someone close when they were still young and impressionable, this will be a revealing novel. At times confronting, the staccato style of the beginning settles into a need to know the complete story. Englund's references to surfing and thought provoking writing prompts along with intimate interactions with Taylor and the terrible psyche of middle school friendship groups provides enough tension and build to keep pages turning. The ending - Spring - gently draws readers into an ocean of hope. It's just that sometimes, in life, we have to weather a few other seasons before we get there.
An evocative read suited to older reading tweens and middle grade students.
Taylor Before and After is a novel that delivers exactly what the title proclaims: a look at one young girl's life before and after a life-altering event. The before and after are segmented into seasons that represent promise, Fall or Autumn - the before, and grimness and despair, Winter - the after. Towards the conclusion, Spring makes an appearance but more on that later.
Taylor is a tween starting a new school in a new American state which happens to be the island of Hawaii. Nearly everything is exotic and evocative at first. She is intoxicated by the tropical perfumes of the island, its mesmerizing views and it's addictive surfing culture. However not all that sparkles is diamond and soon the charms of an island lifestyle decay leaving Taylor feeling entrapped and suffocated by its corrupt undercurrents and the banal atrocities that tourists are too sun-struck to notice.
Her discomfortiture and the slow dismantling of her confidence, is told in a succession of epistolary styled writing entries; a regular free-writing exercise set by her creative languages teacher. Through these journal entries, Taylor develops an internal dialogue with herself that allows us glimpses of her mental health and well-being.
At first both states of being appear severely marred. Weakened, bruised beyond repair. Entries are disjointed and indirect yet each provide a clue to what really lies beneath Taylor's intense pain. We gradually learn more as her entries develop in depth and detail and she begins to purge her grief and frustration; as she shares her deepest thoughts and dreams. It is interesting to note that Taylor's Autumn / Fall entries, her Before, reflect a voice that is still innocent and girlish, unaffected and cheerful. Winter entries feel not only more sombre but sound as though they are the thoughts of a much older teen, which is fitting as the passage of time describes Taylor's emotional maturing as much as its destruction.
There is as much humor as there is tragedy in this story line of loss, gains, betrayals and dealing with grief. For those who've experienced a cataclysmic event like the death of someone close when they were still young and impressionable, this will be a revealing novel. At times confronting, the staccato style of the beginning settles into a need to know the complete story. Englund's references to surfing and thought provoking writing prompts along with intimate interactions with Taylor and the terrible psyche of middle school friendship groups provides enough tension and build to keep pages turning. The ending - Spring - gently draws readers into an ocean of hope. It's just that sometimes, in life, we have to weather a few other seasons before we get there.
An evocative read suited to older reading tweens and middle grade students.
September 21, 2020
Taylor tells the story of before and after a fatal car accident that happened when her brother Eli was driving. Told in a series of responses to writing prompts, Taylor is very honest and open. She shares how she was so eager to be in the popular crowd that when Brielle Branson starts being nice to her, she doesn't always do the right thing. She worries about her mother, and how she doesn't get out of bed anymore. She tells how her father, a college professor, is always yelling or working. She mentions her grandmother, who is holding the family together financially. She talks about Hawaii, and that it's not quite the paradise that is portrayed to tourists. She writes about Eli, her surfer brother who was driving his friend's Jeep the night of the accident. How she is mad at him, hates him even, because of what he's done. But also how he has covered for her, and for others; how Eli and her father fight.
But most of all, she writes about what she is feeling. How she is anxious, can't remember things from school, gets headaches now, feels like her chest is being crushed. Debut author Jennie Englund does an excellent job handling the issue of mental health, treating it as serious but not stigmatizing it. The author's note at the end of the book includes resources for teens that are in crisis or contemplating suicide.
Ultimately hopeful, this book does not sugar coat or glamorize any of the hard issues that it contemplates, but is matter of fact and age appropriate. Recommended for grades 8 and up.
But most of all, she writes about what she is feeling. How she is anxious, can't remember things from school, gets headaches now, feels like her chest is being crushed. Debut author Jennie Englund does an excellent job handling the issue of mental health, treating it as serious but not stigmatizing it. The author's note at the end of the book includes resources for teens that are in crisis or contemplating suicide.
Ultimately hopeful, this book does not sugar coat or glamorize any of the hard issues that it contemplates, but is matter of fact and age appropriate. Recommended for grades 8 and up.
November 19, 2020
If you were wanting and looking for a book that takes you into a teenage girl life than this might be the book for you.
This book "Taylor before and after" was written by Jennie Englund and was published in 2020. The woman who wrote this book is from Oregon. This is a good to read if you don't want to get into a series or have to read a book before you read this one.
What this book is about is a girl named Taylor Harper has this notebook and this notebook becomes her dairy that she writes everything that happens to her in that notebook. She is in her 8th grade year when she learns how to navigate through joy and grief, gaining and loss, hope and depression. As you read through this book you'll see her go through all of these emotions. When she gets to sit with the cool kids at school and gets invited to one of the most exclusive parties and then after no one talks to her. Then becomes best friends with one of the coolest girls at school then becomes her biggest target. Then after all of that he suffers a big loss in her family.
