This read like it was going to be inspiring or hopeful but truly nothing happened in this book. Just because you know a lot about something doesn’t mean you should write about it.

Sadly this felt blah. Like nothing really happened and there was no point. Don't get me wrong, it was a sad story, a sad plot, but it just didn't tug on my heart strings like I expected it to. Honestly I think I was probably expecting something different than what I got. It just didn't work for me.

Couldnt really get into the story and dnfed it at around 35%. it was well written just not for me. I would try something else from the author in the future.

We all know the names and faces of the shooters - those who went on rampages in schools, murdering innocent people and leaving death and destruction in their wake. On the other hand, rarely do we learn much of anything about the survivors - those who were there to witness a senseless act of violence and live to tell about it. Joseph Moldover's debut novel Every Moment After tells the story of two such survivors - boys, best friends and now teenagers, who survived a shooting in their 1st grade classroom - one because he wasn't in the path of a bullet, and the other because he was sick at home that day. During one fateful summer after high school graduation, Cole and Matt will learn what it means to live, love, and let go.

Cole is known as the "boy in the photo." His picture was splashed across the news nationwide when he was carried out of his 1st grade classroom by a police officer the day of the shooting eleven years ago. Embarrassed by his notoriety, he would rather stay anonymous, spending his days working at the local grocery store, writing poetry about the girl that he can't work up the courage to tell he likes, and caring for his mom who is grieving the recent death of his father by cancer.

Matt is headed to a promising college baseball career, but he is plagued every day with survivor's guilt. Sick at home with his diabetes, he wasn't in the classroom on that terrible day, but he can't help but feel that he should have been. What is so special about him that he was spared when his classmates were not? Matt finds himself playing with fire, testing fate in more and more dangerous ways, just looking for an answer - is he really supposed to be here, and if so, why?

Heartbreaking and honest, Every Moment After draws back the curtain on the way life goes on, yet doesn't, after a tragedy. This novel is a candid portrayal of guilt and grief, and it seamlessly makes those feelings accessible to its targeted audience - teen and young adult readers.

In regard to standout points, I especially enjoyed the close and caring relationship shared between two male friends that is the center of this story. Deep friendships between teenage boys are often difficult to come by in books, and I appreciated how Moldover shows that it is okay for guys to be there for one another in a meaningful way.

In all, potential readers should know that this book is not exploitative - it does not focus on the shooter and his crime - but rather is introspective, examining the ways that tragedy shapes and changes individuals, families, and entire towns. It is a beautiful testament to survival and remembrance; an ode to life and death. Recommended to all looking for a YA novel with substance.

I received a copy of this arc from NetGalley for an honest review. It's a shame that school shootings have now gone from fiction to nonfiction, but books like this will help many kids.

Really nice story about dealing with loss to which, young people will be able to relate. Most students nowadays have to deal with the fact that school shootings are a reality and live with shooting drills and comments made by other students. This book elaborates on that topic, and the PTSD/grief that comes with it. My teen patrons are already checking this book out.

As the parent of a first grader, it took me a bit to pick this one up. I was glad to see there is nothing gratuitous about this, at all. Great character development, real-world problems, and a good depiction of trauma and grief in general.

Too many children know exactly how it feels to be present at a school shooting, or to be the kid-who-stayed-home-sick. This novel takes on this heavy topic in a readable yet challenging way. Told in two voices, the plot develops over the summer after high school, when two friends are struggling with what it means to be a survivor and where there life will take them when they are no longer bound to the place it all happened. The character development is strong, and the voices authentic. There are moments when the reader fears it will not end positively. “Everything works out in the end. if it hasn't worked out yet, then it's not the end.” -Terry McMillan

Told in alternating viewpoints this story takes a topical issue - school shooting - but does it in a way that is really quite unsettling.
The shooting in question took place when the kids were in first grade. They are now 18 and about to graduate. With Matt kept at home because of a diabetic episode and Cole unable to recall the event, there’s very little detail given about the shooting which I’m grateful for. The story focuses instead on the little details, the small parts of the story that show the true extent to which lives are affected by such an event.
There were a lot of peripheral characters within the book which fleshed out the town/setting, but did - on occasion - meant I feel less connected to some of the key events. However, it was the kind of story that really got under my skin.
A definite must-read. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an early copy to read in exchange for my thoughts.

Eleven years ago there was a terrible tragedy. Seventeen 1st grade students and their principal were gunned down in a classroom. Every student in that class has been defined by that single event. Labeled survivor, victim, or the lucky one. Cole and Matt fall in the last two.

Now that class is done with school. They graduate and have to figure out how to move on from the identities they have lived with most of their lives.

Cole was there. He remembers nothing but he is still the "face" of the day, thanks to a single picture. The children on both sides of him, he's told, are both gone. But he isn't "The Luck One." He doesn't want to be that kid. He hates being noticed and recognized everywhere he goes. He lives through his poetry and is well liked but extremely introverted. Except for his friendship with Matt.

