Review: After by Amy Efaw

Synopsis from the book jacket:
Who would leave her own baby in the trash to die?

Certainly not someone like Devon - straight-A student, soccer player with Olympic dreams, more mature than her own mother.  But desperation and panic drover her to do what most people can't even imagine.  Now Devon's in a juvenile detention center, charged with attempted murder.  If she's tried as an adult, she faces life in prison.

Does Devon deserve that punishment? Your answer depends on whether you believe her story - that she didn't evne know she was pregnant.  Was she buried in a denial so deep that she was unable to register the seemingly obvious signs of pregnancy? Or were her actions the result of a more devious, premeditated plan?

WIth the utmost empathy and precision, author Amy Efaw carefully peels back the layers of Devon's past as she faces a possible future behind bars.  The result is a gripping, page-turned that will challenge your beliefs abotu conscience and conciousness. 

Was This Book Worth My Time?
Yes.

This was a very difficult book to read.  It is centered around the "dumpster baby" phenomenon.  I could never understand the idea of it.  A mother bares a child and then throws it away as if it is some trash they want to get rid of.  This is an account of Devon, a perfect student, athlete and child, who does the unthinkable and is arrested for her crime. 

The novel starts with Devon laying on the couch in pain.  She has already delivered the baby and has taken it to be the trashcans out back.  The police have found the baby and her mother comes in with the sad news. 

This book hooked me from the very beginning.  There were times when I became annoyed at Devon.  However, you quickly realize why it is that Devon chooses to simply not care.  I became emotionally involved with this book and with Devon as I read through the flashbacks and traveled with Devon through her court battle. 

I think this book is geared for the older YA group, and I would not reccomend this book to my junior high school kids as it deals with challenging topics. 

What Bothered Me About the Book? 
The novel is written in third person.  I don't know if this is because Efaw wanted us to feel as detached from The Night as Devon does are if she just would rather write in third person, but I think that if the book was written in first person we could have felt more of a connect to Devon.