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Release Date: September 6, 2011
Series: Standalone
Publisher: HarperTeen
Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Laurel is just a typical teen, studying for the SATs, worrying about French homework, talking about boys with her best friend Megan -- until suddenly, she isn't. Her world falls apart in one fell swoop, starting with the knock of a policeman at her front door. In the wake of her family's death, Laurel must rebuild from the rubble of Before, and learn to start living in the After.

In The Beginning of After, Jennifer Castle explores what it means to survive. Though there are many such stories in the young adult genre, this novel stands out. It examines not just the grief, but the process of learning to live again when nothing will ever be the same. Laurel is understandably a mess, and it's impossible not to cry for her as she makes it through each day on trial and error -- going back to school, breaking down at a party, staying in bed for a week, rescuing strays and almost giving up altogether. Castle's portrayal of Laurel's struggle as she figures out how to carry on is heartbreakingly raw and honest. There are ups and downs and setbacks, people who try to help but only make things worse, and those few crystallized moments where the light at the end of the tunnel briefly illuminates the darkness.
It is inspiring to see Laurel's remaining family and friends rally around her, even as she pushes them away in her depression. Unlike many YA novels, Laurel's grandmother is a steady and necessary presence in the story. She is an amazing, compassionate woman who drops everything to care for the orphaned granddaughter she fiercely loves, their twin grief making the sense of loss all the more resonant and devastating. Her presence reminds Laurel that she isn't the only one who lost her family that day, and she isn't completely alone in the aftermath. Without each other, I don't believe either of them could have survived.

The relationship between Laurel and her best friend Megan starts off strong. The girls have been best friends forever and Meg is the first one there in the wake of the accident. I was hopeful that she would be a grounding force in the novel, staying at Laurel's side through it all. Unfortunately, Megan lets her own problems make her bitter toward her best friend, whose tragedy she can't even begin to comprehend. She (understandably) doesn't know what to say or do to help Laurel, but trying would have been enough. Instead she seems rather petulant, a poor friend when Laurel needs her the most.

David is an even bigger mess than Laurel, his mother dead and his father in a coma from the accident that killed Laurel's family. He comes and goes, seeming to care for no one but himself. Yet, he's the only one who can even begin to fathom what Laurel's feeling

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