I enjoyed listening this audio book.
It's about the girl who lost her brother and moved to a new school and a new house. She actually lives in a dead girl's room. The students went thought gun-shooting in that school. And she made a friend who is the shooter's sister.
The story begins with all the sadness, I'm glad it ends happily.

Format: audiobook
Author: Emily Barth Isler ~ Title: AfterMath ~ Narrator: Emily Barth Isler
Content: 5 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars
TW: terminal illness, school shooting, PTSD

AfterMath is a story of a twelve-year-old Lucy. Her brother died recently, and she moved with her family to a town full of grieving after a mass shooting in a local school. I liked all the math problems at the beginning of the chapters. And I love how Lucy is thinking and her explanations with maths throughout the book.

This is a very good coming-of-age story, but there’s a lot of sadness in this book. It is a middle-grade novel, but maybe it’s a bit too dark for this age group. I would recommend it, but I don’t think I would recommend it for middle-grade readers. Maybe in some exceptional cases. I would recommend it for adult readers who like serious topics in the middle-grade genre.

The narrator is the author herself, and I liked her narration. You could sense all the emotions in her voice.

Thanks to the Lerner Audiobooks for the ARC and the opportunity to listen to this! All opinions are my own.

Emily Barth is really talented, this book is written in a beautiful way.
Full of metaphors that beautifully describe problematic or difficult topics such as trauma and grief this book is lovely. It was a delight to read.

The only thing is that it was difficult for me to imagine this as the voice of a preteen for the most part, they don’t use such a complex language and tend to see the world in a more concrete way.

This book hit me in the feels like a truck.
***Trigger Warnings*** This book contains a school shooting, PTSD, an incurable disease in a child.

What I love about this novel: It tackles the hard topic of comparing grief. Lucy lost her brother when he was too young due to an incurable disease. HIs death haunts her and her parents. The town to which Lucy's family moves is haunted by an elementary school shooting. The 7th grade class she joins is the class where the the most students and the teacher were murdered. How can Lucy grieve and speak openly about losing her brother when this town and her classmates have suffered through so much? Lucy doesn't even want to try to compare her grief at first and keeps all her emotions bottled up. This novel beautifully teaches that grief isn't meant to be compared in the most tragic and powerful way.

I also loved that Lucy loves math. She gets mysterious math jokes left for her which brighten up her days. She thinks of emotional problems in mathematical terms. In emotionally charged novels such as this one, it is almost the chiche and stereotype for the English class and the English teacher to be the pivotal focus/class for the novel. This novel focused on math! And I thought it was great to show that some students DO LOVE MATH and it can be used in daily, emotional situations. This novel also depicts a touching and loving relationship between a male middle school teacher and his students.

This is a super powerful novel about living through grief.

I highly recommend it.

Lucy wants to escape from the town that only thought of her as the girl whose brother died. She believes she will get that fresh start when her family moves to a new town. However, when she learns that the community experienced a school shooting years before she arrived, she is stuck in a town that won't quit processing their grief. Lucy doesn't want to be the girl who suffered tragedy in the new school, so she reinvents herself. As she begins to make friends her lies will be the undoing of her ability to move on.

Lucy's life is complicated by the fact that she lives in the house of one of the shooting victims. Her room is the dead girl's room and she is curious and also feels like she has no one to turn to for answers. Lucy uses math as a way of coping and as the story progresses the reader sees Lucy realize how math has helped her get through the hard times in her life.

The narration was well done in this middle-grade novel. The topics are heavy and the book, while it handles the topic of death sensitively, this book is not for all readers. This was an engaging and at times melancholy read, but the author brings hope into dark situations, and for some kids who need this message After Math is the perfect book to begin healing.

Lucy with her love of Math reminded me of my growing up years, when I saw parallel lines in objects, and tried solving the related theorems in mind, the symmetry of objects, and other such. The maturity she shows, as her parents try to down play the recent mishap at home, the need in her to be a child at the same time. The emotions she goes through, while also trying to be mindful of the people around her, all makes her such a lovable child.

The situations the teen goes through, and her emotional needs that need to be addressed, and trying to balance it with the external, is all so real. This is such a beautiful book that highlights the concern for mental health and support.

