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After Hours
by Greg Stadnyk Morgan BurkeTHE PARTY ROOM. On Manhattan's Upper East Side. Everybody's fabulous. No one gets carded. Then someone dies. Kirsten is still recovering from the death of her best friend, Samantha. And trying desperately to forget that she hooked up with Kyle -- before she knew he was the Prep School Murderer. Kirsten's out every night hitting the clubs and the Party Room. She's partying hard to forget the pain. Then one night in the Hamptons, Kyle shows up. He tells Kirsten a different story. He's not the one who killed all those girls. Kirsten wants to believe him. But then, it's too late. . . .
After Life
by Gayle FormanA Good Morning America Book Club YA Pick"Gayle Forman has an uncanny ability to create characters in which we see ourselves, and her latest—which looks at where love goes, after a loss—is an honest, heartbreaking elegy to how memory makes relationships eternal." —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author"I was consumed by this thought-provoking, deftly written, multilayered novel. Gayle Forman reigns as the queen of breaking hearts with a touch of magic." —Adam Silvera, #1 New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the EndOne spring afternoon after school, Amber arrives home on her bike. It’s just another perfectly normal day. But when Amber’s mom sees her, she screams.Because Amber died seven years ago, hit by a car while on the very same bicycle she’s inexplicably riding now. This return doesn’t only impact Amber. Her sister, Melissa, now seven years older, must be a new kind of sibling to Amber. Amber’s estranged parents are battling over her. And the changes ripple farther and farther out: Amber’s friends, boyfriend, and even people she met only once have been deeply affected by her life and death. In the midst of everyone’s turmoil, Amber is struggling with herself. What kind of person was she? How and why was she given this second chance?This magnificent tour de force by acclaimed author Gayle Forman brilliantly explores the porous veil between life and death, examines the impact that one person can have on the world, and celebrates life in all its beautiful complexity.
After Prison: Navigating Adulthood in the Shadow of the Justice System
by David J. Harding Heather M. HarrisThe incarceration rate in the United States is the highest of any developed nation, with a prison population of approximately 2.3 million in 2016. Over 700,000 prisoners are released each year, and most face significant educational, economic, and social disadvantages. In After Prison, sociologist David Harding and criminologist Heather Harris provide a comprehensive account of young men’s experiences of reentry and reintegration in the era of mass incarceration. They focus on the unique challenges faced by 1,300 black and white youth aged 18 to 25 who were released from Michigan prisons in 2003, investigating the lives of those who achieved some measure of success after leaving prison as well as those who struggled with the challenges of creating new lives for themselves. The transition to young adulthood typically includes school completion, full-time employment, leaving the childhood home, marriage, and childbearing, events that are disrupted by incarceration. While one quarter of the young men who participated in the study successfully transitioned into adulthood—achieving employment and residential independence and avoiding arrest and incarceration—the same number of young men remained deeply involved with the criminal justice system, spending on average four out of the seven years after their initial release re-incarcerated. Not surprisingly, whites are more likely to experience success after prison. The authors attribute this racial disparity to the increased stigma of criminal records for blacks, racial discrimination, and differing levels of social network support that connect whites to higher quality jobs. Black men earn less than white men, are more concentrated in industries characterized by low wages and job insecurity, and are less likely to remain employed once they have a job. The authors demonstrate that families, social networks, neighborhoods, and labor market, educational, and criminal justice institutions can have a profound impact on young people’s lives. Their research indicates that residential stability is key to the transition to adulthood. Harding and Harris make the case for helping families, municipalities, and non-profit organizations provide formerly incarcerated young people access to long-term supportive housing and public housing. A remarkably large number of men in this study eventually enrolled in college, reflecting the growing recognition of college as a gateway to living wage work. But the young men in the study spent only brief spells in college, and the majority failed to earn degrees. They were most likely to enroll in community colleges, trade schools, and for-profit institutions, suggesting that interventions focused on these kinds of schools are more likely to be effective. The authors suggest that, in addition to helping students find employment, educational institutions can aid reentry efforts for the formerly incarcerated by providing supports like childcare and paid apprenticeships. After Prison offers a set of targeted policy interventions to improve these young people’s chances: lifting restrictions on federal financial aid for education, encouraging criminal record sealing and expungement, and reducing the use of incarceration in response to technical parole violations. This book will be an important contribution to the fields of scholarly work on the criminal justice system and disconnected youth.
