100 Pages A Day.... Stephanie's Book Reviews
  • Blog Tours
  • Historical Fiction
  • Sci Fi & Fantasy
  • Thriller & Horror
  • Non-Fiction
  • Middle Grade & Children's
  • Literary Fiction and Other Genres
  • Challenges
  • Promo's
  • Product Reviews

Between Before and After

2/14/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
About the Book:

“The carnage began with the roses. She hacked at their ruffled blooms until they dropped into monstrous drifts of red on the parched yellow lawn … Only two things kept my mother grounded to us: my uncle Stephen and stories.”
Fourteen-year-old Molly worries about school, friends, and her parents’ failed marriage, but mostly about her mother’s growing depression. Molly knows her mother is nursing a carefully-kept secret. A writer with an obsession for other people’s life stories, Elaine Donnelly is the poster child of repressed emotions.
Molly spends her California summer alternately watching out for her little brother Angus and tip-toeing around her mother’s raw feelings. Molly needs her mother more than ever, but Elaine shuts herself off from real human connections and buries herself in the lives and deaths of the strangers she writes about. When Uncle Stephen is pressed into the limelight because of his miracle cure of a young man, Elaine can no longer hide behind other people’s stories. And as Molly digs into her mother’s past, she finds a secret hidden in her mother’s dresser that may be the key to unlocking a family mystery dating to 1918 New York—a secret that could destroy or save their future.
Told in dual narratives between 1918 New York City and 1955 San Jose, California, Between Before and After, by award-winning author Maureen McQuerry, explores the nature of family secrets, resiliency, and redemption. This is an historical coming-of-age Young Adult story about the complex bonds between mothers and daughters.


Purchase Links
Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Connect with Maureen

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Review:
"The best stories can be as unpredictable as miracles.  They can surprise you, even when you think you know them by heart."

Fourteen-year-old Molly is inquisitive by nature- a writer, like her mother Elaine, Molly seeks out the truth.  When her mother's secrets begin to tear apart Molly's family, she decides to seek out the truth from Elaine's past.  Molly starts with her Uncle Stephen for some clues, however, soon Stephen's life is turned upside down as the church begins to investigate him for performing a miracle.  With the attention that Stephen's miracle brings, Molly and her brother Angus begin to see a different side of their mother, making Molly more anxious for the secrets that her mother is hiding from 1918.  While investigating her mother's past, Molly might just  create a miracle of her own.


Between Before & After is a heartwarming and gorgeously written story that examines family, secrets and a little bit of magic.  Told in a dual narrative switching between Elaine and Stephen's childhood in 1918 Brooklyn and Molly and Angus' in 1955 San Jose, the differences between their lives is highlighted  as well as the mental stress of Elaine's secrets.  I felt equally drawn to both timeline stories as Elaine's life in Brooklyn quickly changes after the Spanish Flu epidemic and she becomes responsible for her little brother and running the household.  The 1918 timeline also had the story of Hansel and Gretel woven throughout that added a fabulous fairy-tale element that strangely connected to Elaine and Stephen's story perfectly.  In Molly's timeline the possibility of miracles and exposing of secrets creates mild suspense and drama that slowly teases out the consequences of Elaine's secret.  With an emotionally driven story line and seamless writing, Between Before & After will capture your heart.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Picture
About Maureen Doyle McQuerry
Maureen McQuerry is an award winning poet, novelist and teacher.  Her YA novel, The Peculiars is an ALA Best Book for YA 2013, Bank Street and Home Book recommended book. Her MG fantasy duo, Beyond the Door and The Telling Stone were a Booklist Top Ten Fantasy/SciFi for Youth and a finalist for the WA State Book awards.  Her poetry appears in many journals and anthologies.  She lives in Washington State.

Connect with Maureen
Website | Facebook | Twitter

1 Comment
Sara @ TLC Book Tours
2/17/2019 03:35:57 pm

I want to tread this if only to figure out how Hansel & Gretel is woven into it. My daughter would love this! Thanks for being on the tour!

Sara @ TLC Book Tours

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Follow at Bloglovin!

    Author

    Hi there! I'm Stephanie and I obviously love reading.  As, the title suggests, I read at least one hundred pages a day.  I enjoy most book genres; however, my favorites are historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, thriller, horror and YA.  I also read a lot of non-fiction science and gardening books for my occupation.  I enjoy reviewing books and as always, any book that I receive for free is read in return for my honest review.  

    ​https://share.simonandschuster.com/stephanierhildreth

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    Picture
    Challenge Participant
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Reading Addiction Blog Tours
    Xpresso Book Tours
    b00k r3vi3w Tours
    - See more at: http://b00kr3vi3wtours.blogspot.com/p/collect-badges.html#sthash.R4DGlIHF.dpuf

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Pump Up Your Book

    This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies.

    Opt Out of Cookies
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.