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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Based on this and it's prequel, Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie, I think Jordan Sonnenblick has become one of my auto-buy authors. These two books were just phenomenal, books that will stay with me forever. I really must get the rest of his back catalogue and fast.
It worried me that Jeffrey would sound a lot like Steven but I need not have bothered. Jeffrey has a different way with words, a different humour, when compared to Steven. Add in his tendency to mentally wander and you can't confuse the two as narrators. Plus, Steven is absent from the vast majority of this book, so this is definitely Jeffrey's story. Just how much Jeffrey misses Steven is obvious; you can almost feel his sense of loss pop off the page. As a character, Jeff is great. He's sweet, has had to overcome some major obstacles in his life but is also a typical thirteen year old: he shreds the letter about the state wide testing before his parents see it, listens in to conversations he shouldn't and goes off to see Lindsey when he should be getting tutored by Tad.
Tad was my favourite character. Not one to be pitied, he has a huge chip on his shoulder and an attitude problem. There were times when I was reading it where I was asking myself why on earth Jeffrey put up with him. He was hilarious and sarcastic. But behind that exterior, he really did care. He was charming in his own way.
Like with Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, the writing was honest and simple, without resorting to emotional manipulation. I admire Sonnenblick for writing about the late effects of cancer treatments, which are not widely known. Usually a book ends with the celebration of being in remission and goes no further but it doesn't usually end there in real life. By making Jeffrey's previous cancer treatment affect his foot, he can't play drums like his brother, but it doesn't affect his ability to ride a bike. This becomes the Jeff's equivalent to Steven's drums and allows him to participate in charity bike rides each year. It's another thing that not only separates them as narrators but also separates them slightly as brothers. I think it upsets Steven that he can't teach his little brother something that is such a huge part of his life.
Both novels were just incredible reads about difficult situations and I cried when reading them.
It worried me that Jeffrey would sound a lot like Steven but I need not have bothered. Jeffrey has a different way with words, a different humour, when compared to Steven. Add in his tendency to mentally wander and you can't confuse the two as narrators. Plus, Steven is absent from the vast majority of this book, so this is definitely Jeffrey's story. Just how much Jeffrey misses Steven is obvious; you can almost feel his sense of loss pop off the page. As a character, Jeff is great. He's sweet, has had to overcome some major obstacles in his life but is also a typical thirteen year old: he shreds the letter about the state wide testing before his parents see it, listens in to conversations he shouldn't and goes off to see Lindsey when he should be getting tutored by Tad.
Tad was my favourite character. Not one to be pitied, he has a huge chip on his shoulder and an attitude problem. There were times when I was reading it where I was asking myself why on earth Jeffrey put up with him. He was hilarious and sarcastic. But behind that exterior, he really did care. He was charming in his own way.
Like with Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, the writing was honest and simple, without resorting to emotional manipulation. I admire Sonnenblick for writing about the late effects of cancer treatments, which are not widely known. Usually a book ends with the celebration of being in remission and goes no further but it doesn't usually end there in real life. By making Jeffrey's previous cancer treatment affect his foot, he can't play drums like his brother, but it doesn't affect his ability to ride a bike. This becomes the Jeff's equivalent to Steven's drums and allows him to participate in charity bike rides each year. It's another thing that not only separates them as narrators but also separates them slightly as brothers. I think it upsets Steven that he can't teach his little brother something that is such a huge part of his life.
Both novels were just incredible reads about difficult situations and I cried when reading them.
Format:Hardcover
Having read and enjoyed the first book, Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, I was thrilled that Mr. Sonnenblick had written a sequel; thrilled and nervous. So often sequels can be let downs; not here. This insightful, poignant story captures the voice of an eighth-grade-with-a-history-of-health-issues boy perfectly. As Jeffrey navigates life in middle school, your heart goes out to him. Wonderfully drawn characters, realistic parents, and an oh-so subtle jab at testing culture make this a great read for anyone. Have tissues ready; I cried at the end of the story.
Format:Hardcover
AFTER EVER AFTER by Jordan Sonnenblick is the sequel to DRUMS, GIRLS, & DANGEROUS PIE. It is eight years later and life is continuing for the Alper family.
Jeffrey is ironically starting the eighth grade. That's the grade his older brother, Steven, was in when Jeffrey was diagnosed with leukemia. Jeffrey is now in remission from the disease, but he suffers from some side effects from the chemo treatment that saved his life. He walks with a limp, his attention wanders easily, and his brain just refuses to process anything related to math.
Not a big deal, you say. Well, if your father is an accountant and the mailman has just delivered a letter saying that every eighth grader in the state must pass a set of required tests, including a math test, or repeat the eighth grade, let's just say things have looked rosier.
A lot of other things have changed for Jeffrey, as well. His brother graduated from high school and went off to college. Again, not a big deal, but then Steven decided after three years of college that he would drop everything and head to Africa to become part of a drum circle. That left Jeffrey on his own to deal with his last year of middle school.
Fortunately, back in fourth grade, Jeffrey found his best friend, Tad. Tad was also a cancer survivor. In fact, Tad had survived the disease twice. It left him weak enough to need a wheelchair, but it certainly strengthened his wit and wisdom when it came to dealing with daily life.
When Tad learns about the state testing requirement, he steps up to help Jeffrey by becoming his official math tutor. The two make a deal that Jeffrey will study hard to pass the test, and Tad will train hard so he is able to walk across the eighth grade graduation stage under his own power.
Jordan Sonnenblick continues Jeffrey's story in his signature style using an authentic teenage voice and laugh-out-loud humor. By asking his main character to adjust to a learning disability and a physical handicap, as well as changes in his family structure, Sonnenblick creates a new depth to the sequel. The determination he showed as a young boy dealing with cancer helps him with the struggle to be successful at school and also at any new challenges thrown his way.
This is a sequel I was not expecting, but I was thrilled when it came to my attention.
Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
Jeffrey is ironically starting the eighth grade. That's the grade his older brother, Steven, was in when Jeffrey was diagnosed with leukemia. Jeffrey is now in remission from the disease, but he suffers from some side effects from the chemo treatment that saved his life. He walks with a limp, his attention wanders easily, and his brain just refuses to process anything related to math.
Not a big deal, you say. Well, if your father is an accountant and the mailman has just delivered a letter saying that every eighth grader in the state must pass a set of required tests, including a math test, or repeat the eighth grade, let's just say things have looked rosier.
A lot of other things have changed for Jeffrey, as well. His brother graduated from high school and went off to college. Again, not a big deal, but then Steven decided after three years of college that he would drop everything and head to Africa to become part of a drum circle. That left Jeffrey on his own to deal with his last year of middle school.
Fortunately, back in fourth grade, Jeffrey found his best friend, Tad. Tad was also a cancer survivor. In fact, Tad had survived the disease twice. It left him weak enough to need a wheelchair, but it certainly strengthened his wit and wisdom when it came to dealing with daily life.
When Tad learns about the state testing requirement, he steps up to help Jeffrey by becoming his official math tutor. The two make a deal that Jeffrey will study hard to pass the test, and Tad will train hard so he is able to walk across the eighth grade graduation stage under his own power.
Jordan Sonnenblick continues Jeffrey's story in his signature style using an authentic teenage voice and laugh-out-loud humor. By asking his main character to adjust to a learning disability and a physical handicap, as well as changes in his family structure, Sonnenblick creates a new depth to the sequel. The determination he showed as a young boy dealing with cancer helps him with the struggle to be successful at school and also at any new challenges thrown his way.
This is a sequel I was not expecting, but I was thrilled when it came to my attention.
Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
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