Welcome to Litsy!

Beautiful writing - artful debut novel. Conflicted relationships come to a gripping climax when tragedies strike this Pacific Northwest community. Rich characters including the rainy weather, which rarely cooperates. Themes: love, parenting and compassion, for others but self as well. God and Quaker philosophy lent a fascinating angle to it. At times seemed a bit long but the author had a lot to say.
#Pantone2023
#JoysOfJunereadathon Day 4

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wanted to like”What Comes After” a lot more than I actually did. I really enjoy books that focus on overcoming tragedy and the theme of new-found family, however this book ultimately left me feeling “meh”. This is definitely not a light read and be aware that there are a variety of difficult topics included such as pedophilia, suicide, animal abuse and death, domestic abuse, and sexual assault.

“Humans are forever picking their heroes and villains in waves of reversing fashion. Though at times — and this has happened not only with some pit bulls but with all manner of people and entire countries — we name our villains and then treat them in such a way that they prove us prophets.”

- Isaac Balch

Beautifully written novel weaving together the story of several seemingly disconnected people following to tragic murder-suicide of two teenage boys. A story of love, grief and the importance of human connection, filled with gorgeous quotes and musings on the experience of being alive.
This book was one of my #blindbookdates so I included the paper cover I made for it too. Trigger warning with small spoiler will be in comments!

Picked one of my #blindbookdate books from my #bookspinbingo this month that I called “warm tones.” Turns out it is the tagged book, What Comes After. I had gotten the plot of this book and another book mixed up so I‘m excited to read this one now!

I love diving into first novels!

Here are my entries for #GroupB. What Comes After and Half Sick of Shadows are a little longer than 400 pages, and I‘m sure at least one of you has read Malibu Rising. What do y‘all think?

I have mixed feelings about this one. The writing is very good, but I know too many sixteen year-olds and the parts from their perspectives were too profound at times that it kept taking me out of the story. There were some unnecessary subplots that were over expounded on and others that could have really taken the story to an interesting place that were barely touched. But overall it was an engaging read.

#LMPBC @Mklong @shadowfat
I will mail off soon @magyklyXdelish
Thanks for an AWESOME round ladies. (better late than never)
Over all this was a good book. It was not on my radar until this round of #LMPBC. I fell in love with the main characters Isaac & Evangeline. I just wish that the baby would have been one of the boys.
The one thing that was a bit down was that there was some gruesome scenes & seemed over the top with animal credulity.

#20in4
Today was not very fruitful in reading. I got to spend the evening out for dinner and mini golfing with my boyfriend and some of his family.
Hopefully tomorrow will be fruitful as I have to go back to work on Monday.

Checking out a new coffee shop in downtown KC. It is quite adorable.
I love to sit a d drink coffee ( well this is tea) and read.

#20in4

#lmpbc round14
@mklong @Shadowfat @magyklyXdelish
This arrived today on my door step! Can't wait to delve into it.

Spent the evening finishing this (& baking peach pies) to prep for book club tomorrow.

The book‘s depiction of what it takes to truly live — rather than merely exist — with grief, to forge ahead after loss, feels messy but true.

Healing ebbs & flows. Rage is stripped away slowly, layer by layer. Whatever must be forgiven may need so again & again before it sticks. & the ordeal is so much more bearable with someone to continue living for...

I fell for it again... expecting a feral character from the "...until a mysterious, pregnant 16-year-old girl emerges out of the woods and into their lives..." book jacket. ? Don't get me wrong, it was okay just not what I expected though I did learn more about the Quaker community than I did before. I could wholeheartedly feel from the POV of each character and what drove them so the writing was good and immersive, just not what I was expecting.

4.5 ⭐️

This is an outstanding debut.
The characters are fully drawn - fully human - fully flawed. And spending time with all of them is a pleasure.
There is a desire to know what happened, and how it will turn out. But those don‘t overshadow the unraveling of each moment. There is no need to rush.
It‘s heavy subject matter. But the author carries the characters & readers through the story gracefully.
Don‘t miss this one.

