Customer Reviews

After the Death of Anna Gonzales

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a fine book. I have read selections from it aloud to my students and they loved it. I think that many of the poems in this book are wonderful. Mrs. Fields is able to get into the minds of the characters and we are treated to many rich and varied voices. Mrs. Fields visited our school and spoke to our students sharing much of her experiences in writing the book, which was very interesting.
The book's purpose is to steer young people away from suicide as a permanent answer to a temporary problem.
What I would like to address is, does the book fulfill its purpose? In other words, what does the book really teach us about not committing suicide? It seems that by the time we finish reading we feel sad and think Anna should not have killed herself. The problem is that we learn that the only reason not to commit suicide is because of the possible adverse effect it will have on others. Is this answer good enough? I don't think so.
Many of the characters in the book tell the reader that they are hurt and confused because of Anna's death. So, because of this "grief of others", one shouldn't escape his or her pain and confusion by suicide. Isn't this only a temporary answer to a desperate problem?
Don't get me wrong; I do believe that suicide is an unacceptable, permanent, and selfish answer to a temporary problem. But aren't the suicidal entitled to some real and concrete answers? They need to know true answers that don't change with the situation. There are nice sounding phrases from the characters like these: "you don't stop playing.", "Anna, who had health, Chose death. How could you?", and "How could you check out before the good stuff ever started?" These solutions are situational. Basically, the characters that state them are in a situation where they see no reason right now to commit suicide. If their situation changed, it is probable their answers would too. Statistics show that almost all young people seriously think about suicide sometime in their life. This is because of the situation they are in at the time. They must have a higher reason to keep them from committing it.
The flaw I am writing about is that there seems to be no people of faith in Mrs. Field's book. How can this be? Is there no one with answers that go beyond this life? Not one character gives a grander perspective as to why we are here on earth or a real purpose for living. I find that strange because I run into people of faith all the time, coworkers, students, friends, and acquaintances.
In this real world and in the book it is easy to see that selfishness runs rampant in the human race in one-form or another, but no one in the book believes in a "higher cause."
There are a few mentions of a "God" in the book. One is the idea that God makes girls with nice bodies and bad senses of humor, and another mention is a last desperate gasp of confusion, as in "Oh God..."
Again, why was Anna supposed to choose life? Was it just to keep all these people content?
Would the answers that the characters offer in the book solve a suicidal situation like the following? "I don't care anymore. So what if people will be upset if I kill myself...isn't that just tough for them? I'm sick of feeling this way...with this emptiness inside. I just want it to stop, I gotta get out."
Granted, that example is a selfish and spiteful solution to a selfish problem. Does the book give a solution to this suicidal problem? I don't think it even comes close.
It is a pleasant enough book but I do not really see it having any lasting answers. The book doesn't go far enough.

I hate poetry, but I know others like it so I decided to add a poetry unit to my teaching plans (8th grade). We had just finished Tears of a Tiger by Draper (another excellent read!) and it blended the units beautifully. Even though I majored in literature I never really got into poetry, but like Make Lemonade by Wolff, this set told a story. I loved the way you see so many points of view--and they're so REAL. I definitely recommend this book to junior high-high school level students. It is an easy and enjoyable read.

okay, after the death of anna gonzales was one of the greatest books i have ever read. not just because of the unbelievably shocking and true poems, but because we used the book as our winter play at my high school. the director was unbelievable, each actors character was made up of three of the original characters in the book. i played lynn helter, a bitchy cheerleader thats worried the suicide will interfear with the pep assembly. and not just reading but acting out the emotions and issues that this girl had was unbelievable. terri feilds has incredable currage and power to write about such an important issue that impacts american teenagers everyday. many people in my school had problems with a high school doing a play about this topic, but i was overjoyed to do a play about this. its better to do a play like anna gonzales that effects the life of people, than a play like lion king or a christmas carol and get 400 people to come see it a night, but it doesnt offect anyone.

After the Death of Anna Gonzales by Terri Fields is a story about a girl who has commited suicide. In the book, other characters tell you about what they felt about her death. I think that the reason the author wrote this is to talk about teens and suicide. This is definaltly a must-read for any teen.