Overall I think that this book is a good book the storyline gives you all kinds of emotions to keep you hooked in the book. The way this book if formatted is good for readers that aren't the strangest readers. I think they would be able to stay on track with the story. I also feel like this would be god for a girl in middle school because this could show a girl that she will be okay if she is going though anything like what the book covers. In all this book is a good book to start if you want to start to get into reading.
This book "Taylor before and after" was written by Jennie Englund and was published in 2020. The woman who wrote this book is from Oregon. This is a good to read if you don't want to get into a series or have to read a book before you read this one.
What this book is about is a girl named Taylor Harper has this notebook and this notebook becomes her dairy that she writes everything that happens to her in that notebook. She is in her 8th grade year when she learns how to navigate through joy and grief, gaining and loss, hope and depression. As you read through this book you'll see her go through all of these emotions. When she gets to sit with the cool kids at school and gets invited to one of the most exclusive parties and then after no one talks to her. Then becomes best friends with one of the coolest girls at school then becomes her biggest target. Then after all of that he suffers a big loss in her family.
Overall I think that this book is a good book the storyline gives you all kinds of emotions to keep you hooked in the book. The way this book if formatted is good for readers that aren't the strangest readers. I think they would be able to stay on track with the story. I also feel like this would be god for a girl in middle school because this could show a girl that she will be okay if she is going though anything like what the book covers. In all this book is a good book to start if you want to start to get into reading.
February 28, 2021
Structurally interesting, both for being written as diary entries and for presenting the entries out of chronological order to reveal how one event can so drastically change a life.
Taylor is a socially attentive young person: fashion-aware, brand-conscious, but more than that, she's concerned with her friends. Her friendship struggles are ordinary on one level, yet some of the challenges the girls face are unusually steep, and these losses layer into each other. Nothing is quite so simple as it seems.
On one occasion, Taylor writes in her journal: “I wish I’d never met her. Brielle Branson isn’t even human. She’s a monster. She doesn’t have any feelings inside.” But on another, she reminisces: “I remember how it was having the group,” asking whether “it would have been better to never have been inside at all.”
This is for young readers, but "old" readers, too, may readily identify with this ambivalence from season to season: what seems like the right and proper way things are and will always be, a reasonably happy state of affairs, quickly turns to frustration and disappointment and then to nostalgia for the supposedly uncomplicated and happier era. The out-of-order presentation of the journal entries — "Before and After" as the title has it — emphasizes this back-and-forth nature of our internal dialogues and makes for a deeper experience.
Taylor is a socially attentive young person: fashion-aware, brand-conscious, but more than that, she's concerned with her friends. Her friendship struggles are ordinary on one level, yet some of the challenges the girls face are unusually steep, and these losses layer into each other. Nothing is quite so simple as it seems.
On one occasion, Taylor writes in her journal: “I wish I’d never met her. Brielle Branson isn’t even human. She’s a monster. She doesn’t have any feelings inside.” But on another, she reminisces: “I remember how it was having the group,” asking whether “it would have been better to never have been inside at all.”
This is for young readers, but "old" readers, too, may readily identify with this ambivalence from season to season: what seems like the right and proper way things are and will always be, a reasonably happy state of affairs, quickly turns to frustration and disappointment and then to nostalgia for the supposedly uncomplicated and happier era. The out-of-order presentation of the journal entries — "Before and After" as the title has it — emphasizes this back-and-forth nature of our internal dialogues and makes for a deeper experience.
May 1, 2020
Eighth grader Taylor Harper lives on Oahu with her family when a tragic event occurs in their lives. Through a series of journal prompts, the story of this loss unfolds -- and the reader moves back and forth in time to understand Taylor's loss and depression. Her loneliness and grief are contrasted with her hopefullness earlier in the year, and we wonder how Taylor will survive -- how she'll survive her family, her school, her friendships.
Jennie Englund is a smart, thoughtful writer. It's no mistake that this lonely main character lives on an island, and it's no mistake that the narrative jumps around, sometimes in an ungrounding way, which is so similar to the way depression and grief move through the heart and mind.
Interesting areas of focus: fashion, Hawaiian culture, surf culture, social issues, historical events.
Jennie Englund is a smart, thoughtful writer. It's no mistake that this lonely main character lives on an island, and it's no mistake that the narrative jumps around, sometimes in an ungrounding way, which is so similar to the way depression and grief move through the heart and mind.
Interesting areas of focus: fashion, Hawaiian culture, surf culture, social issues, historical events.
April 23, 2020
A wonderful novel. Highly recommend.
May 8, 2020
Loved Taylor. So well written and the writing prompts are brilliant.
March 11, 2021
From its very first page, the touching, beautifully written TAYLOR BEFORE AND AFTER by Jennie Englund pulled me in and wouldn't let go. The story darts back and forth in time over a period of months as we get to know middle-schooler Taylor Harper, who's working to fit in, all the while facing family dynamics, complicated friendships, mental health struggles, and, well, being an early teen. The brother character and his relationship with Taylor is particularly well drawn and quite moving. Taylor's fashion observations and love of reality TV shows make the book funny and very relatable, no matter what age the reader, although like others, I found myself wondering if it might be more for young adults. It certainly will appeal to anyone who appreciates a good story about overcoming and emerging from difficult times. I loved this heartfelt, hopeful tale and highly recommend it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews