Darswords

After the Sky Fell Down by Megan Nugen Isbell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh, my! That wasn’t a book I would have seen myself reading. But somehow the author drew me in. And even when I wanted to stop reading during some boring or overly angsty part, I just couldn’t leave this poor widow and her life.

BIG WARNING: Get the Kleenex ready from the very start of the book. What I found interesting was how well Megan Nugen Isbell wrote all the feelings of a grieving person. She was able to capture how just the slightest thing could pull the sadness out, even on the most delightful of occurrences. Over and over I found myself wondering about the depth of the author, what she must have been through herself to find the depth she was able to put into words.

As the main character tries to pull her life back, love seems to propel her into other relationships. A baby, the deceased brother, and soon, a chance at life apart from the past. It was so honest and painful to watch what this poor young woman had to go through. I know it happens every day. We forget that even young people can have deep losses. It is hard enough to deal as an older adult but imagine when you are still young and have all those hormones running through you.

I know, I know, this is the very thing I get mad at in the Young Adult books, but somehow, this is different. This is written with pure heart. Motivations for life seem undiluted by appearances and overt sensuality. If there is romance, it seems to come in more gentle forms, holistic in nature. Geez, I am doing a poor job reviewing this. I would have given it five stars, but I have to admit to being bored with the angst on occasion. Not the grief. It felt natural. Just jealousy. I always find the green monster boring. Not that it doesn’t exist, but that too much is made of it when there are other deeper feelings to understand. Insecurity and fear cause jealousy. Anger because he catches her kissing someone else drives me crazy. But the author doesn’t dive into that too much and when she did she pulled out before I had the chance to throw the book aside and find something else to read.

If you feel the need for a good cry, this is the book for you. If you don’t want to cry, find another book for now. I loved the bittersweetness of the whole thing.

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