10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Between a Rock and a Hard Place, June 26, 2007
Fourteen-year-old Martha is dragged along to a new town by her mother and Wayne, her mother's newest loser boyfriend. Over the next few months, her life will become worse than she ever dreamed it could be - and then better - and then a bit of both.
Having skipped a grade, Martha is smarter and younger than her classmates. She is also Caucasian, while the majority of the school and the neighborhood is African-American. Though she makes two friends early on, they can't stop the threats made on her life by very imposing female bully.
When a drive-by in her neighborhood turns her world upside down - or perhaps right-side-up - she is taken in by a well-meaning and well-off family, given a makeover, and accepted into a prestigious school. At the recommendation of her new family's beautiful daughter, she starts going by Gina, a variation on her middle name. As she makes new friends and starts dating an intriguing boy, she tries to put the past behind her, but it's never far behind. When her lies catch up with her, Gina's new life is shattered, and she is forced to become Martha again.
Whether things are good, bad, or in between, she escapes by playing the cello. Ultimately, it is her music that will build her spirit, even when it seems the world is conspiring to break it.
Martha is a complicated protagonist. At first, she is somewhat quiet. Thus, the novel greatly benefits from the first-person narrative, letting readers hear the thoughts and things Martha wishes she had the guts to say and do.
Jeannine Garsee's debut novel, BEFORE, AFTER, AND SOMEBODY IN BETWEEN, addresses abuse in various forms - alcohol, pills, verbal, physical - as well as recovery and redemption. Though no one is ever fully healed nor redeemed, that makes it all the more realistic. Martha has potential, and so does Garsee.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, June 25, 2007
When Martha's mom gets out of rehab and drags Martha to live with her latest boyfriend it's nothing new. Ever since her father's death, Martha's life has been a string of moving from place to place, constantly watching out for her mom. But this time the new boyfriend lives in a part of town where 'white girls don't belong,' as her classmates at school have no problem telling her. Martha is plunged into a world of gang violence and drugs, metal detectors at school, threats from other students, and violence at home. But she still manages to make a few friends at school and with the family that lives upstairs. And when she signs up for orchestra and discovers the joy of playing the cello, she thinks things might have finally turned around.
Until an act of violence sends everything spiraling out of control.
BEFORE, AFTER, AND SOMEBODY IN BETWEEN is a gritty and realistic tale of a girl trying to escape her parent's poor choices and make a life for herself. Told unflinchingly in the first person, Garsee doesn't hesitate from portraying teen violence, sex, and drug and alcohol use as the traps that they can be, but she does so with gentle humor and a compassionate eye. Martha is a flawed heroine, coming to terms with her own faults and the addictive tendencies she may have inherited from her mother, but readers will root for her to succeed. This book is not a light-hearted tale, and at times the string of bad events can feel unrelenting, but Garsee shows the bright spots to be found in even the deepest tragedies.
Recommended for older readers only. Contains drug and alcohol use, sex, and profanity.
Reviewed by: Dena Landon
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
before,after,and Somebody in between, July 21, 2007
before, after,and Somebody in between is a gritty novel about
growing up in an impossible situation and coming out a Winner. Fourteen year old Martha Kowalski dreams of one day being a Celloist Only one thing would stop her and Alcoholic mother who thinks its nonsense.
Martha is the only white girl in a ghetto school. And . . . not entirely acepted by all her classmates. Especially Chardonnay. Chardonny pulls her into a confrontation and Martha gets caught with a knife. She ends up in jail.
Every cloud has a silver lining and for Martha her sliver lining was Richard and Claudia Brinkman.
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