Customer Reviews

After

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Although the writing style of this book is a bit mundane and blunt, the story itself sent chills up my spine - and that doesn't happen often to me.

The basic premise of the book is that, in the wake of Columbine and similar school disasters, school security is beefed up and students are subjected to new rules and regulations. Some of these regulations seem reasonable, but some, from the outset, seem odd. People are so nervous about violence in schools, though, that they seem to be willing to give up little things for the larger goal, supposedly better security at the school. Even though the kids are wary and nervous about what is happening, the changes are relentless and escalate.

Some classic methods of manipulation and intimidation are used and, in spite of the students' sense that this is wrong, everyone seems reluctant to challenge them and their parents seem to be all too willing to go along.

This is a compelling book - chilling and creepy. It is also a relevant book, especially in the wake of all the new regulations for flying and airport security.

But the book is also flawed. The writing style, as mentioned in the official review is prosaic and simplistic. And the motive behind the new regulations is puzzling. It is reasonable to expect that in the course of implementing new security safeguards that some people will get carried away with them and become too rigid and too enamored of the power to determine other people's lives. But, in this case, the primary mover behind the regulations is evil from the start. And, other than blind hate, we never know why.

The ending of the book, is, as mentioned by others, not completely satisfying. There is some resolution to various of the subplots - confidence in Dad, relationship to Dad's girl friend, relationship to friends. But too much is left hanging. Is the author holding out for a sequel?

Still, it is a good read. I read the whole thing in one day, practically in one sitting. It is unusual to find a page-turner like that.

P.S. The book is similar in tone to The Children's Story by James Clavell. This one is a bit more current, but Clavell's story is certainly a classic of this genre.

Okay, first here's the plot: A Columbine-like incident happens 50 miles away from the hometown of a teenage boy, Tom, whose perspective we follow. It seems to shock everyone, and just when the local school's students begin to calm down, a "greif and crisis counselor" is appointed. The counselor, Dr. Willner, seems to be a little psychopathic when he starts setting strange laws and rules, for example, no wearing the colour red, and no hats of any kind. At first, no-one pays too much attention, but when a young girl breaks a simple rule, she seems to suddenly disappear. At first, we're told that she's moved away. However, Tom and his friends, Silas, Avery, and Brian are suspicious. Then, emails are sent out to all of the parents citing new laws, of which most of the students are unimformed about. The laws become stranger and stranger, and the punishments become stricter, until a law-breaking student is sent to a sort of detention camp, which we know nothing about. More students are whisked away, and never heard from again. I wont give away the whole plot, but many dark things pop up, like implied murder and concentration camps.

Now, the review: I can't complain about the writing, which I think was fine for my age level (I'm 13). The plot was fine until about two thirds of the way through, but after that it starts to drop, and to get a little boring. And the ending -- unless there will be a sequel -- is dreadful. It was as if the writer just came to a dead end and took the easy way out, leaving us confused; what happened to those who got whisked away? Why did all this happen? How could emails brainwash people? What's happening in other countries? How come the government wasn't doing anything? I could go on. However, if a sequel is in the works, this book could definitely be saved, if it began where this one left off. Most of the aspects, however, were good; I always prefer a first-person perspective, and I liked how the story was nice and straightforward.

In conclusion, this book would be good for any twelve-to-fifteen-year-old who is looking for something interesting and slightly suspenseful to read.

At Pleasant Valley High there was a shooting, a couple of loner kids killed the jocks and a few teachers, and then shot themselves, and now Central High is facing the consequences... New restrictions are being implemented without warning by their grief and crisis counselor and all you have to do is break one rule and you're sent away and never seen again. "After" is told by Tom, the 15 yr old `smart jock' whose friends are some of the first to be sent away. I thought "After" was a very good book, especially if you're one for conspiracy theories. It's especially fun to read `cause when you really think about it, it could happed at you're school too. I really enjoyed the mystery of the whole book, how you only knew what Tom was thinking but you never knew if what he was thinking was true or not. My only criticism is the ending. I don't think it was very realistic, too much happily ever after, but don't let that discourage you from reading "After" because it's just excellent up until the last chapter.

This is a book that I randomly found wandering through my local Borders one day. I myself have experienced bogus rule changes at school in the wake of Columbine and September 11th. This book sent chills through my spine like nothing else ever has. Even throughout the beginning of the book before the plot thickens, the author draws you in with the humor of the supporting characters. This story was so real it scared the hell out of me the way no book ever will. I suggest this book to anyone looking for a good, haunting read.