Lucy loves math. She loves precise definitions and phenomena that can be explained. She loves solutions.
There is one aspect that does not fit into her world view of calculations and exact answers. Her younger brother Theo was born with a heart defect. His short life was filled with doctors and hospitals and treatments. Now he is gone, leaving behind grieving parents and his sister Lucy.
Mom and dad decide that the best way to cope with their loss is to move to a new town. They select a city that has suffered a profound loss. Four years ago, a deranged shooter entered the elementary school, killing and injuring many inside the building.
Lucy’s anguish as she witnessed her brother's painfilled demise stretch over five years is both similar and very different from the public tragedy that instantly affected the entire community.
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Isler's characters provide a variety of perspectives on the aftereffects of grief. Lucy's father withdraws, remaining in bed or behind his newspaper. Her mother visits with a therapist and busies herself with making the family home fresh and different. Lucy learns that the bedroom in her new home was the bedroom of Bet who was a shooting victim. She develops an internal storyline for Bet. By chance, Lucy connects with Avery, a classmate who appears to be a pariah. Later, Lucy discovers that Avery's brother was the shooter.
The one place where Lucy feels most comfortable is math class, a world of formulas and equations. However, there is one concept that eludes her: infinity. Lucy searches to understand this mathematical expression throughout the book. The text is brimming with math facts, riddles and jokes which are a counterpoint to the story's heart-rending subject matter.
While this is a story of grief and loss, AfterMath is a hopeful story. Through an extracurricular mime group Lucy learns new ways to express herself, make friends, and solidify her relationship with Avery. Her family begins to heal.
A touching story that avoids becoming maudlin. The author’s narration is well suited to the voice of a tender twelve-year-old. ​Occasionally a title is precisely the perfect fit. AfterMath is a brilliant title choice.

Shenice is a girl with a family baseball legacy. Now it has caused a huge weight on her young shoulders. The weight involves a scandal surrounding her great-grandfather. She feels it’s her job to try and clear his name all the while trying to win a historic title as the captain of her softball team.

Twelve-year-old Shenice “Lightning” Lockwood has baseball in her blood and plans to lead her all-Black fast-pitch softball team (a first in the Dixie Youth Softball Association), the Fulton Firebirds, to victory at the district championship. In the attempt to cheer his daughter after a disappointing loss, her father shows her memorabilia from her family’s baseball lineage. This event prompts him to take Shenice to visit her great-uncle Jack. He tells her the story of her great-grandfather’s rise from the Negro Leagues to the majors and how racial prejudice played a part in his being framed for the theft of a famous baseball glove. Here is where Shenice feels compelled to seek answers.

This middle-grade novel discusses race at a level readers will understand and many can relate. The story is filled with images of positive Black girls without downplaying the historical realities of her family playing baseball in the American South. And how sadly enough it still affects her in the present as she attempts to make history herself.

Notably, her coach is a White woman in a same-gender marriage.
The mystery is compelling but for a non spirts follower, at times, I was ready to get through the softball stuff to get more into the intrigue.

All in all, Fast Pitch is quite an adventure.

A big thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Star rating - 3.5 stars

- Synopsis

"Just because someone has seen horrors doesn't mean they are incapable of finding joy or meaning in their lives, or should be written off forever."

After losing her brother to a heart disease, Lucy's family moves to a new town, for a fresh start. But this town has a tragic history - everyone here is connected by grief and horrors. They have all lost people they love, the results of the shooting that took place in an elementary school building, four years ago.
Lucy discovers that all of her classmates are dealing with a tragedy of their own - they are all survivors. They have all been victims to the horrors of the shooting. They have lost friends, family, people they love.
This book shows the effects of all of it on these kids, while Lucy tries to fit in with them, feeling like an outsider all the time. Because this isn't her loss. But the death of her brother is. Through all her struggles, her love of Math is the only thing that brings her comfort. She loves how it is something that is known. That is fixed. How there is only one correct answer. It helps her deal with everything life has thrown her way.

- Plot

"They've all known each other forever, gone through tragedy together. They all lost friends, or are permanently affected by the events. I don't need to know each one's individual story to know that. The statistics speak for themselves."

A girl struggling with the grief of losing her younger brother goes to a school where her entire grade has gone through a shooting when they were only eight. Lost friends, seen them being killed.

"We look normal. Like death isn't part of our lives yet."

The idea of this book is so amazing! I loved the execution of the grief, and the way it deals with it. I loved seeing Lucy's struggles, the struggles of the other students, and the effects of the shooting on each one of them.

- Characters

"My emotions split in two directions. One is horror for this poor girl, like being punched in the chest and the gut all at once. But the other thing I feel is anger. At my parents. No one prepared me for this. Shouldn’t my parents have anticipated it? Didn’t they think how it would be like for me to be surrounded by survivors who have been forever marked by the tragedy. Where the names of ghosts come before those of the living."

Lucy was a fun character. The first person narration brought her character to life, and I really cared for her. I felt her grief, and her struggles. She tried to understand the people around her. And her love for Math was an amazing aspect to her personality! But I think it could have been done better. It might be just me, but at times it seemed kind of forced and unnatural. Like it was a personality that was pushed onto the protagonist or something. But it was still interesting. And at times, you could feel so connected to her.
But the rest of the characters seemed a bit lacking. We don't get to know anyone so well. That might be because this was a middle grade novel, and there just wasn't enough time to really flesh out all of them, but I really think the side characters could have been developed better, defined by more than just their backstory. I wish they would have had more unique personalities. We know Avery's backstory, but it still seems to me like it could have been done better. More details, maybe? Apart from that, I can't really say anything much about her, but the girl surely deserves better. Joshua had a really flat character arc, and basically all we know is that Lucy likes him - Why? We aren't given a reason.