After Prison: Navigating Adulthood in the Shadow of the Justice System
by David J. Harding Heather M. HarrisThe incarceration rate in the United States is the highest of any developed nation, with a prison population of approximately 2.3 million in 2016. Over 700,000 prisoners are released each year, and most face significant educational, economic, and social disadvantages. In After Prison, sociologist David Harding and criminologist Heather Harris provide a comprehensive account of young men’s experiences of reentry and reintegration in the era of mass incarceration. They focus on the unique challenges faced by 1,300 black and white youth aged 18 to 25 who were released from Michigan prisons in 2003, investigating the lives of those who achieved some measure of success after leaving prison as well as those who struggled with the challenges of creating new lives for themselves. The transition to young adulthood typically includes school completion, full-time employment, leaving the childhood home, marriage, and childbearing, events that are disrupted by incarceration. While one quarter of the young men who participated in the study successfully transitioned into adulthood—achieving employment and residential independence and avoiding arrest and incarceration—the same number of young men remained deeply involved with the criminal justice system, spending on average four out of the seven years after their initial release re-incarcerated. Not surprisingly, whites are more likely to experience success after prison. The authors attribute this racial disparity to the increased stigma of criminal records for blacks, racial discrimination, and differing levels of social network support that connect whites to higher quality jobs. Black men earn less than white men, are more concentrated in industries characterized by low wages and job insecurity, and are less likely to remain employed once they have a job. The authors demonstrate that families, social networks, neighborhoods, and labor market, educational, and criminal justice institutions can have a profound impact on young people’s lives. Their research indicates that residential stability is key to the transition to adulthood. Harding and Harris make the case for helping families, municipalities, and non-profit organizations provide formerly incarcerated young people access to long-term supportive housing and public housing. A remarkably large number of men in this study eventually enrolled in college, reflecting the growing recognition of college as a gateway to living wage work. But the young men in the study spent only brief spells in college, and the majority failed to earn degrees. They were most likely to enroll in community colleges, trade schools, and for-profit institutions, suggesting that interventions focused on these kinds of schools are more likely to be effective. The authors suggest that, in addition to helping students find employment, educational institutions can aid reentry efforts for the formerly incarcerated by providing supports like childcare and paid apprenticeships. After Prison offers a set of targeted policy interventions to improve these young people’s chances: lifting restrictions on federal financial aid for education, encouraging criminal record sealing and expungement, and reducing the use of incarceration in response to technical parole violations. This book will be an important contribution to the fields of scholarly work on the criminal justice system and disconnected youth.
After Shocks: 15 More Startling Stories to Shock and Delight
by Burton GoodmanMotivate students with high-interest fiction from master authors. Motivate struggling readers with high-interest stories at ten reading levels. Improve vocabulary and comprehension skills. Encourage writing in response to reading. One of our classic best-sellers, Goodman's Five-Star Stories, supplements any literature curriculum or stands on its own by providing interesting fiction at just the right reading levels.
After Summer (A Summer Boys Novel)
by Hailey AbbottSummer may be over, but the hook ups are hotter than ever.
After Summer: After Summer (Summer Boys #3)
by Hailey AbbottThe weather may be cooler, but things are hotter than ever in this yummy third installment of the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling SUMMER BOYS series!As the leaves turn golden, everyone's favorite beach girls are dealing with romantic dramas in their respective hometowns. Tomboy Beth is worried that her true love, George, is changing -- and not for the best. Meanwhile, naughty Ella meets a boy at school who is (gasp!) an even bigger flirt than she is. College girl Kelsi hates how her boyfriend treats her differently around his frat posse. And shy dreamer Jamie falls hard for a pompous trust fund boy at her posh boarding school. Everything comes to a head at an eventful Thanksgiving, and the four cousins come away wiser about life and love.
