Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - After Annie

Overall a very emotional and sad read. Felt very realistic reading how all of the characters explore and feel grief (spouse, children, best friend, etc). My biggest complaint is that flashbacks popped in and out very quickly and I didn’t love the transitions.

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kellijones's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The further I got into this book, the more I liked it. In her almost stream-of-consciousness writing, the author fleshes out the characters so vividly. The book was sad in a matter-of-fact way that was not emotionally manipulative but emotive nonetheless. There are many profound observations about the ordinariness of loss, the things we tend not to talk about.

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marypaz13's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

"The hardest part of friendship, she'd sometimes thought, was accepting that your friend wants what you think is not worth having."

Format: Audiobook
Medium: Penguin Random House Audio
Narrator(s): Gilli Messer

TWs: Death, Loss of a loved one, Mention of Anxiety, Mention of Depression, Mention of Miscarriage, Mention of Bullying, Mention of Child Abuse, Inferred Sexual Abuse

My Review & Thoughts (more so ramblings though):
--> Read for #BNBookClub

I don't know what to say. I mean, death isn't a topic that's fun & rainbows. I haven't lost a parent, so I can't really relate to the book in that aspect, but I have lost many loved ones. To me, each character depicts the stages of grief (his is good, simplified article explaining it: https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief#the-kubler-ross-model">Mourning and the 5 Stages of Grief).

Denial:
--> the phone & voicemail
--> Bill & Ann Marie

Anger
--> Ann Marie 100%
-->

Ant being mad at Bill for dating someone 3 months after his mother's death

Bargaining
--> Bill & Alli

Depression
--> Everyone's depressed

Acceptance
--> it's different for everybody

The story is interwoven by the past and present. You see the special moments, albeit not all good, of instances where Annie made an impact in the character's lives. You also get to see how each character change with that particular memory of her. You also see a 14 year-old being an adult to make up for her dad -- honestly, not uncommon. At least these kids, well Ant & Alli, go to therapy, and at some point the dad does too.

Some of my favorite [out of context] quotes:
⇒

"...people's sympathy was well meant, but made him feel freakish and set apart, and how bothered he was by that."

⇒

"...he had always loved being one of the guys. Being ordinary. Wasn't that weird? Most people wanted to be special and he missed being ordinary."

⇒

"I think they both feel like you disappeared your wife. Not that she's dead, but that she has vanished. Which is different and much worse."

⇒

"'Was your mother a good mother?' Elizabeth asked. "Did she take good care of you?' Alli nodded. 'You're lucky,' Elizabeth said and turned away."

⇒

"'What's the point of grown ups if they can't fix things.'"

⇒

"There's some things you can't fix no matter how hard you try.'"

Rating Breakdown
Writing Style & Pacing: 3.5
Characters: 3
Storyline/Plot: 3.25
Audio Narration: 3.75
Overall Rating: 3.375 rounded to a 3

Content Warnings

lrystarr's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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kaligray's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.25

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chaptersofchase's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Do you gravitate towards books with characters overcoming a significant loss?
Thank you, Random House + PRH Audio, for the gifted copy of After Annie {partner}

Genre: Fiction
Format: 🎧
Audiobook Narration: ☆☆☆☆☆
Pub Date: 2.27.2024
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

“You know what bothers me,” Ali said in the car, looking straight ahead through the windshield. “That my father can have another wife, but we can’t ever have another mother.”

I often reach for books with characters trying to overcome a significant loss because they make me pause and reflect on how a loss like that might affect my life. Maybe it’s the idea of mentally and emotionally preparing myself for how I could be impacted or a reminder that I am not alone in my feelings of grief.

I went into After Annie, thinking it would be one of those stories that I would need to take slowly and may need to put down for something light. Because how could a story about a family losing their wife/mother/friend/sister not be too heavy? But, I never once felt heavy with emotion. The author, Anna Quindlen, did an incredible job telling this story without overshadowing the sadness of what happened to Annie Brown.

Don’t get me wrong, it was still sad, but it was more of a look at all the ways we have to grow and change our lives following the death of someone close to us. The different journeys of all the characters felt so realistic that I had to remind myself that After Annie is fictional.

💔 Realistic look at grief
🗣️ Omniscient narrator
💨 Quick read

📌 Addiction, death of a parent, death of a spouse, miscarriage

I recommend reading After Annie only if you are in a good mental and emotional state to handle a novel about losing someone. If you have any questions, please DM me to chat!

_

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Content Warnings

carolynlovesbooks's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was hard to put down! The subject matter is difficult, overcoming grief after losing your wife/mother/best friend, especially at such a young age. Its really well done and your heart breaks for the loss of Annie (she's amazing!) but it's easy to fall in love with her daughter Ali (my favorite character in the book, along with Ms. Cruz).

Content Warnings

mrscorytee's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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