- The Narration

The narration was one of the best things about this! It is narrated by the author, and I think her voice really brought the main character to life. It brought the whole story to life. The sad parts were so well done, I actually felt it. And I think the fact that the author narrated this makes it even better because who else but the author can bring her own characters to life so well? Who else can really capture the character's emotions in their own narration?
And even the writing was so beautiful! The words captured all the emotions and feelings of the character so well!

- Development

I loved seeing the friendship between Lucy and Avery. It seemed so genuine, and I loved how the two girls took care of and stood up for each other. They made mistakes, but in the end, they were friends. What I loved most about Lucy is how she befriended Avery even after knowing who she was. How she didn't define her based on her past or her family. I loved how Lucy was open minded.

"Grief has turned us into fractions. Grief is made of shapes that don't fit together. Equations that don't add up, and it follows us everywhere."

And the way her relationships with her family changed gradually during the course of the book. The effects of their son's death on her parents, and how they managed to try to overcome their grief. The development was really well done. And yes, the parents did infuriate me a couple of times, but I loved how well it was all captured. How eventually, they tried to find happiness again and made an effort to make things better.

- Other things that could have been done better

I think this book could have covered more ground. I really would have liked more details about the shooting, about Lucy's brother's death, and about why the shooting took place. I would have loved to discover these topics deeper. But I think that was kept aside since it was a Middle Grade novel, and those details might have been a bit too horrific for kids.

And the drama with Joshua seemed quite unnecessary. The book would have been better without it.

- Summarizing my thoughts

This book was beautiful. The prose was so deep at times, and the grief it depicted was so real. The effects of the shooting on these kids. A girl dealing with the loss of her brother, and trying to understand the people around her. It was all portrayed so beautifully. The narration brought the story to life. I loved seeing the protagonist's journey, and I will surely keep an eye out for other books by this author, mainly because of the beautiful writing. I really recommend the audiobook version over the e-book or physical book, because the narration is truly so amazing!

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

***AUDIO BOOK VERSION***
Trigger warning: Gun violence, terminal illness, PTSD, OCD.
After/Math is a beautifully narrated and sensitively written story about a young girl who has moved to a new house and new school after her brother died of a heart problem. The child who lived in the house she's moved into also died as a victim of a school shooting at the new school she's started to attend.
The characters were realistic and so was the setting of the story.
This is definitely a book to read/listen to at some time in your life. The story certainly makes you think about all aspects to situations like this one and see it from the eyes and view point of a child too.
I recommend this book not just to children but to adults too.

A middle grade book that tackles some really raw and difficult topics like child death from congenital heart defect, school shootings, parental struggles, and switching schools. The main character is the math angle - she is a math wiz and thinks about her life in terms of math. I'd suggest parents read this before reading to or having their middle grade child read it alone. I think it's manageable, but will need to be discussed further. I do tend to take an approach of being open about everything with my children.

Ultimately, I would recommend this book. The writing is wonderful, the audio was performed well, and the characters are so real and relatable.

Complete review (in Spanish): Instagram @entre.mi.libro.y.yo

I REALLY liked this book.

I liked that it talks about grieve and duel in a very innocent way, making us readers feel the sadness but also understand the protagonist during the changes she goes through in the book.

I also liked that Lucy tries to solve her personal problems as if they were math problems, as an engineer, I could relate to that.

The way that the author narrates the book is very special, making different voices for different characters and never sounding boring or monotonous.

Thanks for this wonderful story Emily, and thanks for letting me hear it Netgalley!

First, a disclaimer: I received this audiobook in advance of publication in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own opinions. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book.

Second, content warnings: this book is written for middle graders and it deals with some pretty heavy topics. While I do not know how to include everything that might traumatize someone, I will note that death of a sibling, coping with PTSD, and school shootings are major plot points in this book and readers (or parents of readers) should be aware of this before deciding whether or not this book is the right fit.

My thoughts on this book: Holy moly! I was not prepared for this book to be such a snot bomb. I ended up listening to this book at night and bawling big, fat tears into my pillow though. Let’s be honest, when it comes to school shootings, we tend to focus on the “cause”. Conversations about preventing disasters like this are important. But we lose focus on the “effect”. Traumatized children and their families that have to pick up the pieces and move forward as if life is back to normal. This book tells THAT story. I loved Lucy and all of the characters. It is hard to say that I loved the story, but I think it is an important story and this is a book that I highly recommend.

