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Teen SRC 2021 – Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu

Written by Rahma Kabeer
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The book Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu is told in the POV of Ethan, a boy who was kidnapped and found four years later, and Caroline, a girl whose autistic younger brother was kidnapped for a few days. The story moves forward as Caroline tries to find out what happened to her brother by talking to Ethan, and Ethan deals with triggering flashbacks and memories.

This book talks about trauma and how to move on for it. I thought the plots were amazing, and some of the quotes were deep and insightful.

The ending though…I wouldn’t really call it an ending. It just abruptly cuts off. I was disappointed because the book was really good.

7/10

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Teen SRC 2021 – We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Written by Olivia X
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We Were Liars – a psychological thriller by E. Lockhart – is about seventeen-year old Candence and how she is struggling to recover from her injury. Something happened two years ago, during her fifteenth summer, that left her with constant migraines and memory loss. Candence doesn’t remember what happened during her injury, and no one seems to want to talk about it, so it’s up to her to figure it out herself.

Personally, I rather enjoyed Lockhart’s writing style. I know there’s a lot of readers out there who find it a little boring, but I think if you stop to think about some of the quotes, there’s more to it than just the story. That’s why I think this novel is like the classic example of “showing, not telling” the reader, because the author put so many layers to the story and in-depth descriptions.

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Teen SRC 2021 – All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Written by Olivia X
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So, I’m sure we’ve all heard of this book by now, right? All the Bright Places – a young adult fiction novel written by Jennifer Niven – explores themes like community, individuality, mental health, and trauma. I personally think it was actually a rather educational book for teens. The main characters, Theodore Finch and Violet Markey, are both struggling through their own problems. Will their love be enough to heal each other’s scars?

Violet and Finch first met on top of a bell tower. If it weren’t for their coincidental meet, it’s possible one of them –or both of them- would have jumped that day. But they saved each other from doing so, and ever since that, they slowly begin to feel less insecure about themselves. They make memories together, precious moments filled with laughter and delight…until Finch starts slipping back into the black hole that he’d just managed to crawl out of.

I did enjoy this book, and I like how the author uses lots of symbols. For instance, the flower and the bird. I think it provides some emotional depth to the plot. I also think this novel can actually teach you a lot of things about mental health; I, for one, certainly learned quite a bit.

The one thing I’m struggling on with this book is finding excitement. This book review, so far, probably isn’t showing much enthusiasm either, because I found the book rather boring. I don’t know WHAT IT IS with me and popular books, but somehow I’m almost always slightly disappointed by them. I could say, truthfully, that I liked this book, but there were no scenes that left a deep impression on me, and it’s not my number one book recommendation. I think some of that has to do with the fact hat I predicted the ending after the first chapter, but hey, the book was enjoyable at least.

I’d rate All the Bright Places 6/10, and I’d recommend it only if you have a lot of time on your hands. Again, it’s not a bad book, but the plot line was a little too monotoned for my preference. By the way, if you do happen to enjoy the novel, they made a film out of it on Netflix!

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