After

After
Written by: Amy Efaw
Hardcover: 350 pages
Publisher: Viking Books
Genre: Young Adult/Law & Crime

The publisher's description: An infant left in the trash to die. A teenage mother who never knew she was pregnant. . .

Before That Morning, these were the words most often used to describe straight-A student and star soccer player Devon Davenport: responsible, hardworking, mature. But all that changes when the police find Devon home sick from school as they investigate the case of an abandoned baby. Soon the connection is made, Devon has just given birth; the baby in the trash is hers. After That Morning, there's only one way to define Devon: attempted murderer.

And yet gifted author Amy Efaw does the impossible as she turns Devon into an empathetic character, a girl who was in such deep denial that she refused to believe she was pregnant. Through airtight writing and fast-paced, gripping storytelling, Ms. Efaw takes the reader on Devon's unforgettable journey toward clarity, acceptance, and redemption.

There is no doubt that Amy Efaw is a talented writer. I couldn't put the book down, although I wanted to. Being a mother I had a hard time 'rooting' for Devon. I couldn't imagine wrapping my baby up in towels and throwing her away with the trash. But as the story unfolds, I don't come to like Devon, but I do come to understand her. And maybe, I come to respect her.

The characters are rich and colorful, from the thumb-sucking poet Destiny to Devon's ambitious and tough public defender. Even the guards and employees at the detention center are fully visible by Efaw's pen. She writes them as no nonsense prison guards, but not without empathy and kindness.

******SPOILER ALERT********
The story basically comes down to a terrible lapse in judgment for a girl who always made the 'right' decisions. Such a trivial way to put the attempted murder of a baby, but true and throughout Devon's self realization journey she sees how she went wrong. During the declination process she starts to see the baby as a baby and not IT. She understands how her mother had her when she was only 16 years old. That just as easily, her mother could have left her in a trash can, but she didn't. She acknowledges her role, what she did and how she must take responsibility for her actions.

I'm not sure that this story is necessarily a 'teen' book. Not because of any graphic nature or any such thing, but because I think adults need to read. I think teenagers understand the emotions much better than adults do. It's been such a long time since these sort of fears and denials have been a part of our lives. Efaw writes at the of the book about how she became interested in writing a novel like this. She mentions a case her husband worked on in which acquaintances of the pregnant woman suspected she was pregnant, but never approached her, never admitted to it until the baby was found, still alive, in a dumpster. If anything the novel reminds us to be vigilant with our children. Ask questions, be aware, be part of their lives, love them fiercely and truthfully.