After Alex Died (Audible Audio Edition) Dakota Madison Tara Millette Short on Time Books Books
Download As PDF : After Alex Died (Audible Audio Edition) Dakota Madison Tara Millette Short on Time Books Books
"Don't be someone who defines her life by someone else's death."
Dee Dee DeMarco's brother, Alex, was funny, free-spirited and creative. He was also gay. Tormented by bullies, Alex killed himself on his 15th birthday.
Two years later, and now in college, Dee Dee believes getting a summer job working with a college-prep program for disadvantaged high school students is a stroke of luck, until she discovers that the guy assigned to co-lead her group is Cameron Connelly, a star basketball player and one of the bullies who tormented her brother to death. How can Dee Dee possibly spend the entire summer working so closely with one of the boys she blames for her brother's death?
After Alex Died (Audible Audio Edition) Dakota Madison Tara Millette Short on Time Books Books
Not often do I read stories where I feel sympathy for bullies. This book is one of exceptions. When the story first started I disliked Cameron, the H & former bully of Alex. However as time progressed I felt sorry for him and liked him more. Alex, a 15 year old boy and brother to the heroine Dee Dee, killed himself in part of what Cameron and his friends at the time put him through for being gay. As details emerged as the story progressed, it appeared to me that there were 3 victims. Alex for obvious reasons, his sister Dee Dee for the emotional anguish that resulted from her brother committing suicide and her subsequent withdrawing from life and Cameron of what occurred in his past, prior to the bullying. Nothing could excuse Cameron's actions towards Alex but I understood why he did what he did not only because of his past but because of peer pressure. While some may believe that Cameron deserved more punishment than he received and I can understand that point of view, I do not agree with it. He was punishing himself as were the towns people and his parents, more than serving time in prison could. One of the few positive things that came out of the tragedy was that Cameron became a better person. He ended up helping Dee Dee recover from her lost and forgive. Based on his actions Cameron's mental stability was questionable. I would have liked an epilogue at least 5 years in the future showing that he was doing well as well as Dee Dee.The book was riveting. It kept my interest and I read it one sitting. Unlike some other reviewers I did not have a problem with the romance and the sex scenes, which in my opinion, were less explicit than I am used to reading. I agree though that this is a NA book as opposed to a YA book due those scenes. When reading fiction, I only read romance books and so if it did not include a romance, I would have skipped it. If I had skipped it, then I would have missed out on reading a good story.
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After Alex Died (Audible Audio Edition) Dakota Madison Tara Millette Short on Time Books Books Reviews
Caught me with the title, then read the synopsis, then had to buy it. Made me laugh, made me cry. As a parent, teen-age suicide was something I worried about. Luckily, my kids are both grown and it was never an issue, but it took me back to those years. I so wanted to do damage to Cameron's parents, yes, he did wrong, but he was still their child. It was wonderfully written and I read it in one sitting - could not put it down. I don't know if there will be a sequel, but I like to imagine that DeeDee and Cameron finished college and lived long and happy lives.
This is a wonderful novel about seeking to make amends and about forgiveness, as well as allowing yourself to let go and move. I very much doubt that I am your typical reader. I am a 48 year old Orthodox Jewish, happily married man. Young adult romances are not something I read; although I do occasionally watch such movies with my wife and daughter. I read the Alex book because I was interested in the suicide theme. What I found so extraordinary about the book For our Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we are supposed to try to make amends with the people we've wronged, and really feel bad about what we have done. This book illustrated that perfectly. The writer does an amazing job of making you understand why the person who did the wrong did what he did, but without justifying the horrible thing at all. I thought that the ending was perfect. Nevertheless, I felt a shade of disappointment at having to say Good-bye to the characters whom the author had made so real. To me that's the mark of a terrific book, which is that you are both satisfied at the conclusion, but sad that it has to end. Besides being a terrific story, the book was so well written that I could not put it down. This is probably the best book that I have read in quite a while. Thank you Dakota Madison for writing such a terrific book!!!
Grab your tissues and a comfy chair, you're in for another Dakota Madison emotional ride! There are so many strong messages vying for our attention in this quick read that we are left happy for Dee Dee and Cameron but also a "heavy heart for Alex".
This may be a work of fiction, but Dakota Madison's message is loud and clear on what the consequences will be to family, friends and whole communities when someone dies at the hands of a bully.
The story holds your attention and wonder when the main character Dee Dee finally meets the person who inflicted pain on her brother Alex causing his suicide. What will she do after all this time? Punish Cameron, causing him pain. Ignore the whole mess and continue to live her life as in the past...lonely, sad and never getting over her brothers death? I cannot give away the ending but we have a good developed story of love, "a day of reckoning" for Cameron, and great endurance and strength for Dee Dee...all in the face of adversity.
I really enjoyed this book for the story. But in addition I truly appreciated the insight this story provided about something that needs to be understood by the heart with great compassion and comprehension. I had an uncle commit suicide as well as a teenaged friend. My ex-husband attempted suicide a couple of years or more following our divorce. Fortunately his sister found him in time but he was inpatient for quite some time in the psych ward. He's a good person and is now happily married to #4 and she seems also happy. So, alls well that ends well, and he was fortunate to having a loving family support system to help him thru. I'm very glad I took his eldest sister into my confidence following our divorce because I knew of the psychological traumas he suffered and I was worried about him. I wasn't in a position to help, even if I'd had the strength, but I did comprehend the magnitude of the emotions he was dealing with. Sexual identity and issues can be terminal!
Not often do I read stories where I feel sympathy for bullies. This book is one of exceptions. When the story first started I disliked Cameron, the H & former bully of Alex. However as time progressed I felt sorry for him and liked him more. Alex, a 15 year old boy and brother to the heroine Dee Dee, killed himself in part of what Cameron and his friends at the time put him through for being gay. As details emerged as the story progressed, it appeared to me that there were 3 victims. Alex for obvious reasons, his sister Dee Dee for the emotional anguish that resulted from her brother committing suicide and her subsequent withdrawing from life and Cameron of what occurred in his past, prior to the bullying. Nothing could excuse Cameron's actions towards Alex but I understood why he did what he did not only because of his past but because of peer pressure. While some may believe that Cameron deserved more punishment than he received and I can understand that point of view, I do not agree with it. He was punishing himself as were the towns people and his parents, more than serving time in prison could. One of the few positive things that came out of the tragedy was that Cameron became a better person. He ended up helping Dee Dee recover from her lost and forgive. Based on his actions Cameron's mental stability was questionable. I would have liked an epilogue at least 5 years in the future showing that he was doing well as well as Dee Dee.
The book was riveting. It kept my interest and I read it one sitting. Unlike some other reviewers I did not have a problem with the romance and the sex scenes, which in my opinion, were less explicit than I am used to reading. I agree though that this is a NA book as opposed to a YA book due those scenes. When reading fiction, I only read romance books and so if it did not include a romance, I would have skipped it. If I had skipped it, then I would have missed out on reading a good story.
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