I didn‘t expect to love this book as much as I did, but wow, what a fantastic debut novel. Really solid writing, great handling of some seriously big stuff (broken families, abuse, murder, suicide, rape, teen pregnancy, animal death), and truly fascinating characters. Not really the mystery/thriller I assumed it would be, but more of a quiet, heartbreaking story about what comes after some painful endings.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

TW - animal death/cruelty

If it wasn‘t for the animal stuff, more specifically an issue I have with Rufus‘ sub plot, I would have rated higher. I thought it was completely unnecessary to the story as a whole.

Otherwise I adored Evangeline and thought this story, while slow at times, was engrossing.

I‘m very curious to see what my #LMPBC group will think 🤗

#BookSpinBingo

Digging in to my next #LMPBC book. Excited to clear our BOTM shelf 🤗🤗

2-13-22: My 14th finished book of 2022! After the shocking deaths of 2 teenage boys tears apart a community, an unfamiliar pregnant girl emerges out of the woods and into the lives of the boy‘s parents. Issac has lost his son, Daniel and Lorrie has lost her son, Jonah, Daniel‘s best friend. When Evangeline comes into their lives pregnant and alone she unites them. While sad it was also uplifting. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣1️⃣4️⃣

Smart, moving crime audiobook. Initial tension about a murder bleeds into tension about a teen mother with choices to make. Fascinating look at the Quaker character‘s spiritual life. Ends on a quieter note, so not for every mystery/thriller reader who needs a dramatic ending, but very well written. Cats enjoyed listening to iIt with me. .5 stars. #murder #teenmom #spirituality

Here are some choices from my BOTM backlog for my #LMPBC book, @JackOBotts @kellyann28 @Catsandbooks 😃

I tried to pick different genres so ended up with 8. Whoops.

Have you already read any of these? Any that you‘d rather not read, or any that you‘d prefer? Will tag the other 7 in comments.

If none of these work, I do have 33 more on the shelf because I have a BOTM problem. 😂

Enjoying this audiobook. More of a why-done-it, a deep dive into teens surviving traumas@& how communities grieve. No wonder it is up for 2 awards for best first mystery novel. #audiobooks #mystery

Wow. What an amazing book. I cried for most of the last 100 pages, so many emotional moments of sadness and joy. I loved seeing the development of all the characters, especially their relationships with one another. Evangeline‘s story of discovering love and the fact that she deserved love was so moving. 10 out of 10 would recommend the read.

About it 50 pages in and hooked! #newyearwhodis
@Kangaj1 @monalyisha

Starting the tagged book sometime this weekend hopefully for #newyearwhodis
Finished Amelia Unabridged and really enjoyed it! Super touching and moving…. @Kangaj1 @monalyisha

This is a book about loss and how tragedy changes lives. This is a tough read because it is so emotional, but it is so well written. I felt every bit of this story and I think the author did an amazing job of capturing grief in this book. This broke my heart, but it was worth every minute I put into reading it. Definitely dark, but it comes together well I really liked the ending and felt like it couldn‘t have been done more perfectly.

I don't think I will finish any more this month, so here are my October reads!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: The Day the World Came to Town, You Can Not Burn the Sun (friend's poetry), What Comes After
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5: Beautiful Ruins
⭐⭐⭐⭐: The Girl with the Loading Voice, The Eighth Life, The Ruin, Admissions, Gallows Court, Rewind
⭐⭐⭐: Moonflower Murders, A Slow Fire Burning, Death at Whitewater Church
⭐⭐: Lock Every Door

It didn‘t take long to understand that there was no recipe or equation. Parenting was a river of moment-by-moment decisions, intuitions, a balancing of one‘s own needs, which did factor somehow, with those of the child. But mostly it was being there, truly there, with all your senses. Trusting the heart knowledge that arises with full attention. Lorrie had that. She had a gift for attention of the heart 🤰💛🤱

I‘m enjoying this one a lot, but I‘m kind of wondering why because it‘s actually moving fairly slowly. I like some of the characters and I‘m wishing them well, I think that‘s why I‘m still here if though a lot of this feel mundane.

