kellymcarr's review
3.0
This is a good summer/beach read but I was extremely annoyed with the main character by the end of the book. She spends the entire story obsessing over Joan instead of having her own life. I did enjoy reading about the lifestyle and imaging the outfits.
readingwithhippos's review
4.0
I absolutely loved Anton DiSclafani’s debut novel, [b:The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls|16158508|The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls|Anton DiSclafani|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364772121s/16158508.jpg|21995426], so I’ve been making gimme-hands ever since I found out she had a second novel coming out this spring. And even though The After Party isn’t likely to stick in my mind the way her first book did, it’s still really dang good. In it, narrator Cece has a singular fixation in her life: her best friend since childhood, Joan, who is wild even by MTV’s Real World standards, let alone the standards of her actual world, which is oil-booming 1950s Houston. Cece spends almost all her time thinking about Joan, worrying about Joan, or cleaning up Joan’s messes. Even when she’s grown, with a husband and a baby, Cece’s life is more about Joan than anyone else, even herself or her own family.
Cece’s obsession, while unhealthy and maybe a bit creepy, is at least somewhat understandable—Joan is a fascinating character, elusive and enigmatic even while she’s the center of attention (and she’s always the center of attention). But Cece’s neediness occasionally drives Joan away, and because we’re limited to Cece’s perspective, Joan is always at a frustrating distance. An effective choice, if DiSclafani is trying to invoke in the reader Cece’s own feeling of never having quite as much of Joan as she wants, but decidedly less interesting than hearing Joan’s story from her own mouth.
This method of using a comparatively bland bystander character to narrate the adventures of the main attraction seems to be popular lately, and I can think of several books I’ve enjoyed that employ it ([b:The Girls|26893819|The Girls|Emma Cline|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1464528839s/26893819.jpg|42856015] by Emma Cline and [b:The Hours Count|24611708|The Hours Count|Jillian Cantor|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428515151s/24611708.jpg|44222848] by Jillian Cantor come to mind, though there are others). In this case, though, I would rather have read about Joan without Cece as a lens. One of the aspects I loved most about The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls was Thea, the bold, sexy, risk-taking main character—a character not unlike Joan, in fact, now that I consider it. For my money, DiSclafani is at her best when she gives her most charismatic character the microphone.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
Cece’s obsession, while unhealthy and maybe a bit creepy, is at least somewhat understandable—Joan is a fascinating character, elusive and enigmatic even while she’s the center of attention (and she’s always the center of attention). But Cece’s neediness occasionally drives Joan away, and because we’re limited to Cece’s perspective, Joan is always at a frustrating distance. An effective choice, if DiSclafani is trying to invoke in the reader Cece’s own feeling of never having quite as much of Joan as she wants, but decidedly less interesting than hearing Joan’s story from her own mouth.
This method of using a comparatively bland bystander character to narrate the adventures of the main attraction seems to be popular lately, and I can think of several books I’ve enjoyed that employ it ([b:The Girls|26893819|The Girls|Emma Cline|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1464528839s/26893819.jpg|42856015] by Emma Cline and [b:The Hours Count|24611708|The Hours Count|Jillian Cantor|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428515151s/24611708.jpg|44222848] by Jillian Cantor come to mind, though there are others). In this case, though, I would rather have read about Joan without Cece as a lens. One of the aspects I loved most about The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls was Thea, the bold, sexy, risk-taking main character—a character not unlike Joan, in fact, now that I consider it. For my money, DiSclafani is at her best when she gives her most charismatic character the microphone.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
byashleylamar's review
4.0
I received a copy of The After Party by Anton DiScalfani from Edelweiss a few weeks ago but due to their terms I had to hold off on telling you about this book until the month it releases. Now that I can talk about it - go read it! The friendship between the two Joan's (one who was called by her middle name Cecilia) is so intense, it borders on obsession and stalking. Joan Fortier is a beloved socialite and CeeCee, wealthy in her own way, takes it upon herself to be Joan's constant companion, protector, and everything.