After Tupac and D Foster
by Jacqueline WoodsonD Foster showed up a few months before Tupac got shot that first time and left us the summer before he died. <P><P> The day D Foster enters Neeka and her best friend's lives, the world opens up for them. D comes from a world vastly different from their safe Queens neighborhood, and through her, the girls see another side of life that includes loss, foster families and an amount of freedom that makes the girls envious. Although all of them are crazy about Tupac Shakur's rap music, D is the one who truly understands the place where he's coming from, and through knowing D, Tupac's lyrics become more personal for all of them. The girls are thirteen when D's mom swoops in to reclaim D--and as magically as she appeared, she now disappears from their lives. Tupac is gone, too, after another shooting; this time fatal. As the narrator looks back, she sees lives suspended in time, and realizes that even all-too-brief connections can touch deeply. <P> A Discussion Guide to After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson .<P> Newbery Honor book
After Us (The Before and After Series #2)
by Amber Hart"Beautiful, lyrical writing and a dangerously suspenseful plot. . .an unforgettable novel that readers will love." --Lucy Connors, author of The Lonesome YoungSometimes secrets kill. Maybe slowly, maybe painfully. Maybe all at once. Melissa smiles. She flirts. She jokes. But she never shows her scars. Eight months after tragedy ripped her from her closest friend, Melissa is broken. Inside her grows a tumor, fed by grief, rage, and the painful memory of a single forbidden kiss. Javier has scars of his own: a bullet wound, and the memory of a cousin shot in the heart. Life in the States was supposed to be a new beginning, but a boy obsessed by vengeance has no time for the American dream. To honor his familia, Javier joins the gang who set up his cousin's murder. The entrance price is blood. Death is the only escape. These two broken souls could make each other whole again--or be shattered forever. Our time will come. And we'll be ready. Praise for Before You"Beautiful. . .will settle deep in your heart." -- New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan "Will hook and hold you. . ." --National bestselling author K.A. Tucker
After We Burned
by Marieke NijkampShe deserved more. They all did. A gripping and emotional new suspense novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This is Where it Ends.A terrible accident. A horrible loss. A regrettable tragedy. That's all anyone in Fenix can talk about when a fire consumes the local high school, taking the life of a student. The town mourns, except who really knew—let alone cared about—Eden when she was alive? And why was she in the building that night?Five teens each hold a piece of the truth about what happened. They also have their own secrets, secrets they will fight to protect with the same fury as the blaze that killed Eden. But silence is meant to be broken, and this story can't be extinguished…
After the Dancing Days
by Margaret I. RostkowskiFrom the Bookjacket: Ages 11-14 So much had changed in one year One year ago, I believed my mother knew everything and that I would never have cause to disobey her. I knew my father could heal anyone And I thought Uncle Paul had died in glory. Thirteen-year-old Annie waits at the train station for her father, a doctor. It is 1919, the Great War is over, and the wounded are returning to a small town near Kansas City from the battlefields of France. When her father decides to continue his work at the veterans' hospital, Annie finds she is drawn to the place for reasons she doesn't understand. There she meets Andrew, a horribly burned young veteran who is bitterly withdrawn from all around him. Acting against the express wishes of her strong-willed mother, Annie continues to visit the hospital, helping Andrew come out of his shell. Together they discover the devastating truth about Uncle Paul's death. Then Annie must confront her mother's anger and the ironies of heroism. AFTER THE DANCING DAYS is a timeless first novel about a young girl's first steps into the complex world of adulthood.
After the Death of Anna Gonzales
by Terri FieldsPoems written in the voices of forty-seven people, including students, teachers, and other school staff, record the aftermath of a high school student's suicide and the preoccupations of teen life.
