What Comes After

May 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-When 16-year-old Iris's father dies, she is sent from her suburban home in Maine to her aunt's goat farm in North Carolina. Her presence there is barely tolerated, and she is treated as little more than a slave. Aunt Sue expects Iris to rise early, care for the goats, and make the cheese that they sell in a local farmer's market. When school lets out, there are more chores, while her cousin Book goofs off with his buds. Iris doesn't really mind, though, because she has a passion for animals. When her aunt instructs Book to butcher three of the goats, Iris protests, and in retaliation she is brutally beaten. Aunt Sue and Book are arrested for the crime, and Iris goes to live with a local foster family. Now, though, who will take care of the goats? She feels powerless but knows that she has to do something, even if it means confronting her aunt. The story moves at a gentle pace, slowly pulling readers into Iris's cheerless world. The teen is realistically emotional and stubborn, and the secondary characters are well developed. Give this one to teens who enjoy dramatic plots with rays of hope at the end.-Heather Miller Cover, Homewood Public Library, AL

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2011

Abandoned first by her abusive mother and then by her father when he dies, 16-year-old Iris Wight is no stranger to loss. Family friends initially agree to care for her, but problems soon force Iris to leave her home in Maine to live with relatives in North Carolina. Life with her angry aunt and dangerous cousin quickly proves more than she can handle. Before Iris' arrival, her aunt's abusive behavior was focused on the farm animals, but as Iris begins to protest the inhumane treatment of the goats, her aunt's cruelty shifts toward her. The violence culminates in a horrific beating that lands Iris in the hospital and her aunt and cousin in jail, leaving Iris to navigate yet another change. She must learn to wade through the foster-care system and deal with animosity at school while trying to find a way to care for her beloved goats left back at the farm. While never gratuitous, violence is pervasive; difficult scenes include one that graphically describes a goat being bludgeoned to death, which may prove to be a turn-off for some readers. Watkins displays his expertise as he creates a heroine who is broken and yet refuses to stay down. Secondary characters are equally well-developed and engaging. Beautifully written, this story is an unflinching look at the cruelty of life as well as the resilience of the human spirit. (Fiction. 14 & up)

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