Review Praise for Aftermath:"Armstrong deftly works suspense into the narrative...more than just a typical murder mystery." -Booklist"A powerful thriller that will surprise you at every turn." -KirkusPraise for Missing:*"A compelling thriller that keeps the reader hooked until the end." -VOYA, Starred"Thrills and mystery from a pro." -Kirkus Reviews"Fans of Laura Ruby's Bone Gap and April Henry's Girl, Stolen will be drawn to...Armstrong's sinister tale." -SLJ"The plot races towards a gripping climax. Fans of April Henry will relish this thriller." -Booklist"Enough twists to keep any suspense fan happy, but it's the deeper theme of trying to disentangle oneself from the place society says you belong that resonates strongest." -Publishers Weekly Read more About the Author Kelley Armstrong is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Otherworld series, as well as the New York Times bestselling young adult trilogy Darkest Powers, the Darkness Rising trilogy, and the Nadia Stafford series. She lives in rural Ontario, Canada. Read more Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Forty-four hours after I heard those words, I was in the backseat of my grandmother’s car, with all the belongings I could stuff into a duffel. Anything I’d left behind, I’d never see again. We were running. Running as fast as we could, and the only reason we hadn’t left sooner was because my aunt Mae had insisted Mom stand firm. Except my mother was, at that point in her life--as at any point thereafter--barely able to stand at all.   That was three years ago.   I’m skipping those three years. I have to. The aftermath of that day . . . Even thinking about it makes me feel like I’m back there, caught in the eye of a tornado, hanging on for dear life.   My father is long gone. He called my mother that night to say he wasn’t coming home. That whatever happened with Luka, it was her fault. Which was exactly what she needed at that moment. Sorry, but this one’s yours, babe, I’m outta here.   When the divorce went through, he married the business partner who’d been with him on all his trips. What happened with Luka just gave him an excuse to dump us for her, and I’ll never forgive him for that.   Three years.   I can break it down from there, like a prisoner tracking time on her cell wall. I keep everything about that first month confined to its place--don’t let it out, even when it pounds at the back of my head, sometimes a dull throb I can ignore, other times a gut-twisting migraine.   One nightmare month followed by six of mere hell. A period of shame and guilt, the feeling that I’d failed Luka. Or that I’d failed to stop Luka.   There’s grief, too, but I bury that even faster. You aren’t allowed to grieve for someone like Luka. It doesn’t matter if he was an amazing brother. Luka Gilchrist was a monster. Write it on the board a hundred times and don’t ever forget it.   There’s doubt and curiosity, too, which must be doused as quickly as the grief. I want to understand what happened. I want to know how my brother--my kind and thoughtful brother--joined his friends in a school shooting.   How my brother killed four kids.   Except Luka didn’t kill four kids. He didn’t kill anyone.   No, see, that’s an excuse. You aren’t allowed to make excuses for him, Skye. He participated in a horrible tragedy, and he would have killed someone, if he hadn’t been shot by police. Making excuses for him belittles what he did and belittles the value of the lives lost.   Judgment. That’s the big one. Being judged. Sister of a school shooter.   My early curiosity led me places I shouldn’t have gone, into online news articles, where I got just enough details to give me nightmares. Then into the comments sections, which was even worse as I discovered total strangers who thought I should die for my brother’s sins and said it so offhandedly, like it was the most obvious thing. Hey, I hear one of those bastards has a sister. Maybe someone should take a gun to her school. Or maybe someone should take her and--   I won’t finish that sentence. I see the words, though. Thirteen years old, reading what some troll thinks should be done to me and wondering how that would help anything.   Then came anger and resentment and feeling like maybe, just maybe, I didn’t deserve the petition that went around my new school saying I shouldn’t be allowed to attend, for the safety of others. But on the heels of that anger and resentment I would slingshot back to shame and guilt, thinking about the kids who died and how dare I whine about whispers and snubs and having die, bitch written on my locker and yes, the janitor will paint that over the next time he does repair work and no, I’m sorry, Mrs. Benassi, but there are no other lockers for your granddaughter at this time.   Six months of that. Then Gran moved us, and I registered under her surname. That blessed anonymity only lasted a few months before someone found out. Then it was homeschooling and moving again and that time the new surname worked. By then two years had passed, and when kids did find out, I lost a few friends, but otherwise, compared to those first six months, it was fine.   Now, three years later, I’m going back.   Back to Riverside, where they have definitely not forgotten who I am. Back to Riverside, where I will live two miles from my old house. Back to Riverside, where I will go to school alongside kids I grew up with.   I’m returning to the only place I ever truly called home. And there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Read more
N**M
Packs an emotional punch!
