One thing I love about reading is that I can step inside the mind of someone in a situation I will never know about and experience it. In some instances, this gives me an objective view, while in others, it’s clear how the author or the character wants you to feel.

Amy Efaw, in After, does an incredible job of making you swing all over the place in your feelings on a very sensitive topic.

Devon made a mistake. Rather than seek help or come to terms with it, she dissociates. She is so far removed from herself and her actions that she doesn’t give her actions a second thought. One night of fun led to this pregnancy, but nine months of hiding it and removing herself from it brought her to dispose of the child — IT — without a second thought for consequences.

After follows the days after Devon, a straight-A soccer star, disposes of her baby in the trash. It sounds horrifically gruesome, and while the story does present the gory facts, what Efaw does is build a character that readers continue to question. I can’t explain the number of times I felt sorry for Devon or believed that she might be, believe it or not, an innocent person. Unlike most books which follow a typical arc in their development, beginning with characters, then rising action, then a climax, then the falling action, then the conclusion, Efaw begins at the climax and works downward. This makes for the powerful character development and the total blast to the reader in terms of character sympathy.

What impressed me most about After was how well researched it was. Efaw leaves an author’s note at the end about her research into the dumpster baby phenomenon, as well as about her research on juvenile institutions. Clearly she knew a thing or two, too, about the medical world and about the psychology of individuals in tough situations. But what made all of this best, of course, was how lucidly and well she wrote the story. It’s not prescriptive, per say, nor is it over the top. Instead, it’s powerful and moving for the reader because of the situation and because of how Devon is both likable and hateable. Maybe more than anything, she’s relatable, whether or not readers have been in her precise situation.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this book for anyone 15 or older. It’s not just about the teen pregnancy issue, either. The lessons about actions and consequences is important, and I think Efaw does a huge service in portraying a “normal” girl in such awful situations. The media and our greater world portray these incidents as things that happen in isolation or with “bad people.” Efaw highlights that these things can happen to anyone. This is entirely refreshing … and alarming/awakening.

After is not a fast read. It took me a week because it is intense. I was never repulsed, but the issue is so heavy and dealt with through such integrity that it just required a lot of time to sink in. I needed to think about Devon and about her mother, the baby, her lawyer, and the situation as a whole. My conclusions about Devon ended up being matched well, but it really took me a lot of time to figure out how I felt about her. But the book itself? Efaw earns high marks from me, and I definitely cannot wait to see what she writes next. I’m almost hoping it takes her another 5 years to put out a book because she did so expertly research this one. It’s a refreshing change from a lot of recent teen books that seem rushed, under researched, and perhaps unrealistic. This one, though? Powerful.

One of my biggest responsibilities as a librarian is purchasing books for teens, including the fiction, graphic novels and manga, and non-fiction. I try to stick to materials reviewed in the professional journals, but sometimes I think it would be valuable to purchase a couple of things that have gotten strong reviews in the blogosphere because many of the bloggers I enjoy reading are teens themselves. Lovestruck Summer was one of those purchases I made that deviated a bit from my methods in that I’d read only a few reviews but it sounded interesting. I figured, too, I should give it a read before shelving it in order to get an idea who it would appeal to and to get an idea how to sell it.

I am SO glad I bought this one.

Lovestruck Summer by Melissa Walker has all the signs of a classic summer romance story: a fun cover, a character bent on having a summer love story, and lots of music. But this book is so much more than your typical summer read. Walker develops lovable and memorable characters, and her main protagonist, Quinn, goes through a major life change in the mean time that will resonate with so many readers in their teen years.

Priscilla — and please call her Quinn — just graduated high school in North Carolina but had always been fascinated with the music scene in Austin, Texas. One late night, she called her favorite record company in Austin at 3 a.m., not expecting an answer, and was pleased when someone picked up the phone. When she asked if she could intern for the summer, she got a yes. Without a second thought, her plans for spending a summer interning at Amalgam Records were set.

