AfterMath by Emily Barth Isler (Carolrhoda, September 2021) portrays the trauma of dealing with a sibling’s death as well as the effects of a school shooting, even years after the fact. Twelve-year-old Lucy still mourns her younger brother, even as she moves into a community still reeling from the school shooting during third grade. Without the common trauma, she finds her isolation in her new seventh grade painful. Finding relief in mathematical concepts as well as joining the mime club helps her express her feelings without words, which leads to not just her healing but that of others as well.
Lucy was a loveable main character, and the other students in the school likewise for the most part, especially as the reader considers the PTSD suffered in their past. As a whole, though, I found something to be missing from Lucy’s story. One aspect of her learning within the novel is her growing understanding the never-ending concept of infinity. It seemed strange to me that such a concept would be difficult for a twelve-year-old math whiz to comprehend. Further, it seemed that at times the mathematical connections Lucy made seemed forced, and the plot contrivances felt a bit formulaic. The characters felt much younger than the age of 12.
Nevertheless, the book provided a moving and emotional considering of trauma and the love and friendship that can strengthen a child through process of recovery. (I couldn’t stop crying as I read, but my overall and frequent emotionality these days amuses my kids, so take that with a grain of salt.) I also loved the truly unique inclusion of mime as a theatrical means toward recovery.