When Joan returns to Houston after a year away in Hollywood, CeeCee becomes obsessed with learning every single thing that happened while Joan was gone. She continually prioritizes Joan over her husband, her child, and her friends. It was both extremely sad, and annoying. Her obsession with Joan was destroying everything around her and she couldn't see it. The whole time I was reading this book I was just pleading with CeeCee to let Joan destroy her life and go home to her family. In those final pages of the book I just...wow CeeCee. Just, wow.
It's just a great book. The big secret was kind of predictable but still, the way it unfolded I loved. It seemed so fitting and I love having that intimate moment in that intense friendship. You really should read this one.
junjun10's review against another edition
3.0
The After Party is a page-turner in the purest sense, but it may leave something to be desired. For me, this was the case. I burned through the book, excited to see what happened next, but the reveal happens in a way that isn't fun for the reader, and seemed there just because it had to be. I guess that's how the two Joans interact for most of this book - in hindsight, everything seemed to be stringing along because of a few events in the past, and not in a moving way. If you're looking for a book of an old friendship in a realistic historical setting, then this is an alright read.
babayagareads's review against another edition
3.0
I would have given this book a solid 3.5 if the option was available. I do feel that the style is far above average, but there's simply too much woman on woman hate. It's reflective of the times, but personally, it did not hook me. I never went to bed pining to read just one more chapter, and the characters were neither people I loved nor people I loved to hate. However, I recommended it to my grandmother, and she loved it so much that she asked for other things by this author. Definitely worth reading, but not the top of my spring reading list. I received this book in a goodreads giveaway ARC from the publishing agency and loved having the opportunity to read it before it's official release.
audiobook_addict's review against another edition
4.0
This was one of those books that gradually pulls you in. Very much like Joan Fortier herself, this book has an ever-growing mangetism that slowly pulls you to the very climactic center. But the resolve is beautiful in it's glory like the time and era this book takes place in. It reminds me at times of Gone With the Wind in it's sweeping majesty and writing, and at times, the Help in how even the smallest characters interact with each other. This one will stick with me for a while. It also has that Grat Gadsby feel, in it's almost surreal at times atmosphere with the Shamrock Hotel and all the ambiance that had. The narrator here, Dorothy Dillingham Blue did an amazing job. She became Joan as much as she epitomized Cece Buchanan. I enjoyed this and have recommended and sent it to patrons, and told friends about this one since I picked it up. Read it, you won't regret it. Now, I'm off to find another, as they say here in Alabama, "good un." Happy reading yall.
jenrazzle's review against another edition
2.0
This book is well written but not particularly engrossing.
spookybookwitch's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
Kind of slow. I liked it for the glamour of high society in the 50s but it just was...anticlimactic. Meh.
Kind of slow. I liked it for the glamour of high society in the 50s but it just was...anticlimactic. Meh.
missamandamae's review against another edition
3.0
I definitely got engrossed in the idea of this book, as I always perk up at 1950s relationship stories. But as I got past the halfway mark, it seemed off. I was invested in these characters, but suddenly I could predict what was going to happen and it was a letdown to be proven right. Joan - the mysterious and worshipped friend in the story - seemed like a twist on a John Green novel, with the protagonist narrator borderline obsessed with the idea of the 1950s Texas version of a manic pixie dream girl, only to have illusions squashed during the course of the story. It was a little annoying, frankly. I did LOVE reading about the lives of these rich women, who weren't turned into caricatures. But ultimately the build up did not quite match the denouement.
meggya's review against another edition
2.0
This book was so disappointing! The description promises glittering 1950s Texas glamour, following two friends as the navigate life, love, marriage and motherhood together. I was hoping for a story as good as The Help. Instead I got one woman's account of a troubled friend that she is co-dependent on and a lot of whining about why that friend doesn't notice heeeeerrrr. I read it to the end hoping that the story picked up eventually. It didn't.