What Comes After by Steve Watkins
Candlewick Press, 2011. ISBN 9780763642501.
(Age 14+) Highly recommended. Newly orphaned 16 year old Iris is
forced to leave her home in Maine and live with unknown relatives in
North Carolina. As an animal and vegetarian she is horrified by the way
her callous aunt and cousin treat the animals on their small farmlet.
When intervening to save the lives of two of the animals she is
savagely beaten by her cousin on the orders of her aunt and both aunt
and cousin end up in the county gaol.
This results in her being fostered and is a new beginning for Iris as
she realises that that she must be the one to redeem her life and that
there will be no fairytale ending for her. This novel is beautifully
written and despite its negative subject matter it has a strong message
of hope and resilience. All the characters are believable and
there are some engaging secondary characters.
Fans of Cynthia Voigt's writing will particularly enjoy the novel and it
would be an interesting suggestion for girls you would like to move on
from the Jenny Downham books.
Chris Lloyd