Review Detail

Aftermath

Young Adult Fiction 231

One of My Favorite YA novels

February 01, 2017

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

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Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

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Each second of my four years, two months, and seven days in the attic dragged on forever, and nothing ever changed.
We don’t have a Dream Book anymore. But we don’t need one.
‘Aftermath’ is a young adult novel about Charlotte. She is kidnapped from a football game when she is eleven and is held in her kidnapper’s attic for over four years. She survives by imagining that her twin sister, mother, and father are leading a wonderful life without her. She imagines that her twin sister is living everything ‘double’ for Charlotte. Her kidnapper has a stroke and falls down falls down the stairs. The EMT’s then find Charlotte in a cage in the attic.
When Charlotte is released, she is reunited with her family but soon finds out that they have not been leading the life that Charlotte dreamed.

Good Points

I really liked the premise of this novel. As the name implies the story focuses less on Charlotte’s captivity and more on the damage that it caused Charlotte and her family. I liked how Charlotte’s state of mine is explored through her warped thinking and her small habits (such as taking the stuffing out of the stuffed bears everyone gives her).
This story could had been very twisted and disturbing but instead is uplifting and at positive. The pace was very quick and I read almost the whole book in one sitting. The writing style was also very easy to read. I loved the characters, particularly Charlotte’s twin sister Alexia. Her pain hat resulted from Charlotte’s ordeal was very real.
This novel also came across as believable and held many similarities to the Jaycee Dugard story for me. ‘Aftermath’ was very well written and I loved the approach it took. Definitely one of my favorite books of the year and one of my favorite YA books of all time. I feel like a lot of young adult novels are a fun read but not very deep. This novel was just the opposite. It made me appreciate the little things in my life and is something I would recommend for anyone interested in a kidnapping story that is not too graphic. It will definitely make you appreciate the little things in life.