Review By: Francesca Miesner
Published: 2020
Genre(s): Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse
Audience: Grades 7–9
Content Warnings: Violence, Death
Goodreads Link: Before the Ever After
Summary:
ZJ’s father is a beloved professional football player, admired by fans and family alike. But when the long-term effects of repeated concussions begin to change him, ZJ must learn to cope with his father’s memory loss and anger while trying to hold on to the joyful memories of their past.
Review:
Jacqueline Woodson is consistent in her ability to write a book that engrosses me (and my students!) in her prose. Students need to see themselves in characters in books. The way Jacqueline Woodson writes is often similar to how they talk. This, I found, is extremely helpful in getting students engaged in the text. Additionally, the characters she writes are real and relatable. Her stories almost always feature a Black American child. By providing a main character that is from an underrepresented community, students who are forced to read stories with the same characters (white, cis, straight men) will be exposed to more perspectives.
A problem that I often notice when I am looking for books to fill my classroom library is that novels with marginalized groups as the focus (people of color, LGBT+ people, etc.) promote a narrative that if you are a part of those communities, you are doomed to live a life of only sorrow and pain. While many of the themes covered in Woodson’s stories are sad, at no point does the reader feel hopeless for the main character. This is incredibly important for students to be exposed to, even if they don’t realize it.
Before the Ever After follows ZJ, the son of a professional football player who suffered multiple concussions. It shows the father suffering the consequences of repeated brain injuries. This particular novel drew attraction when I taught the first few pages for First Chapter Friday. The combination of approachable prose, relatable characters, and a discussion of sports made many of my students decide to continue reading.
I think that many children I teach romanticize football. This book helps to personalize the potential dangers of the sport.