I thought the author handled a delicate topic with sensitivity and integrity. There were some upsetting scenes, however they were kept to a minimum and were as non-graphic as they could be, and there were no actual flashbacks to the shooting. Instead they focused on the characters before, so as to show just how much the school shooting had not only affected, but also altered the course of their lives irrevocably. The flashbacks also gave us insight into the personalities of Skye’s and Jesse’s brother’s, who both died during the shooting. I thought Kelley Armstrong portrayed a realistic look of how a tragic event brings out the best in some people and the worst in others. Skye and Jasser (nicknamed Jesse) were wonderful lead characters, and I instantly fell in love with them, and their relationship.It wasn’t as mystery-based as I would’ve liked. Having said that I didn’t figure out the culprit behind everything, and thought it was a great twist. Barring the final confrontation, the suspense scenes involving someone trying to scare Skye didn’t evoke the same level of anxiousness and unsettledness in me that other books do. I get it though, this wasn’t the book’s intention, and that’s okay. Also, bearing in mind it is YA, so can’t be too disturbing. There were a couple of ‘didn’t-seem-to-fit’ scenes that I didn’t think were needed, but for the most part it was well written, and the author successfully managed to inject plenty of feeling and sympathy into the dialogue and thoughts. I predict this is going to be a popular read for both teens and adults.
W**X
I totally thought this book was a dud...
I had pre-ordered the book because I have loved every book Kelley Armstrong has written. I didn’t even check to see what the book was about, just saw it was by her and ordered it.After seeing what the book was about, all I could think was “it’s gonna be a dud...every writer has one”. Then I opened it. And I spent the next two and a half days reading it at every spare moment, including in the McDonald’s drive through lane...sorry black truck who blew your horn for me to move on up but I was engrossed. It happens. So far, it’s happened every time I read a book by this author.Kudos Ms. Armstrong! You did it again!
E**E
Good book
This book touches on a pretty rough topic that has, unfortunately, been more relevant in recent history. However, it’s not completely about it. I like that it doesn’t attempt to address the “why”. I think it would cheapen the story and make the book political.Every time I read a Kelley Armstrong book, I keep expecting it to take a supernatural turn. Even though I’ve read all of the books currently out from the Rockton series, I keep expecting werewolves to pop out of the woods. Although this book has no supernatural elements, I still enjoyed it.Not one of my favorites from this author, but still a really good read. I love the strong female lead!
M**T
Having to live through what her brother did by returning to the same place.
It's a YA book, so not too graphic details are shown dealing with the aftermath of a school shooting, 3 years later. There are descriptions of videos and sound from that day, but it's not what the book is about. It's about Skye who has to move back to her hometown 3 years after her brother was part of the shooting, some people are welcoming and some polar opposite. It's a good suspense thriller about who is bullying her, and explanations of how it's accomplished. Is she really being bullied or all in her head is another question to keep you wondering. Can she get her one time best friend back to what they once had after no communication for 3 years. Lots to keep you reading and boy did I not want to put this down.
L**R
A Thrilling Read
Loved Aftermath, A very good read. As everybody knows School shootings are a very horrible thing that has been happening more and more in our society. To be honest I thought I wouldn't like this read much, but I was wrong. Skye's story was intense and telling about the troubles of teenagers lives among their peers, family and dealing with death. I especially liked Skye's strength and bravery, also Skye and Jesse's relationship. Looking forward to reading more of this Authors work.I give Aftermath 5 stars for it's Thrilling read.I would recommend this book to YA and Adult Thriller readers.
K**R
Not just for teens
I'm so pleased good writers are now writing for younger readers teens need to read Kelly Armstrong shows she has skills to write in any form my granddaughter who shall be nameless had never read a book outside school till twilight came out I was so excited I drove to local store to buy it sorry no kindle then for us she read for two weeks no tv she is a reader I was taught as a child you will never be lonely if you read books it's still true for me I just read books on my kindle now it's so easy
A**R
Different perspectives
Armstrong handled a topical and sensitive issue with grace and care. Jesse and Sky seemed like real people as they dealt with the aftermath of the school shooting and it was interesting to see how their different perspectives affected them in different, but equal ways. Like all her novels, Armstrong's pacing of Aftermath was spot on and I found this book to be completely unputdownable!
J**3
Different perspective
Let me start by saying I love all her books. I actually bought this one for my daughter but I wanted to read it first. I hope she gets out of it the same thing I did. The book gives a different perspective on a tragic situation and the characters are engaging.
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