Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 14 and up
# of pages: 350
RAC: Yes
Devon is lying on the couch when her mom gets home from her evening shift at the local supermarket. She is unresponsive and drifting in and out of consciousness and her mother assumes she is staying home sick. When police officers come to the door to inquire about a newborn baby that was found in a nearby trashcan her mother tells them that she just got home, but that maybe her daughter saw something. At this point it is revealed that Devon had recently given birth and no one around her even knew she was pregnant. She is arrested for attempted murder and taken to the hospital. Once she is mildly recovered she is sent to jail where she is working with a lawyer to fight to stay in the juvenile court system as opposed to being tried as an adult. Devon feels ashamed and confused and does not want anyone to know what has happened. Did she really try to kill her baby? Had she really convinced herself that she was not pregnant or is that just what her story is? Why didn’t she reach out to the many people around her who could have helped her instead of pushing all of them away?
Everyone has heard a story about a young girl who gives birth without anyone knowing about it and tries to “get rid of” the evidence. This book tries look at this situation through the eyes of the young girl. What was she feeling? Did she realize what she was doing? After the event has occurred, the reader follows as Devon comes to terms with her decision and tries to decide how she thinks she should be punished. The characters are interesting and well developed and the details of the story are revealed in an interesting manner. The final outcome feels right and satisfactory for a topic as serious as this. It will be a hit with high school girls.
Young Adult Book Reviews 
this is a great book! i would recommend it to anyone who is interested on this subject. even if you are not, it is still a good book to read. it teaches you a great life lesson. i had to read this book for a school project. i thought that it would just be some book that i would skim through and write a report on. but i was wrong. i ended up loving it. the first chapter caught my attention so quickly. i was soon wrapped up in devon’s story. i personally think that this book is fantastic and will go a long way. i don’t think any other author could have done a better job with a subject like this. thank you amy efaw for writing such a wonderful book.
i agree with you……this is a good book to read.
i think every high school girl should read it…….its a good story.
Amazing storyline, a little slow in the beginning but definitely worth reading !
Alright seriously this book was awful. I never read a book that frustrated me more. No real girl would actually act the way Devon did in her situation. I would not recommend anyone this book unless they really enjoy pain in reading. That being said if you like books that take forever to get some action this is not the book for you. The last page is probably the best part of this book.
Actually girls do this quite often. There are many stories about girls who have done this sort of thing. Amy even talked about it at the end of the book (When she explains what inspired her to write “After” Take a look if you would like.
i also agree with you. i really didn’t see the point of reading this book. it was a really awful book.
This is an amazing book. It gives a great story line. I didnt think i would enjoy it at first but i fell in love with this book.. i walked down the halls reading it, ate lunch reading it, and fell asleep reading it.
this was a bad book… i didnt like it!!!! i was angry with it from the very beginning