What Comes After Review

 

What Comes After 

By: JoAnne Tompkins 

Released: April 13th, 2021

Pages: 432

My Rating: 3/5 

Goodreads Synopsis: 

After the shocking death of two teenage boys tears apart a community in the Pacific Northwest, a mysterious pregnant girl emerges out of the woods and into the lives of the same boys' families -- a moving and hopeful novel about forgiveness and human connection. 

 In misty coastal Washington State, Issac lives alone with his dog, grieving the recent death of his teenage son, Daniel. Next door, Lorrie, a working single mother, struggles with a heinous act committed by her own teenage son. Separated by only a silvery stretch of trees, the two parents are emotionally stranded, isolated by their great losses -- until a unfamiliar sixteen year old girl shows up, bridges the gap, and changes everything. 

Evangeline's arrival at first feels like a blessing, but she is also clearly hiding something. When Issac, who has retreated into his Quaker faith, isn't equipped to handle her alone, Lorrie forges her own relationship with the girl. Soon all three characters are forced to examine what really happened in their overlapping pasts, and what it all means for a shared future. 

With a propulsive mystery at its core, What Comes After offers an unforgettable story of loss and anger, but also of kindness and hope, courage and forgiveness. It is a deeply moving account of strangers and friends not only helping each other forward after tragedy, but inspiring a new kind of family. 

My Review:

Have you ever read a book and are just not sure how to feel about it? That's me with What Comes After. It was a good book and I really have nothing negative to say about it other than I just did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It was just a flat out sad book and I felt like the plot did not go anywhere at times. I also found the ending to be very anticlimactic and overall, pretty bland, but I think that was the point of it. I guess my issue was that I could not connect to the characters and that was no fault of the writing, just simply me not being able to find my groove with it and fully get into the storyline. 

I do think this book was written well and have read so many reviews of people loving it. I agree with them in that it is a good book, but it is just not for me and that is okay! 

Catch you later, 

Molly