A review by gummifrog
Everything After by Jill Santopolo

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I'm typically a fan of Jill Santopolo's work, but this one wasn't as resonant for me.  I don't mind the pregnancy aspect of it - as a woman who deals with similar issues, I felt Emily's pain.  And honestly, the internal monologues were very emotionally impactful and deep.  As a former musician myself, I enjoyed the use of music and songwriting as an emotional outlet and reflection of the characters' states of mind.  Emily linking music with her trauma, and then finding it again as a trauma outlet, was very smart.

But on the other hand, every decision each character made just felt a bit unnatural or contrived for the point of the story.  Everyone in the story was so ok with the idea of the protagonist cheating or leaving her husband, even the friend on the outside!  And meanwhile, her husband is acting SO cartoonishly antagonistic, it was hard to believe that a man introduced to be so lovely would have acted the way he did.  There can be shades of grey in how people act, not everything needs to be a big dramatic outburst.

I try very hard to remain positive and not nitpick in book review but... this one just didn't sit so well with me.
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