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vklover's review
slow-paced
3.75
1. The book moves really slowly for a mystery type book. I felt like things were just dragging.
2. The flap says Skye uncovers evidence that could clear her brothers name.... but like that portion of the book did not happen until page 272 and she did not discover it, spoiler: the police did? She was not investigating anything the entire book, she was mostly just being harassed and considering herself paranoid. The flap made it seem like she was a go getter looking to investigate the truth of the shooting but that was not at all the plot of the story until literally the last 100 pages. It's just a little misleading which is frustrating lol. Because the real point of the story was who is setting her up to look like a loon; her brothers role tends to be an after thought.
Probably wouldn't read the book again. Hoping the authors other books are better.
2. The flap says Skye uncovers evidence that could clear her brothers name.... but like that portion of the book did not happen until page 272 and she did not discover it, spoiler: the police did? She was not investigating anything the entire book, she was mostly just being harassed and considering herself paranoid. The flap made it seem like she was a go getter looking to investigate the truth of the shooting but that was not at all the plot of the story until literally the last 100 pages. It's just a little misleading which is frustrating lol. Because the real point of the story was who is setting her up to look like a loon; her brothers role tends to be an after thought.
Probably wouldn't read the book again. Hoping the authors other books are better.
blogginboutbooks's review
4.0
I've been enjoying Armstrong's Rockton trilogy for adults, so I decided to give her newest YA novel a try. AFTERMATH concerns a 16-year-old girl whose brother was shot by police during a school shooting in which he was alleged to be one of the shooters. After three years away, Skye returns to the town where the shooting took place and is immediately set upon by outraged teens who threaten her, bully her, and blame her for her brother's crimes. One even starts a petition to get Skye thrown out of the school. This didn't ring true to me -- after THREE years, would a bunch of high schoolers really care enough to be so vicious and cruel to the SISTER of a shooter? In a moderately-sized city, would people really recognize Skye on-sight as the SISTER of a shooter? I don't think so. If she had been accused of being a shooter but not convicted or something, THEN I could maybe see these events happening ... The premise, then, seemed implausible to me and the plot gets even more so as it goes on. Let's just say I had to seriously suspend my disbelief to get through this one.
That being said, AFTERMATH is definitely a compelling page turner. I couldn't put it down. Even though it got very far-fetched, I still wanted to know what was going to happen since I cared about the characters. Although I suspected who Skye's anonymous tormentor was, I wasn't absolutely sure until the end of the novel—there's nothing worse than a predictable thriller, so that was a nice surprise. All in all, then, I'd give AFTERMATH a B- for being engrossing and twisty, even if its premise wasn't convincing enough for me.
That being said, AFTERMATH is definitely a compelling page turner. I couldn't put it down. Even though it got very far-fetched, I still wanted to know what was going to happen since I cared about the characters. Although I suspected who Skye's anonymous tormentor was, I wasn't absolutely sure until the end of the novel—there's nothing worse than a predictable thriller, so that was a nice surprise. All in all, then, I'd give AFTERMATH a B- for being engrossing and twisty, even if its premise wasn't convincing enough for me.
bookloverchelle's review against another edition
4.0
A really great book covering a really difficult topic. At 13 years old Skye lost her older brother during a high school shooting, not as a victim but as one of the perpetrators. It's hard enough being a survivor but living with the guilt of the others that died is just too much. After 3 years she's finally back to her home town and attending a new high school with a lot of the same students who carry just as much resentment towards her. Her former best friend, Jesse, is still there but since his brother was killed Skye isn't sure if he's still a friend or foe. And when she begins to be haunted by that horrible day, Skye has to question if she's going crazy or if someone is out to get her. I really enjoyed this story, the characters and twists made this a quick and powerful read. Good read!
shemyshines98's review
5.0
Whew! This book is so amazingly thrilling. When I checked out the summary of it, I had to grab it. It’s about a girl name Skye moving back to her home town three years after he brother was in involved in small group school shooting. Of course, she received a lot of backlash for returning which sorta led to her digging into what really happened when strange things started to happen such as her being locked in the newspaper room while someone on the other side slid lit up papers under the door causing a fire. But, not only this, she has to face her ex-best friend, Jesse who lost his brother in the shooting. When the summary said that Jesse’s family will always be a target, I was confused. But, I realized now he kinda was because Jamil wasn’t the nicest person in the world. He was a jerk and everyone knew. A jerk who belittled his brother every chance he got. After some time, Jesse and Skye team up to figure out what really happened that night. This is what happened:
Coming to find out sweet little Tiffany isn’t as sweet as most thinks she is. She was the mastermind of the whole school shooting. In her words, she wanted to be a “legend” and then run off into the sunset of Mexico with her boyfriend. But, Issac panicked and killed himself. She didn’t want Luka to be involved but Issac gave him the gun anyways just in case he wanted to join the “action”. But, Luka didn’t want to partake in it. So, he went to the bathroom to hide the gun and calls the police. But, the cops saw him with a gun that he was going to hand over and either he reacted to slowly but they ended up killing him.
All in all, this book is amazing. I love the relationship with Skye and Jesse, so cute! It had me on the edge, just when you think you figured it out, something always throws it off. I love it! Skye finally got to clear her brother’s name and can finally live with a new image of him instead of the one painted by others. Very good book that touched on a very sensitive topic that unfortunately happens every day.
