Image: Lerner Publishers
AfterMath by Emily Barth Isler. 272 p. Carolrhoda Books/ Lerner Publishing Group, September, 2021. 9781541599116. (Review of arc courtesy of Wunderkind PR.)
Happy Monday! I hope you all had an amazing weekend. Mine was very productive, but also emotionally draining as I am continuing to declutter my house. My husband saved EVERYTHING! I also caught up on grading and sent progress reports. Yay! Boo didn't get his usual very long walks, but they were long enough.
Now it's Monday. Ah, don't you just love the smell of a crisp autumn morning? That's what is was here in northern NJ earlier. Did you notice the rising waxing gibbous moon last night? Don't you love it when math features prominently in a novel? I do even though I'm math phobic. Middle Grade Monday features AfterMath by Emily Barth Isler.
It's hard enough moving to a new school at any age, but moving during middle and high school can be particularly brutal. Moving because your parents want a "fresh start" after the death of your younger brother doesn't exactly help the grief process, especially when your dad has become distant and your mom obsessively decorates. Add to that the fact that the town you moved to, the seventh grade you are about to join, are survivors of a school shooting as third graders. In fact, your new room is the former room of one of the dead students.
Twelve-year-old Lucy Rothman navigates life without Theo while she observes and listens to her classmates shared trauma. She's not sure how to respond and turns to her beloved math as comfort. This is one thing she understands and does well, but then her friendly math teacher adds an extra-credit question to her first test and now, Lucy's not so sure math is predictable and comforting.
While the grief Lucy and her classmates feel is palpable, life does go on, sometimes in surprising ways. This is Ms. Isler's debut novel and she authentically portrays middle school dynamics (friendship drama and crushes) as well as life after the unthinkable (PTSD and coping). Sadly, school violence is a timely topic. This book is an important, age-appropriate exploration of all the feelings tweens might encounter and work through.
Lucy is thoughtful and relatable. I just loved her careful observations of her new circumstances. Give this book to students who enjoy intense exploration of emotion. It's a difficult book to read, but also a difficult book to put down.
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