Sonnenblick, J. (2010). After Ever After. New York: Scholastic Press. 260 pages, $16.99
In this sequel to Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie, Jeff is an eighth grader who is in cancer remission. Having cancer has prepared Jeff for many things such as surviving, but it has nor prepared him for what is happening at school, dealing with his family, dealing with girls, or dealing with his friends. Is he ready for all these changes?
Jeff is in cancer remission, but now he has so much more to worry about. His eighth grade year is starting, and he (actually his parents) received a letter (which he threw away) from the school district stating that the schools are going to be using a standardized test to decide whether or not students get promoted to high school. This really worries Jeff because he has never really been good at math, and his chemotherapy treatment messed with his brain cells, so he is even less good at math. However, his best friend Tad, who also is in cancer remission (but for less time than Jeff) and is a math whiz, vows to help pass the standardized tests. Jeff agrees, but he is still nervous about it. Jeff also discovers that he will be required to attend after school tutoring through his school so that he can get help, study, and practice for the test. When his parents find out about this, they also discover that Jeff threw away the letter about using standardized tests to promote students. This worries his mom, a teacher, because she is concerned that he won't pass. His dad believes that all Jeff needs to do is apply himself, focus, and practice and he'll pass. In addition to worrying about math, Jeff is also nervous about a new girl from California, Lindsey. She has shown an interest in him, and that worries him because he doesn't want to mess things up with her before they even start. As if that weren't enough, Tad has been acting weird lately: sometimes he's moody, sometimes he's supportive of Jeff's supposed relationship with Lindsey, sometimes he seems jealous, and secretive. Jeff feels that if he had his brother, Steven (who left college to play drums in Africa and find himself) were around he could talk things over with him and he'd feel better about everything that's happening. One thing Jeff looks forward to is the biking race in support of cancer. Eventually Jeff realizes that Tad's cancer has returned, which is why he's been tired and moody. Jeff decides to really do his best to win the race to help Tad, especially since the race is on the day that Tad is having an operation and because Tad is going out of his way to help Jeff with math. Jeff did do better than he ever had in that race, but after the race, Jeff sees his mom and notices that she is crying, and he knows that Tad didn't make it through his operation. Jeff realizes everything that Tad did for him and knows that he will always remember him.
We've all heard the phrase, "And they lived happily ever after." I think this title refers to what happens after the "ever after." We know that that's how the end up, but what exactly happens after that? In a way, I think this title might be referring to what happens at the end of a story or after the story ends.
This book kind of hit a nerve with me because it seems like cancer lurks in the school where I work. In a way, I could empathize with Jeff because he knows that he's in a better place than Tad as far as cancer goes because Tad's cancer keeps returning while Jeff's has been in remission for about five years. I think that he feels helpless and doesn't know what to do to help his friend, which is how I feel sometimes. I expected Jeff and Tad to both start high school in the fall, but that was not the case.
This book won the Schneider Family Book Award. This book is the sequel to Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie. To learn about the author, Jordan Sonnenblick, go to his website at
http://www.jordansonnenblick.com/. You can also see other books he's written such as Notes from the Midnight Driver and Zen and the Art of Faking It.
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