Francine Prose's novel is a compelling, modern-day 1984 without the science-fiction. Written to parallel the Patriot Act and the treatment of Middle Eastern descendents living in the United States, Prose encourages rational discussion of the limits placed upon our civil liberties in times of crisis. She has successfully chosen the perfect scenario to engage young adult readers in this heavy conversation. With the devastation of Columbine and recent events of Valparaiso and Red Lake High Schools, discussion of school violence is not only pertinent but unavoidable. Young readers will quickly identify with the realistic characters and settings, as well as the pressures placed upon Tom and his friends to abide by the rules, yet make individual differences. Using this novel in a classroom may be risky, but to miss this powerful tool, a greater disservice is done to students than any good that could come from shielding them from the society they see every day.

After, the twelth book written by Francine Prose, is basically an intelligent horror story. The book revolves around Tom, a high school student at Central High School. When several kids are shot at neighboring Pleasent Valley HS, Central turns into an almost fascist regime.

The brilliant writing and creepy plot combine to make this a real page turner- but, unfortunatly, some elements of the plot border on being laughable. Parents being brainwashed from reading e-mails. A national, media-involved, apparently unmotivated conspiracy to send teenagers to death camps. The only thing that keeps this novel together is the quality of writing. Not only does it force you to keep a straight face when a girl is murdered for wearing a red ribbon- it makes it creepy.

It's a perfect book up until halfway through. Until then, it almost seems like an allegory to Stalinist Russia or Nazi Germany. When the sense of reality is lost... so is the book.

Buy it.

I became so nervous while reading this book. After a shooting at a neighboring school, Pleasant Valley High, the students at Central High are feeling the effects. Every day a new rule is put into effect...metal detectors, no cell phones, checking backpacks, and then reporting on your classmates. The principal takes a back seat to the counsellor. Grief counsellor runs a daily morning assembly. And then students begin to disappear... then a teacher who failed to report a student with a cell phone...and then even the principal! I kept hoping that the grief counsellor would have his demise. Yet his hold on the community kept getting stronger through his daily e-mails.
This is a scary book that demonstrates what happens when we challenge a young person's right to free speech and expression.
I could only shudder at the end...being a middle school teacher.

This book is a wonderful way to get young people to feel deeply the horror of repression. Sure, they have heard about Nazi Germany, Stalinist U.S.S.R, maybe Pol Pot's Cambodia, and (I hope) McCarthy's U.S.A. But what does it mean? All of that happened in other places, other times, to other people. Francine Prose gives young readers a window into repression that is thoroughly personal.
For reviewers who were confused or disappointed by the book: Do you complain about Gulliver's Travels because there aren't, in real life, any tiny people, giants, or talking horses? View After as a metaphor, a well-written game of WHAT IF. What if the ones being repressed weren't Jews, Gypsies, Communists, dissidents, intellectuals, etc.? What if it were you and your friends? What if you were targeted for subjugation, or worse, not because of what you did, but because you were part of a group that was hated without reason by the people in power?
Yes, the action in After becomes more and more extreme and unrealistic, if you believe that Prose is talking only about early twenty-first century America. But things HAVE become that extreme elsewhere: constant surveillance, incremental loss of rights, increasing separation from the rest of society, mass incarceration and murder. People (once again: Jews, dissidents, and so on) have been sent away or have disappeared without arousing public comment from friends, neighbors, and co-workers, all of whom want or need to accept the official explanations. By the time too many are gone to ignore, the people who remain have been terrified into silence.
Don't expect a sequel from the author. This isn't really about one kid, family, or school. This is about what can, and does, happen.

I read this book in two days. I just couldn't put it down. I'd stop doing other stuff in class just so I could read After. I loved the storyline. There are many books out there that tell the story of schools where a shooting actually does happen, but this was a great change from those because you could see what precautions other schools began to take. However, the ending was bad. It left me hanging and I felt as if I had wasted my time reading the book to end with something as vague as it was. I recommend it, but I'm definitely hoping for a sequel to explain everything.

When a new assistant comes to Central High, Dr. Willner, comes to help out on trying to prevent the shootings of Pleasant Valley from entering their town. The main character in this story is Tom. His best friends are Silas and Avery. With Tom's mother being dead, Tom has to undergo a transformation in his heart and his life. Tom's dad has a new girlfriend called Clara and she is trying to do everything in her power to make Tom accept her into his family. Dr. Willner has basically taken over the school of Central. All of the students of Central High undergo a lot of new rules in order to not get into trouble. Tom thinks that Dr. Willner has his eye on him and Avery does drugs and almost got into trouble for it a t school. Tom thinks there's something up with Dr. Willner and he won't stop looking for the truth of the Pleasant Valley shootings.


I really liked this book because it was partially a mystery and a partially cruel type of book. Some of the parts of the book that I didn't like were the part when Dr. Willner took away all of the Central students privileges. I also didn't like it when Silas had to leave the book because he was a really good character in the book. But overall, I thought the book was one of the best books that I have ever read.


I think the really emotional type of people would like this book. Also, I think that the people that enjoy reading about school life would like this book.