Matt, his best friend, is the one who got lucky. But it doesn't feel like it. He wasn't there that day. He was home sick when he heard the sirens. And now he is associated with something forever that he knows almost nothing about. He feels like he outside of everything, the worried town and the kids in that room. He's got his future ahead of him. He has a scholarship to play baseball in another state. He also has serious survivor's guilt about his "luck."

Matt and Cole are held together by their lifelong friendship and their memory of the former third in their group who was in that first group. The guilt of living to graduation while their best friend didn't make it until second grade makes them each act out in different ways in response to this massive change in their lives. Every moment since that one event has guided almost everyone in their town. Everyone was touched by it.

I was worried that this would be exploitive. That it would focus on the shooter and the crime. It does not. We know very little of the crime itself. We see the story through the eyes of Cole, who doesn't remember, and Matt, who wasn't there. Along the way they get the insight of parents and police and how they felt that day. This is about how this one choice by one person, a seemingly random choice of victims, changed everything for so many people.

A heartbreaking, terrifyingly realistic account of survivor guilt and the impact it can have on people years later. A must read.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this digital ARC.

I really liked this book. It’s a simple storyline in many ways, yet lots of complex themes and issues thread their way throughout. This is a realistic fiction YA telling the story through two male POVs. It’s the summer after graduating from high school, but what makes this story unique is that both MCs were a part of a 1st grade class that suffered a school shooting. The story does not focus on the shooting itself, rather the aftermath, even a decade later for the boys and others around them.

I definitely felt connected to the main characters, and I appreciated the transparency and realness of them. They are both very flawed and there are even times where the reader may dislike the characters, but because of the honest portrayal, you end up rooting for their best interest.

While this is a YA, I would caution this getting into younger classrooms: there’s a sexual relationship between an adult and 18 year old, quite a few scenes dealing with prescription drugs, and characters dealing with heavy feelings including depression and anxiety.

I really liked the idea behind this book, and the first few chapters at the graduation were really well-written and gut-wrenching and powerful. I really loved Matt and Cole’s relationship and the demons they were both dealing with.

But I think I wasn’t as big a fan of the two love stories, or most of the rest of the general plot? I did really like seeing how differently everyone was affected by the shooting and it was really well done all around.

Every Moment After by Joseph Moldover
Every Moment After is such a fitting title for this book. While it mentions and discusses a bit about the shooting, it doesn’t focus on it. Told in the alternating voices of Matt and Cole, the story is about the two, who have recently graduated, and are survivors of a school shooting that happened in first grade. Though it was many years ago, the young men still deal with PTSD and survivor’s guilt. They are very close friends and this story explores the bond that males share as friends. I loved that aspect. They depend on each other so much, as they suffered the same trauma together. They are growing up, so to speak, and going forward with their lives, and perhaps depending on each other less and less. They still struggle with their feelings even though it has been years ago. The past haunts them both.
The writing was impactful and sensitive, considering the subject matter. Moldover did an amazing job at telling the story and expressing the trauma through the boys’ eyes. The author didn’t rely on the atrocity that occurred, but rather, he really touched on the relationships that boys and men form and how they can sometimes grow apart though they still feel that they need each other for support. It is a magnificent work and well worth the read.
The characters were relatable and likeable. You could easily sympathize with them from the start. Their growth from boyhood to manhood is so very touching. Their dependency and need for one another’s support was so heartfelt. The plot was ingenious, IMHO. The way Moldover handled the delicate base topic was so impressive.
This was an easy and enjoyable read for me, though it was emotional and made me sad and tear up at times. It was very moving. You don’t want to miss this one! It will tug at you heart strings and give you pause to think of the aftermath that leaves its mark long after such a tragedy occurs. 5/5.
I was given this book by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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I had a feeling this book was going to be very moving, just by reading the synopsis. I will say I was extremely happy to see it focus’ on a lot more than just the past. It showed how character’s have grown and how they handle their grief and guilt over different aspects of the past tragedy. One thing I loved reading about was one of the characters trials a tribulation of living with type 1 diabetes. I know a lot about type 2 and would consider myself quite knowledgable about the subject, but I never knew much about type 1 and I enjoyed the chance.

Matt and Cole were great characters to hear from. I loved that each chapter alternated between the two. I found Cole the more interesting of the two to read from. They are both in such a similar place in their lives and it’s wonderful to see how differently they navigate through the summer. This books was very character driven to say the least and that made it different from others I’ve read about similar topics.

I found the topics covered in this story to be done in a very sensitive and respectful way and would absolutely recommend it to anyone wondering about the affects. I was frustrated a to throughout the book, but not so much plot-wise more character-wise. I would have given it a lower rating, but the writing was just so beautiful I couldn’t.

As a teacher I was actually more hesitant to read this that I thought I would be but I'm glad that I did. Strong message and different than most other school shooting books that I have read in the past. The strong relationship between the boys is something that really made this a special read as well. I think that it will resonate with my high school students and it will be a good one for boys to read as well. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved this book. The author handled the subject matter very sensitively and it was compelling from beginning to end. I'll definitely be purchasing this one for my classroom library.

The writing in this novel did not grab my attention. I wanted to care about the characters but I just couldn't..