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Amy Efaw

Decent Essays

The book After, written by Amy Efaw, is an addictive, action-packed book. The fiction story is about a girl named Devon Sky Davenport who was pregnant, but in denial. She wakes up one morning, sick, and stays home from school that day. That night, she gives birth at home by herself, and throws the baby in the trash after putting it in a garbage bag. Devon goes to jail where she makes friends and has to cooperate with her lawyer. Devon can’t remember anything from the night when she gave birth but as things start clicking into place, Devon realizes what she has done, and starts having suicidal thoughts. Devon must tell her lawyer the details, although it is hard, so she can be tried in a juvenile court and only get 5 years, but if she doesn’t …show more content…

The author uses a great deal of detail when describing characters. For example, the author wrote, “Yellow…yellow. The color of Devon’s mom’s hair. The color of a sun breaking through the flat gray clouds. Of a lemon drop. Devon allows her eyes to droop closed for a moment.” I can distinctly imagine the appearance of the characters because the author uses the detail that he does. The plot of this book moves quickly because she starts to remember things from That Night from flashbacks that happen often. The text reads, “She steps slightly closer to him, lets her shoulder brush his arm as they walk hand in hand. Lets her hip bump into his. Once. Then. Twice….” The author uses plenty of imagery when describing places and people. For example, the author wrote, “Devon’s eyes skim over the room’s three rectangular tables and finds that vacant seat indicated. It’s beside the pale girl with the breads. The girl scoots her chair back to make room for Devon, presenting the seat with an open hand, her crooked smile creeping back over her face.” The author’s tone in this book is stressful, and outraged. An example from the story includes, “No! Get out of here! Devon’s mom lunges at the man, grabbing his shoulders from behind, her long nails digging into his jacket. Get the hell out of here! Are you hearing me? The other man, the one in the uniform, appears suddenly, pulling Devon’s mom off of the first man.” The theme of this story is displacement. Devon is a girl who gets good grades, is involved in sports, and gets her work done on time. She is not someone you would expect to be in jail, and she is so much different from her peers in jail. I can apply this lesson in my life because if I am ever in a place where I feel uncomfortable and out of place, I know that it will end soon. This lesson will make a change in my future

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