Review: Wonderful book about how bullying and suicide affects those left behind
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 28, 2013
The Goodreads page for this book has an author's note that says she thinks After Alex Died is a little story with a lot of heart. She hit the nail on the head. It touched on a the incredibly tough topic of bullying and the tragedies that occur when someone is pushed to their breaking point. While it dealt with difficult topics, it did so in a way that wasn't hard to read. There were some scenes that were harder to handle than others, but it was an easy read overall.***"Don't be someone who defines her life by someone else's death."***Dee Dee is dealing with the tragic loss of her brother Alex. Alex committed suicide on his 15th birthday after having been tormented by bullies because he was gay. After two years, Dee Dee still hasn't moved on from the loss. She misses him every day. She gets a summer job working with disadvantaged high school students and is finally excited about something. Until, that is, she discovers she will be working very closely with Cameron Connelly, one of her brother's tormenters.As she begins working with Cameron, she realizes there just may be more there than meets the eye. They begin to get closer and the guilt Dee Dee feels for befriending and ultimately having feelings for one of the guys she blames for her brother's suicide is enormous. When she finds out what has happened in Cameron's life as a result of the bullying, she begins to feel perhaps she underestimated him. This doesn't make her feelings any less confusing though.Dee Dee and Cameron have both dealt with an incredible amount of pain at their young age. Their confusion and guilt leaps off the pages, as does the chemistry they have with each other. They were both easily-relatable characters. For a novel as short as this was, they were both well-developed and complex. The storyline kept me guessing and made me teary-eyed a couple times. I thought this was a wonderful book about how bullying and suicide affects those left behind.**I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.**