Coming to find out sweet little Tiffany isn’t as sweet as most thinks she is. She was the mastermind of the whole school shooting. In her words, she wanted to be a “legend” and then run off into the sunset of Mexico with her boyfriend. But, Issac panicked and killed himself. She didn’t want Luka to be involved but Issac gave him the gun anyways just in case he wanted to join the “action”. But, Luka didn’t want to partake in it. So, he went to the bathroom to hide the gun and calls the police. But, the cops saw him with a gun that he was going to hand over and either he reacted to slowly but they ended up killing him.
All in all, this book is amazing. I love the relationship with Skye and Jesse, so cute! It had me on the edge, just when you think you figured it out, something always throws it off. I love it! Skye finally got to clear her brother’s name and can finally live with a new image of him instead of the one painted by others. Very good book that touched on a very sensitive topic that unfortunately happens every day.
joyousreads132's review
4.0
Have you ever thought about what it was like for the families of the shooters who killed innocent people? Not in the way that they are victimized, but just how life goes on after one of their own shoot up a school and are labeled as murderers for the rest of their natural born life?
Kelley offers a fascinating perspective into the life of a victim in his or her own way. It was interesting, heartbreaking, and frustrating because this victim is the sister of one of the suspected murderers. She was shunned and was treated like she pulled the gun herself. On the other side of the coin is Jesse, whose brother was actually one of victims of the shooting itself. Once upon a time Jesse and Skye were the best of friends. But because Skye’s brother was one of the shooters, their friendship was just one of the many things that ended on that day.
Being back in the town that Skye left soon after the tragedy happened was in the list of things she’d rather not do. But with her mother’s deteriorating state of mind, and her grandmother’s recent stroke left her no choice but to move back in with her aunt. To nobody else’s surprise, the town did not give her the warmest of welcomes - especially in a school where most of the students knew her and of her brother. Everyone treated her like a pariah, even Jesse, her former best friend.
Everyday she’s faced with a reminder of the shooting. People haven’t moved on. Skye has known in her heart that Luka, her brother, was not the villain everyone had painted him to be. And as life in town and in school got even harder, she’d awaken a determination to get to the truth.
This was a hard read all around. I have read a lot of books by Ms. Armstrong but nothing as relevant a subject as school shootings. It’s a sensitive subject in it that senseless loss of lives is involved, and an author needs to paint a clear view of both sides. I feel that Kelley did the best she could in presenting a non-biased view. She invoked a sincere empathy that made the readers feel all the difficult struggles on both sides, post-shooting.
Kelley is the equivalent of M. Night Shyamalan in the book world. She knows how to plot a twist that will leave you breathless upon reveal. The same goes in this novel. She crafted a convincing story that is a thriller of a page-turner. Time and again, her characters are well padded, not necessarily wholesome; neither perfect, but the realest you’d ever read.
Once again, Armstrong the veteran knows how to give her readers something new, robust, and brave.
Kelley offers a fascinating perspective into the life of a victim in his or her own way. It was interesting, heartbreaking, and frustrating because this victim is the sister of one of the suspected murderers. She was shunned and was treated like she pulled the gun herself. On the other side of the coin is Jesse, whose brother was actually one of victims of the shooting itself. Once upon a time Jesse and Skye were the best of friends. But because Skye’s brother was one of the shooters, their friendship was just one of the many things that ended on that day.
Being back in the town that Skye left soon after the tragedy happened was in the list of things she’d rather not do. But with her mother’s deteriorating state of mind, and her grandmother’s recent stroke left her no choice but to move back in with her aunt. To nobody else’s surprise, the town did not give her the warmest of welcomes - especially in a school where most of the students knew her and of her brother. Everyone treated her like a pariah, even Jesse, her former best friend.
Everyday she’s faced with a reminder of the shooting. People haven’t moved on. Skye has known in her heart that Luka, her brother, was not the villain everyone had painted him to be. And as life in town and in school got even harder, she’d awaken a determination to get to the truth.
This was a hard read all around. I have read a lot of books by Ms. Armstrong but nothing as relevant a subject as school shootings. It’s a sensitive subject in it that senseless loss of lives is involved, and an author needs to paint a clear view of both sides. I feel that Kelley did the best she could in presenting a non-biased view. She invoked a sincere empathy that made the readers feel all the difficult struggles on both sides, post-shooting.
Kelley is the equivalent of M. Night Shyamalan in the book world. She knows how to plot a twist that will leave you breathless upon reveal. The same goes in this novel. She crafted a convincing story that is a thriller of a page-turner. Time and again, her characters are well padded, not necessarily wholesome; neither perfect, but the realest you’d ever read.
Once again, Armstrong the veteran knows how to give her readers something new, robust, and brave.
tasha131's review
3.0
This was okay but a bit heavily focused on the romance part of it for my preference. The romance kind of downplays the message about being careful of where you place blame in tragic events such as school shootings. The book also examines the wrong way for a school to handle bullying but that message never gets completely fleshed out or given any type or resolution. The mystery aspect of the book is probably the better part of the book. The big twist at the end is a surprise and a particularly sad one at that.
booksy_tx_ana's review
5.0
Love so much! Different point no view for such a tragedy. I always think of the shooter's family more people should. Truly heartbreaking at times. Simply amazing book.