After

As of today I am currently on chapter 19. She has finally said the name of the father of the child. I believe that Devon does remember that night. At this point, Devon is starting to talk about the events leading up to giving birth night. She is scared of what people will think of her. While she was pregnant, Devon started to pull away from everybody. I believe that she did this so no one would notice that she was gaining weight. She didn't want any questions asked. She refused to go to the doctor when she became injured during soccer practice. She didn't go to the doctor because she was afraid that they would find out and then she would have to tell.
Another thing that Devon has started talking about, is the night she became pregnant. She said that after she had sex she felt like her mother. She ten began to pull away from her friends and avoiding her mother. She felt as if she had let herself down. Once you have sex, you can never get that back. Devon felt ashamed and because of that she would not admit to herself that she was pregnant. I think that Devon has many issues to work out within herself before she can even think about the reasoning behind that night.

Devon Davenport

The only thing that has been bothering me about After is how Devon can not remember anything about the night she gave birth. I mean with that much pain I would have remembered something. But then again I was not in her shoes. I have no idea what was going on in her life before she gave birth. She may have had a black out during birth. Something must have snapped once Devon went into birth. Sometimes a lot of stress can make a person black out. Maybe that is what happened to Devon. I'm doubting that the father of the baby ever knew that Devon was pregnant. Devon probably didn't even know. She played sports and was very fit, Girls who play sports a lot and work out may have irregular periods. Devon may have not known until the night she gave birth. I think that she was very confused and just blacked out to cop with everything. I feel bad for Devon because she had to go through that experience alone and not know what was happening to her. I also think that while she was blacked out she cleaned up the "mess" that was made and the baby was apart of that "mess". Once she was arrested and alone to think, she was able to make some sense of what happened. I believe that Devon had a mental breakdown, which explains why she threw away her baby. If there is any explanation for throwing away your child.

After

Unfortunately I am only to chapter ten in After. I was hoping that I would be a lot farther than in the novel at this point. In the past couple chapters, Devon has started to enlighten the readers about the night she conceived her child. She is expressing her emotions at that point. That evening started out like any regular date. They ate dinner and went on a little stroll. Where they were walking, it had poems etched into the cement. Her date, name still unknown, began reading the poems to Devon. She becomes confused about what she is feeling. Her date keeps moving closer to Devon. Suddenly they are so close, that she can feel his heart beating. Before she knows it, they are kissing.

When she is remembering this moment, she is sitting in school at the juvenile correction center. She is starting to do what is required of her. She is doing her daily chore, which is cleaning up after meals and attending school. Once Devon arrives at school, the readers are introduced to some of the other girls at the center. Devon ends up sitting to this girl Karma, who gives Devon a nickname, Devil. She is taunting Devon a little bit. I believe that Karma is trying to scare Devon or get her is trouble with the teacher. I think that Karma will become a trouble maker in the novel. It is all still unclear what will happen in the end. I am not sure what the expect for the rest of the novel, but I am excited to find out. Stay tuned for the following chapters.

After emotions

While reading After, there could be many emotions that may stir up in a person. There could be anger, sadness, confusion, hate, etc. Some of the emotions that this text has stirred up in me so far is anger, sadness, and confusion. I am angry because I do not understand how somebody can just throw away their child like a peice of trash. I am angry at Devon because she keeps calling the baby IT. She will not admit that she did anything wrong. I am sad because that child will have to grow up knowing that her mother did not want her. She will always be known as the child that was thrown away by her mother. I beleive that she will have a very hard time coping with what her mother did. That child will be scared for life because her mother was to selfish to admit that she messed up. When I sit down and think about the book I become confused. I can understand that Devon did not know what to do when she became pregant, but she should have talked to some body. But she didn't. She kept on living her life like nothing was worng, like nothing happened. Even after she gave birth to this child, she cleaned up the mess and put the child in the trash out back. I can not say how I would have handled the situation if I was in Devons shoes, but i do know that I would have not thrown my child in the trash. I would have owned up to what happened and tried to figure out a way to make my life work. I child is not a burden; a child is a gift and should be cherished. I guess that is why I am angry, sad, and confused.

Devon Davenport....

I am currently reading the book After by amy efaw. The main character is Devon Davenport. She is a teenager soccor player and a very good one at that. She plays for the varsity soccor team for her highschool. She is a great student. Devon becomes pregant and does not tell any one, not even her own mother. She decides to hide it, until she can not hide it any more. The book starts out with devon laying on her couch. her mother comes home and says that there are police outside of their place because someone threw a baby in the trash. It is soon discovered that the baby is Devons. She is taken to the hospital where it is proven that she did have a child. I believe that if you are going to throw your own child into the trash can that you deserve what ever punishment that you get. I don't care if you are a teenage athlete. Devon probably thought that if she did tell anyone that she was pregant that they would all think badly of her. So instead she decided that she would keep it a sercet and just throw that child away that yesterdays trash. I think that Devon is not worthy of any praise. I think that she should tried as an adult because her crime is so horrible. Devon Davenport she go away for a very long time. But I am only 90 pages into the book so maybe I will change my mind, but i doubt that.

Changes

When was the major change in the characters? I believe that out of all the events in this book, that there is one unique event that changed the characters for life. The event that I think of is the party that Hannah and Clay both attended. Hannah was enjoying herself at the party, but then she became overwhelmed. Once Hannah and Clay began kissing, they both felt something special. Clay's feeling was that he finally got the girl of his dreams, but Hannah's was different. She flashed back to what happened with her first kiss. She freaked herself out of a good thing. I don't think the fact that Hannah was drunk helped the matter. Her mind then flooded with many thoughts. She then began to cry and told Clay to leave the room. At that point, Clay knew that he blew his shot with Hannah. Hannah saw something she was not supposed to. I think that once Hannah saw that event it became the end of the line. I think that she gave up on everything. She changed. I also believe that Clay changed again after hearing that event. Clay now knew what that person did and got away with, but if that wasn't bad enough he had to see that person everyday. For Clay to see that person everyday and not beat the crap out of them, he would have to be a strong person. Clay wanted to help Hannah, but he didn't get the chance at the party. He wanted so bad to know Hannah, but he felt that after the night of the party he blew it. He was changed for that moment on.

Letter to Courtney Crimsen

Dear Courtney Crimsen,

I don't understand you fascination with Hannah having a peeping tom. Why is that so great? Is it because you like having everybody's attention. I also think that saying what you did at Hannah's that night was to try and catch the peeping tom, but there was no need to repeat that comment after that night. Maybe if you were telling the story of that night to another person, but still it was nobody's business what happened that night. So when you asked Hannah to go to that party was it because you needed a ride or that you really wanted to hangout with Hannah. I think that it is because you needed a ride. Why do I think that? Well, when you hopped into her car you said "Thanks for the ride." And once you arrived to the party, you basically ditched Hannah. While she was standing outside, a guy came over to her. She thought that maybe this guy was interested in her. So I'm betting that her spirits were lifted a little. That changed very quickly. Hannah found out that you said that she had some interesting things in her dresser draw. Why do you think that you had the right to say that? That's right, you don't. It is girls like you that make high school a living hell. You think that you can say anything and get away with it. Well, guess what? Your wrong. Obviously you can't because you were Hannah's tapes. So maybe next time you decide to talk about someone else maybe you should stop. Think. And process what is about to come out of your mouth. Then maybe people will like you a whole lot more. Just some advice for you.