Take the setting of a community with a school shooting, add a twelve-year-old protagonist whose brother has just died of a congenital heart defect, and start each chapter with a math fact. Emily Barth Isler puts Lucy, who sorts her issues mathematically, in just such a setting in her book with the appropriate name of Aftermath. In addition, Lucy’s parents decide the best way to deal with their own grief is to move away from it, putting her as the new kid in the middle of the school with the shooting history to make her adjustment. The book maintains a surprisingly upbeat tone as Lucy makes her way through the changes life has thrown at her.
Lucy enters school, not only as a new student, but as the only one without the shared history of classmates whose identities are based on how they survived the shooting and the relationships they had with the ones who did not. One way she copes is sitting at the table with Avery who is shunned by the other students for some reason. She keeps her own grief to herself since it seems different from her new classmates’ pain. Slowly, a mime class, evolving friendships, and increased awareness from her parents of their own need to share their pain bring perspective to Lucy. Learning Avery’s secret brings empathy to Lucy and to the reader.
Beginning each chapter with a math puzzle frequently lightens the tone, previews the section that follows, or both. For instance, Chapter 5 begins with “Question: If our school is shaped like an octagon, and it as 8 sides, how many different ways can I get lost in the halls? Answer: So far, hundreds, and counting.”
This is an excellent book for middle graders who need to understand and deal with their own sorrow or who need to know how to empathize with others who are hurting.