Customer Reviews

After the Leaves Fall

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I loved this book. From page one, Baart's distinctive style engrossed me. After the Leaves Fall is a beautiful portrait of a young girl struggling with life, love and decisions. Julia wants to be someone else, or at least not who she is. Life hasn't been kind to her. She grew up with a mother who didn't want to be a mother. She preferred Julia call her by her first name instead of mom. The only bright spot in her life was her father, who loved her unconditionally.

Julia wasn't bothered much when her mother left one day and never returned, but when her father dies, she's devastated. Baart skillfully and beautifully exposes Julia's grief, raw and multi-layered. She's left with wounds so deep, she doesn't like to talk about her parents to anyone.

I don't often read such complex emotions written with such credibility. I believed every word. After the Leaves Fall is the kind of book that leaves you wanting more. I'm glad there's a sequel, and Baart is an author to watch. Her debut novel is highly recommended by this reviewer.

The following section contains one of the most beautiful concepts I've read in a Christian novel.

It seemed like a strange thing to say, but with every repetition she drove a tiny seed of hope further into my heart. I almost didn't want it there--hope is not a promise, merely a wish, a yearning for something that may never materialize--but it sank down deep where I could not extract it and began, even in that moment, to put down fragile roots.

It was the hope that scared me most of all, and only when I had felt it tremble inside me did I begin to cry.

My review:

That section from the story (above) spoke most deeply to my heart. It's what we all need when the world seems to be caving in on us. We need hope. We need someone to gift us with it so we will see things from a different perspective. We don't need judgment or condemnation. This fallen world dishes out plenty of that, and what the world doesn't dump on us we heap on ourselves. After the Leaves Fall is about hope.

There were so many beautiful and profound discoveries that Julia made about herself in the story, which is more like a coming-of-age journey, that I don't know where to begin. I don't want to spoil any of the precious treasures the reader will discover along with Julia. My heart broke for her and yet it also understood her. There is a little piece of Julia in all of us. Children need affirmation from a mother, and without it they spend their lives second-guessing themselves. This came out in so many of her internal thoughts and her impulsive decisions. Often as she contemplated her life I found myself doing the same.

After the Leaves Fall is so impressively introspective with it's gorgeous prose that words are inadequate to describe it. And on some deep level, every wounded child wants to do what their parent did, but do it right this time. No one wants to duplicate mistakes, but the deep need to be loved often drives our behavior. It's truly amazing how that works, but it's how God created us...to need love. Anyway, this is one of the most emotional and wonderful books I've ever read and it has impacted my heart deeply. I can't recommend it highly enough. If all authors were as gifted as this debut author, I would never get anything done.

Pitying looks from her small town neighbours have been a way of life for Julia DeSmit, a life she hopes to leave behind to forge her own destiny. Deserted by her disengaged mother at aged 9 and losing her beloved dad during her teen years to illness leaves an indelible mark on her psyche that will haunt her in the years to come.

College represents a chance to escape the confines of her small town life and the heartache of a love lost when her childhood soul mate, Thomas falls for another girl. Having created a persona of aloofness during her high school years, Julia finds it difficult to relate to her college contemporaries but makes an uneasy friendship with her engineering teacher's assistant, Parker.

At a vulnerable time she is reminded again of all the losses in her life and makes a decision that will forever shape her future by sending her back to her past.

Nicole Baart's debut novel is a stirring portrayal of a young woman desperately seeking her place in a world which has dealt her one heartache after another. Julia's journey will resonate with anyone who has experienced tragedy and open the eyes of those who haven't. Pleasingly pat answers to Julia's dilemmas are nowhere to be seen and yet the beauty of a faithful heart is clearly shown through Julia's grandmother. Brimming with engaging and authentic characters After the Leaves Fall is beautifully written and a stunning tribute to Nicole's talent as a writer. I eagerly anticipate the continuation of Julia's story in the sequel, Summer Snow, releasing in mid 2008.

