After

Title: After by Amy Efaw
Genre: Fiction, YA
Rating 4/5

Devon Davenport is a straight-A student and competitive soccer player with a bright future. Until she abandons her baby in a trashcan behind her apartment in an act of desperation. Now she's living in a juvenile detention centre, charged with attempted murder, while the court decides whether to try her as an adult, despite the fact that she's only 15, which would land her life in prison.

I couldn't put After down. The desire to find out what could make a model teenager like Devon ignore every sign that something wrong with her body and then commit such a desperate and shameful act kept me riveted. The book starts with Devon home sick from school and barely conscious, hardly able to focus on what's occurring around her. It's hard not to empathize with Devon as she begins to sort through her dream-like, perhaps nightmare-like, memories in order to remember and comprehend her own actions. Especially as we learn of her strong belief in self-discipline and of her mother's flirtatious and child-like behaviour.

After is a fast-paced, engaging and emotional read that I'd definitely recommend to others.