After The Death of Anna Gonzales is by Terri Fields

I recommend for grades 6 & up.

The book is an amazing book. It is very interesting and the excitement never ends. Once you start you can't put the book down.

It is about a girl named Anna. She committed suicide. Everyone is trying to figure out what to do. Like one boy, wants to take Anna's seat in class. A cheerleader doesn't want Anna's death to interrupt with homecoming. Everyone is finding a way, one way or another, that might affect Anna's death.

The point the author is trying to make is that, never take something that happens and make it work towards you or just because something bad happens doesn't mean something else bad is going to happen

The book is definitely worth reading. If you don't take your time you won't be able to understand the book. I'd give it 5 stars because of the amazing content.

Maybe I was in a weird flashback teen angst mood when I read this, but, call me crazy, I liked it. The bizarre thing is that these were all written by a single author, even though it looks like it's some weird class project.

The theme of this poetry collection is that a girl named Anna Gonzales has committed suicide. The resulting poetry exploes a wide myriad of thoughts and feelings from her fellow classmates.

There is hope, joy, fellow depression, wonder, and in the end a simple celebration of life, despite this collection's heartbreak.

I would say "Terri Fields has done it again!" but After the Death of Anna Gonzales is the first book I've read by this author. Terri Fields, author of more then 20 books, has crafted a wonderful book. Personally, I couldn't think of a better book to read and/or review. This book reminds me of myself at times...Feeling alone, wondering what things would be like without me, sometimes even sometimes thoughts about what it would be like to cut myself, but then I remember that even though it may be my last resort, suicide is not the answer. Apparently, Anna Gonzales disagreed with me.

At some point in our lives, I'm pretty sure we all have asked the classic question, "What would the world be like without me?" Well, Anna Gonzales didn't only ask that question, she took action. This fictional YA (Young Adult) book is a collection of poems written by 42 of Anna Gonzales' classmates and 7 of her teachers after she takes her life one dark and stormy night. Everybody expresses their feelings on this matter through their personal poems. Anna's coach wrote;
The game doesn't always go your way,
Forget fair.
Feel forgotten.
But damn it, Anna,
You don't stop playing.
There is nobody that isn't affected by Anna's choice to end her world. No body can comprehend why this poor soul was so tortured that she just had to take her own life? At least, not until they read Anna's poem, expressing her feelings and her side of the story.

After the Death of Anna Gonzales is a heart-warming, tear-jerking book that will make any suicidal teenager realize what pain taking their life would be to others. Still having those thoughts about taking your life, ending your world, or to just say it plainly, committing suicide? Well, maybe after you read this book, you'll change your mind.

"After the Death of Anna Gonzales" by Terri Fields is a great book. Terri Fields is a great author. I haven't found any other books by her, but I sure hope I do. The book has a lot of poems that make you mad and some are also very sad.The principal and her friends tell their reactions to the suicide of her death. If I rated this book on a scale from 1-5, I'd give it a 10!!! This book would be good for an audience that likes to show emotions in their reading. I would also recommend this book to people who love poems! Once I picked up this book I knew I couldn't put it down. While you're reading this book, think about what you would do if someone committed suicide in your school.

The book I read was "after the death of anna gonzales" by Terria Fields. The book has poems from her peers and the teachers about her.The poems may be confusing for younger children. Some of the poems are a page or two long. They might be a couple lines long. The book is only 100 pages long. So this could be read in a couple hours for better readers. Some poems got mad because they acted like they did not even know who she was or anything about her.After all the book is her. I would say this is a book for ages 12 and up but could be read at the age of 10. I gives this book 5 stars.

"After the death of Anna Gonzales" By Terri Fields. Everyone can realte to the death of Anna. It is a book full of poems sayin how they feel about her death. Some of the poem's made me angry because they were mad she died because it might intrupt with Homecoming, or a tst. Others were truly sad, and made me see that its the ones you leave behind that get hurt the most. At the end you read Anna's 'goodbye' letter. Its a great ending to the book, its juss depressing. It really makes you think about life, and others who just gave up hope.