The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle puts us inside the life of Laurel who has just learned that her entire family has died in a car crash. They were riding with the parents of David, a childhood friend, whose mother was killed and his father remains in a coma. The reader is taken through Laurel's life following the accident and the how she learns to move on and try to keep herself together and try to get through life. Her Nanna moves in and David comes in and out of Laurel's life as they are entangled due to the accident.
I'm not a big fan of depressing books but this was fantastic. It was so heartbreaking and Laurel is such a wonderful person that you really cheer for her when she makes gains and cry when she has setbacks or more heartbreaks. The book is told entirely in the present tense (no flashbacks) however the reader is privy to memories as she grieves. I rushed through this book reading it in less than a day however others may need time to process the information.
Appropriateness: This is a difficult book to read. While it's certainly not dark it is very emotional and invokes a lot of empathy in the readers. There are scenes of drinking (which is presented as destructive) and depression and some minor sexual content (but no actual sex). If your child reads this you'll want to have the answers to the "what would happen to me if something happened to you" question that will probably come up. It will help your child empathize with someone going through grief. The main character is 17 and focused on college. I would recommend this book for readers 13+
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