CAWPILE Score: 66
Star Rating: 5
Pages: 272
Read on Audiobook

AfterMath is a sensitively written coming-of-age novel by Emily Barth Isler. Due out 7th Sept 2021 from Lerner Books on their Carolrhoda imprint, it's 272 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is such a warm and thoughtful book for middle grades and older. Despite the heavy themes of sudden violent loss, death, trauma, grief, painful family and friendship relations, and the general upheaval of adolescence, there are moments of humor and fun woven throughout. The author has a real gift with writing that engages and informs without ever being maudlin or preachy. Although it has been decades since I was Lucy's age, I think the honesty of the writing will touch most readers whatever their age.

The author's positive and supportive matter-of-fact discussion of mental health issues and support for grief and healing are vitally important. She touches on the upside-down roles of parents and the "problem free" kid in families with a seriously ill or dying sibling; and she does so in a genuine and realistic way.

I liked the character portrayals. They were believable and the author wrote them as living breathing people. They weren't perfect and the adults didn't have all the answers. I especially loved Mr. Jackson, Lucy's math teacher. He's such a positively portrayed, engaged, caring, and intelligent character. I appreciated that the author wrote inclusive, respectful, and positive portrayals of other ethnicities and backgrounds. Representation is important. It felt brave of the author to tackle the issues which she did and she did them so well.

The audiobook is narrated by the author herself and has a run time of 5 hours 7 minutes. She does a stellar job of delineating the characters' voices and keeping them distinct from one another. I had no trouble keeping them separate in my head during listening.

Five stars. Genuinely important and well written middle grade book. I would recommend it for public and school library acquisition, reading groups, and home use. The book includes study question prompts for discussions in the back of the book. Potential trigger warnings, shooting death, discussion of grief and mental health issues, death of a child.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Twelve years old Lucy's family moved to a new town for a fresh start after the loss of her five years old baby brother from a congenital heart defect. Lucy found out that her new room belonged to a dead girl her age, who died in an elementary school shooting where 27 other kids died. Lucy's new classmates were third graders when the shooting happened, and everyone of them has his/her story of surviving or loss.

The author was the narrator of this audio-book and I liked it. Both the story and the narration.

The story follows Lucy, a 12 year old girl who recently lost her brother to an illness, and moved to a town where a school shooting happened 4 years ago. Lucy is struggling to make friends as she learns about the pain other kids experienced while dealing with her own. She loves math and thinks in equations most of the time.

I love how the story represented the aftermath of a mass shooting. It is a very heavy subject and seeing young children having to confront their feelings about it is even harder. The book had many great messages, like how grief is different for everyone, you can't compare a loss to another, it is important to be able to talk to someone, and therapy isn't a bad word.

The author narrated the audiobook and it was so good! I even cried a bit.

I do want to say that the pauses between characters are very long - each time I thought something happened to my phone. It should be fixed before the audiobook becomes available to the public.

Aftermath follows the middle schoolers Lucy whose family moves after her younger brother dies from a heart defect. The students are experiencing the after affects of a school shooting. This book is beautifully written and the author did an amazing job handling the to tough subjects

This book was heartfelt and thought provoking. After the death of her younger brother from a congenital heart defect, Lucy's family moves to a new town for a "fresh start" where she attends a new school. This is a difficult transition for her after her family's loss and their inability to communicate about their grief. Additionally, she discovers the school was the site of a school shooting several years before so the students in her grade are the survivors of that tragedy. Lucy's character is so well written and authentic. She enjoys math and uses the logic to make sense of her life. There are funny math jokes and puns through out that are enjoyable and add a sense of lightness to the book. This was such a beautiful story of these kids and what they went through, including the sister of the shooter. I felt the author portrayed their feelings and told about what happened with such care and empathy. This book was incredible. Highly recommend - Five Stars

This book is amazing. Lucy is a cinnamon bun. She's going through a series of losses (her brother, her connection with her parents, moving city, changing schools, and even her understanding of math), and she manages to deal with it with a high level of maturity for her age. She's forced to grow up faster than other kids her age, and yet, despite that, still has an innocence and purity resembling a child's. Her whole process while adapting to these new situations is beautiful to see, the way she articulates her emotions and help her parents and classmates to deal with their losses as well. It's a beautiful story, very well written, and you can feel Lucy's turmoils and moments of happiness alongside her.

Holly fuck. Sorry but…. Okay. First of all, thank you Net Galley for the audio arc of the book. I, for once, have read the summary. But I was like “come on it’s a middle-grade book. It won’t be that hard”. Ah. The joke’s on me. This book made me cry in the street and it was hard not crying on the bus. It’s an emotional m, hard and powerful book. And yet it’s hopeful. It talks about grief, family, and friendship. It also talks about mental health and the fact that nobody should be ashamed of going to therapy.
Anyway, started august with this book, and honestly. I don't know if I’ll like any book more this month.
TW: PTSD, School shooting, Greif, Death of a child, Illness