I actually liked the writing, but page after page I kept asking myself what's the point. I had reason to have a tiny bit of hope as the description on the back cover implied a "new beginning," but the story left me feeling as hopeless as Julia DeSmit, the main character. Julia, completely lacked depth. She is a one-dimensional shell of a being.

I enjoy reading about characters who are able to overcome adversity, they inspire me. But that was not the feeling that I was left with. A bright young woman with a scholarship to a good school gives up after one semester. She's strong in math and science, but one engineering course does her in and she throws in the towel and walks away. Why? Nothing I read was able to explain this.

All of the bible references and other religious dogma, along with the fact that the author is a minister's wife, suggested to me that this book was written as a pro life statement, but I think it failed even on those terms.

I downloaded this for free and didn't expect much (most of the freebies are pretty terrible), but I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. A lot of the negative reviews imply that the main character is shallow or unrealistic; I completely disagree. In fact, I downloaded this book a week or so ago and had forgotten the book description/plot/etc, and when I got to the author's bio at the end I was genuinely shocked to learn that this was not a memoir. Julia is such an authentic and well-developed character. I also lost my father at a young age, and really related to the range of emotions she experienced regarding her loss(es). Perhaps what I love most about this book, besides the superb writing and depth of emotion, is that Julia did not get a perfect, happy ending. Julia makes flippant decisions; she reacts to the world around her in childish ways; she struggles with who she is, with faith, and with her feelings. She makes mistakes and has to learn how to live with the consequences, just like the rest of us. I found myself rooting for Julia the way I would root for a good friend. I didn't want things to just "work out" magically with the boy--I wanted her to find real peace in spite of everything. I really loved this book and I can't wait to read the sequel.

I ADORED this book. I haven't been reading as much as I'd normally like but I read this book in a day. I couldn't put it down! Beautifully written, captivating story. I can't wait to read the sequel!

I was really looking forward to reading this book after I read a recommendation by a blogger. Baart is indeed a superb writer, but I did not connect to the main character, Julia, at all. While her character was purposely aloof, we never get a glimpse into her heart and soul. Julia's motives for her most critical life decisions are never shared and yet, there were plenty of intimate moments when the reader could have ~ in fact longed for ~ a more personal insight.

I loved this story! I read the whole book within 8 back to back hours...bearly pausing to make lunch. It was beautifully written and I can't wait to read the sequels. I am so glad that I found this book (Thanks Glen Beck) at a later date so that I wouldn't have to wait for the sequels.SPOILERS I myself was a pregnant teen and I feel that the author truly captured the realities and the pain of that situation. I would recomend this story to anyone who loves a tear jerker.

If only all Christian fiction was written this beautifully and with this level of authenticity. I remember a long time ago when I read Atonement Child by Francine Rivers and had my ideas about Christian books completely turned upside down. I had never imagined a book that could be that real, that raw. It has remained my standard in Christian literature, beautifully written, real characters in real situations. After the Leaves Fall is the first book I've read since then that comes to that level. I started it completely unsuspecting, and was soon drawn in by Julia's story. My heart ached and I was flooded with memories of those coming of age emotions. Julia is not a "heroine" in the usual Christian cliche way, she makes mistakes, she is naive, but she is genuine. I also loved that the book avoided a Hollywood ending. I think there aren't many Christian authors who are willing to take that risk. They pander to readers who want to have their cake and eat it too. They want the characters to find God, and have all their circumstances instantly resolved. This book gave us the ultimate happy ending despite Julia's circumstances. I will definitely be saving this book to share with my daughters when they are older.

After turning through pages and pages of continued tragedy, heartbreak, and disappointment, I became so frustrated with this story line that I had to put the book down . . . and this is a first for me. I really tried to continue, but I found myself starting to dread what sadness the next page would bring. This is a shame because the text, in itself, is well written -- just pathetically depressing.