The Afterwards

February 1, 2019

Gr 5-8-September, Ember for short, hasn't always had it easy. She lost her mother at a young age and is adjusting to her father having a new significant other. Ember's close friendship with Happiness "Ness" Browne helps bring light to a world that can sometimes be dark. Yet after a tragic and unexpected accident, Ness passes away, leaving Ember in a world that is just a little bit darker. Suddenly, Ember finds herself in the Afterworld, where recently deceased people reside and she decides to find her friend and bring her back to the real world. A wise talking cat brings her the guidance she needs along the way. The characters are lovable, and the artwork is intriguing. The book effectively tackles the sensitive issues of untimely death and loss in an artful manner. VERDICT An unusual, lyrical story perfect for fans of fantasy and those who embraced Harrold and Gravett's previous collaboration, The Imaginary. Due to the heaviness of the subject matter, this is ideal for mature late elementary and middle school students.-Margaret A. Robbins, University of Georgia, Athens

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 15, 2018
When Ember's best friend, Ness, dies, Ember tries to bring her back to the world of the living.December, or Ember, as she is known to her family, and her next-door neighbor Happiness, or Ness, have been best friends for three years. Ember is shocked and bewildered when it is announced at school one morning that Ness has died after a fall from a swing at the park. She is distracted enough to accompany her layabout uncle to his house after school, but his intentions are not good. In a strange, black-and-white place, he exchanges Ember's life for that of his beloved dog, who has just died. Ember discovers Ness here, sadly subdued and lacking interest--but Ember wants her back. Gravett's full-color illustrations perfectly channel Harrold's narrative, Ember's feisty character, and the sense of slightly spooky, sad otherness in this place after life. Here are shadows of creatures that were alive but that seem to fade away like smoke. "It's where forgetting happens," a cat tells Ember. "Echoes....Your people echo longest, that's all. Nothing more." In addition to Gravett's pictures, the striking design disorients readers with words that spiral and slide and a white-on-black nighttime interlude. Ember and her widowed dad have light-brown skin and dark hair; Ness is black.Gripping and poignant, a look at what it means to be brave and alive in the face of loss. (Fiction. 8-12)

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Starred review from February 1, 2019
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* It's not uncommon for children's books to explore the intangible concepts of death and grief, and Harrold and Gravett's latest collaboration (after The Imaginary, 2015) gives these abstractions fascinating shape. Ember and Ness are neighbors and best friends until an accident claims Ness' life. Soon after the tragedy, Ember's uncle takes her on a strange, turning walk that leads them to his house, only it is now the black-and-white of an old movie. Ignoring Ember's questions, he leaves her there as a trade to restore his dog's life. Alone, she steps into the desolate, black-and-white world?Ember is the only blip of color?and discovers a faded, uncharacteristically subdued Ness seated on her front stoop. Ecstatic to find her friend, Ember is sure that if she can get Ness back to the living world, everything will go back to normal. Of course, Ember soon learns that there are strict rules governing such acts. Harrold's poetry background results in concise, evocative writing, which often reflects its meaning in text that swirls or fades on the page. When taken with Gravett's winning chapter illustrations, a curious, immersive narrative emerges, where hard truths are tempered with familial love and the wisdom of a scrappy alley cat. Sensitive readers may need a hand to hold for the story's darker moments, but Ember's vibrant personality imbues the book with unfaltering warmth.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2019
Ember (short for December) is heartbroken when her best friend Ness (Happiness) dies suddenly. When Ember's wicked uncle uses a magic map to lead Ember into a world where the dead dwell, hoping to swap Ember's life for that of his beloved just-deceased dog, Ember sees his treachery as an opportunity to bring Ness back to the living world. Harrold's spare text invites slow, considered reading, with occasional passages that resemble, and read like, poetry. Gravett's illustrations, from spot art to double-page spreads, effectively use color within the shadowy and otherwise black-and-white afterworld to make it clear who belongs there and who's out of place. Though this is a standalone novel, readers of the author/illustrator pair's The Imaginary (rev. 3/15) will find familiar their ability to invent imaginatively creepy magic and use it to explore real-life emotions?in this case, the difficulty and the necessity of accepting loss. shoshana flax

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2019
Ember's wicked uncle leads her into a world where the dead dwell, but Ember sees this treachery as an opportunity to bring back her deceased best friend Ness. Harrold's spare text invites slow, considered reading, with occasional passages resembling poetry. Gravett's illustrations effectively use color within the shadowy and otherwise black-and-white afterworld. The author/illustrator pair invent imaginatively creepy magic to explore the difficulty, and necessity, of accepting loss.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)