I don‘t normally gravitate towards domestic dramas, but my curiosity got the best of me with this one. I‘m a Quaker, and Quakers are rarely represented in contemporary fiction. Tompkins did it justice. I found the Quaker bits accurate and true to real life. The story also pulled me in, and kept me up all night reading it. I‘m really glad I read this story and have it in my mental warehouse now. August #Bookspin complete

This is a quiet, intimate book about big themes, including trauma, grief, resentment, and finding ways to move forward. One character is quite religious, and while his religious is defining for him, it remains subtle in the book. Plus, there‘s a beautifully depicted story of a dog that I loved. This was really good.

Is it bad that I don‘t like this 16 year old girl? 🤔

August #Bookspin List, featuring a bunch of #BOTM titles, some Man Booker Nominees, last books I want to get to this summer, and some motivation to help get through the massive A Suitable Boy (4 parts is over 400 of the 1400+ pages).

When a family breaks up what comes after? This moving book looks at the formation of a chosen family composed of a pregnant teen, a grieving father, and a traumatized mother and daughter.

Gorgeous view while I read today 🥰

Time to read! And a fun sticker I found 😍

I thought this was a good story of both writing and plot, the Quaker aspect was fascinating, and what I liked - I really liked. So a pick, but some (okay a lot) of the bad sh*t could have been edited out to create a more believable found-family. And the principal - why was he even necessary to this story!?

4.5⭐️ I really liked the book. The multiple pov‘s worked very well in the book and loved the overall concept of the book. Returned my copy before getting a photo of the book. #2021 #summerreads #contemporary #fiction #bookreview #bookstagram #bookspinbingo

FotL #bookhaul

These plus 6 dino books and an animal encyclopedia for Henry for a total of $4.

4.5 stars
Wow! What a compelling debut novel by Joanne Tompkins. This story touched my heart and I‘m certain I will be thinking of these characters for a long time. This is a truly wonderful story about life after a horrific tragedy that deals with loss, grief, hope, forgiveness, family, personal growth and perseverance.

I really enjoyed this! It wasn‘t quite what I expected, but it really delivers on heartbreaking characters and a hopeful family dynamic. This was my #BOTM last month.

Checking this off my #bookspinbingo board

Got my second Covid vaccine dose today; read What Comes After during my 15 minute wait #covid19 #getvaccinated #inthistogether #becalmbekindbesafe

“Strange what‘s left behind when all that matters is scraped away.” This book checked several of my boxes. A PNW setting, a beloved family rescue dog, questioning a faith that you have always clung tight too. The author wrote the characters in a way that made me care deeply for each of them, even the one that I had decided early on that I would not like. The story gave me perspective and empathy.

30/100, 4☆, This was a beautiful read. The language and deep themes wove a tapestry of complexity, yet the simplicity of every moment was made clear. At each turning point in the story, I could see several paths stretch out and the author could choose any one of them for the characters. It's hard to describe but this was definitely a worthwhile read and the tone will resonate with me for a while.

What an excellent debut! This novel explores what comes after grief and loss. The story is propulsive but also character-driven. I loved learning more about the Quaker way of life. May #doublespin #botm

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
What a heartbreaking and powerful book. A moving story about how two families learn to cope with loss and tragedy. #botm #whatcomesafter
•One of my cows photo bombed me while I was taking the picture...notice the red blob to the left?🤣

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book begins with the death of two teenage boys. It tells the story of those left behind and how they deal with what has happened. It is a wonderful story of forgiveness. I love how the author told the story through the different characters. She used Rufus, the dog, to reach her readers as well. Rufus was an amazing character.

This was such a heartfelt, raw and exploration of relationships and the reality of our innermost thoughts. And Rufus the dog really won me over—even more than the characters! Definitely a worthy debut and worth a read.

Since Evangeline mentioned chicken piccata multiple times in the book, I had to take the opportunity to make it. 🍝