I couldn’t wait to read this new book by one of my favorite authors, Jordan Sonnenblick, who also wrote Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie (see review on Book Bits June 1, 2006) , and Zen and the Art of Faking It (see review September 16, 2008). After Ever After tells the story of Jeffrey Alper, the main character from Drums, Girls…, when he’s in 8th grade. If you read Drums, Girls…you know that in 4th grade Jeffrey was being treated for cancer. That book was mainly the story of his older brother, Steven, and how Jeffrey’s cancer affected Steven’s life. Sonnenblick’s books are funny, even though the things the characters are dealing with are not funny at all. Jeffrey as an 8th grader has some physical and mental problems that are after-effects of his illness and treatment. His right foot kind of drags due to nerve damage, and he has some learning and attention problems from the powerful drugs he was given in chemotherapy. All right, enough with the bad stuff. Jeffrey’s best friend, Tad, is a somewhat bitter, angry person, maybe because of the cancer that he has survived twice, but maybe just because that’s the way he is. Jeffrey has terrible trouble with math, and the school district has just enacted a rule that says if you fail the new standardized test, you can’t pass 8th grade, even if your grades have always been good. Jeffrey knows there’s no way he’s going to pass, and after getting busted for hiding the letter from the school to his parents, he accepts Tad’s offer of tutoring. In exchange, he challenges Tad, who’s in a wheelchair, to work out enough to be able to walk across the stage at graduation. Jeffrey also gets his first girlfriend. She is sort-of a little too perfect to believe, but you have to feel happy for Jeffrey. Lindsey and Tad hatch up a plan to protest the standardized testing, and since Jeffrey is grounded for months, they are able to hide it from him right up until the last minute. This book is a quick but fun read. Review by Stacy Church
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