Quinn will spend her summer living with her cousin Penny who attends the University of Texas and is a major sorority girl. Penny lives on a fruit and candy diet, has a dog that has its own bedroom and wardrobe, and, ugh, a cowboy neighbor named Russ who will certainly drive Quinn nuts. When Quinn finds out that the manager of Amalgam Records has no recollection of her calling and being offered an internship, she thinks her summer might be much longer than she planned living with this cast of people who are so different from her. But perhaps when the other intern Jade helps her find the perfect guy to be with this summer, Sebastian — think indie music loving, aloof, and oh so cute — things will maybe be just as she planned.

Over the course of this book, though, we see Quinn being Quinn: when things don’t go her way or when Russ or Penny or Penny’s sorority sister Chrissy drive her nuts, she pops in her earbuds and drifts away from her situation with the newest obscure band that she is sooo into. That is until Quinn begins seeing people for who they really are and begins to understand that perhaps she has set up too many walls and beliefs in her life. Who knew Jade — the indie loving hipster intern — could get along with sorority girls like Penny and Chrissy? And who knew Chrissy could be a tough-as-nails derby girl? And … could it be possible that Russ, the cowboy who loves country music, could be her perfect man and not Sebastian?

Lovestruck Summer has incredible character development in it for what could otherwise have been a typical girly romance. Quinn is so easy to love and is so perfectly developed for a high school senior. Too many books written for teens develop great characters but so many of them are just unrealistic age-wise. Quinn, however, is perfect: she is stubborn, sure of who she is, and sure of who and what she is not. She’s at that stage of development where she is wholeheartedly selfish but lovably so — throughout the story you find yourself wanting to shake Quinn and tell her to look at how awesome things could be for her if she’d just take a risk and step outside her comfort zone.

Penny and Chrissy, who could have so easily become stereotypical sorority girls, are wholly developed and interesting characters themselves. What Walker is able to do in this little book is make the reader rethink her own beliefs about people in a way that makes you grow and open your eyes like Quinn. When Quinn first got to Penny’s condo, I had one of those moments of wondering how the heck she’d survive. But then as I learned more about Penny, the more I liked her and the more I wanted to know about her. And I won’t get started on how great Russ was and how much I wanted to shake Sebastian. And Jade, who was a secondary character throughout the story, was the perfect way to tie all of the pieces together and make Quinn have her revelation.

Lovestruck Summer is also great because it is such a clean read, too. There’s romance, but nothing too steamy happens — it may be hinted at but nothing happens “on screen” and younger readers may never catch on. Language is never an issue in the book, with only one real swearing incident I remember and it was used in a realistic, non-shocking situation. Again, Walker make this book so true to the characters in this age group. I loved, too, the use of music throughout the book as a way to make a few points; again, the attitudes surrounding music were so true to people of this age group.

And for purely selfish reasons, I loved the setting. I thought Walker depicts Austin in the way that Quinn believed it was. Quinn went into the situation thinking life would be oh-so-easy living in sunny, music loving, and laid back Austin, but she had the realization that no matter where you are at, people still have challenges and one of the biggest is overcoming one’s own beliefs.

I would hand Lovestruck Summer to teens 15 and up without a problem. This is the perfect summer read, but I think it’ll also be a hit in the depths of winter when a good book of escape is needed. I think the message of transformation is so subtle that it won’t hit readers over the head but might make them think about themselves a bit — and that in itself is precisely what Quinn does. I think a lot of teen girls will see themselves in Quinn, and I think others will see themselves in Jade. And it won’t hurt that Russ is dreamy, either!

My only real complaint about Walker’s book is the awful, under descriptive, and misleading book blurb on the back. I think that might be a turn off for readers because it talks about the book revolving around Austin Music Fest. It also says that Penny willingly goes by “Party Penny” (I don’t remember that happening once in the book!). The description makes Quinn sound way too young and immature, even for someone who has this sort of voice throughout the story.

I’m glad I made the purchase on this one, but I think it’ll need some hand selling because of the backside blurb. I stepped out of my comfort zone on the purchase and ultimately walked away with a good feeling, almost like Quinn.