After Ever After

Here is the book summary courtesy of Goodreads.com:
Jeffrey isn't a little boy with cancer anymore. He's a teen who's in remission, but life still feels fragile. The after-effects of treatment have left Jeffrey with an inability to be a great student or to walk without limping.
His parents still worry about him. His older brother, Steven, lost it and took off to Africa to be in a drumming circle and "find himself." Jeffrey has a little soul searching to do, too, which begins with his escalating anger at Steven, an old friend who is keeping something secret, and a girl who is way out of his league but who thinks he's cute.

My Review: 


After Ever After is the sequel to Drums, Girls, Dangerous Pie. While Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie is about a boy whose brother has cancer, After Ever After is about that boy's brother after he has defeated cancer. The story takes place when Jeffery is in Eighth Grade. The most interesting thing that I found about this book is that it focuses on the side- effects after the cancer is gone. The truth is, the side- effects of cancer never truly go away. Jeffery has suffered brain damage from the treatment and therefore has trouble doing his academic subjects. His best friend, Tad, has also had cancer, Brain Cancer. He is sarcastic and cynical as result of his hard life as a cancer patient. Because of his treatment, he has trouble walking. Although Tad can be mean in some respects, I think that he is bitter and wants people to realize what they are going through is nothing compared to what he has gone through. Jeffery struggles with the side- effects of his cancer treatment and the changes in his family. The fear of cancer has still not gone away and his parents still have to get used to the fact that he will not have all of the abilities of other kids his age. His brother goes to Africa to "find himself". The reason for this is that his brother thinks that no one truly cares about him. Whenever anyone sees him, they always ask about someone else, like Jeffery, but never him. The romance aspect was not my favorite part, but it's alright. Typical Middle- school romance. All and all, After Ever After is the engaging story of a boy's life after cancer and the frightening reality that his survival is not always the story of others.


Stars: 4 out of 5