After the Death of Anna Gonzales
by Terri FieldsA powerful look at the effects of one girl's suicide on her high schoolBrutally honest and authentic in tone, this collection of voices centers on the suicide of high school freshman Anna Gonzales. Each piece, read alone, portrays a classmate's or teacher's personal reaction to the loss, taken hard by some, by others barely noticed. Read together, the poems create a richly textured and moving testimony to the rippling effects of one girl's devastating choice. Terri Fields has written a thought-provoking, important work that resonates with both pain and hope. This is a book that will stay with readers long after they put it down.In support of Suicide Prevention Month, the book AFTER THE DEATH OF ANNA GONZALES will be available for FREE for September, 2020 only. The collection of poems of 47 people's reactions to learning of a teen's suicide has been successfully performed as readers theater. To obtain permission for the free rights to perform it during Suicide Prevention Month, please contactEbony LaneSenior Rights ManagerMacmillan Children's Publishing Group120 Broadway, 24th FloorNew York, NY 10271Praise for After the Death of Anna Gonzales:“Readers will gain some important insight into the serious issue of teen suicide through this treatment of the topic.” —School Library Journal“The poems are natural and direct, and portray a high-school setting well, showing a diversity of experiences. . . . [F]or Mel Glenn fans, or as a resource for dealing with teen suicide, this will be useful in most YA library collections.” —Kirkus Reviews
After the Fall
by Kate HartSeventeen-year-old Raychel is sleeping with two boys: her overachieving best friend Matt…and his slacker brother, Andrew. Raychel sneaks into Matt’s bed after nightmares, but nothing ever happens. He doesn’t even seem to realize she’s a girl, except when he decides she needs rescuing. But Raychel doesn't want to be his girl anyway. She just needs his support as she deals with the classmate who assaulted her, the constant threat of her family’s eviction, and the dream of college slipping quickly out of reach. Matt tries to help, but he doesn’t really get it… and he’d never understand why she’s fallen into a secret relationship with his brother. The friendships are a precarious balance, and when tragedy strikes, everything falls apart. Raychel has to decide which pieces she can pick up – and which ones are worth putting back together.
After the Fall: An AFK Book (Rwby Ser.)
by E. C. Myers Kerry Shawcross Miles Luna Monty OumIn the future-fantasy world of RWBY, Rooster Teeth's hit animated webseries, teens train to become warriors. Join the fight in this epic official, original novel from EC Myers and RWBY's head writers!Trouble is brewing . . .After Beacon Academy fell, Coco, Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi made a vow: No one else is getting left behind. It's been more than a year since Team CFVY saw their school destroyed by the creatures of Grimm, their friends felled in battle or scattered across the world of Remnant. Since then, they've been settling into life at Shade Academy in Vacuo, fighting hard to finish their training so they can find their friends and save their world.When a distress message comes into Shade, asking for huntsmen and huntresses to defend refugees from a never-ending stream of Grimm, Team CFVY answers the call without hesitation. But in the heat of the desert, they're forced to relive their former battles, both from the fall of Beacon and from everything that came before.Don't miss this exclusive original story straight from award-winning author E.C. Myers and RWBY's head writers, Kerry Shawcross and Miles Luna!
After the Falls
by Catherine GildinerA hilarious and moving follow-up to The New York Times bestselling Too Close to the Falls. Catherine Gildiner shares the next chapter in a story that has already captivated many readers. It's 1960, and twelve-year-old Cathy McClure has just been thrown out of Catholic school for filling the holy water font with vodka. Hoping to give her a fresh start, Cathy's parents leave behind small-town Niagara Falls for suburban Buffalo. There, as the quaint world of 1950s America recedes into history, Cathy dives headfirst into the tumultuous new decade. But when tragedy strikes at home, Cathy-vandal, HoJo hostess, and civil rights demonstrator-must take on her most challenging role yet. .
After the Fire (Chicka Chicka Book)
by Will HillAn Edgar Award finalistA gripping and unforgettable story of survival after life in a cult, inspired by the survivors of the Branch Davidian siege in Waco, Texas, 1993The things I've seen are burned into me, like scars that refuse to fade.Before, she lived inside a fence with her family. After, she's trapped, now in a federal facility.Before, she was never allowed to leave the property, never allowed to talk to Outsiders, never allowed to speak her mind. After, there are too many people asking questions, wanting to know what happened to her, trying to find out who she really is.Before, she thought she was being protected from something. After, people are telling her that now she's finally safe.She isn't sure what's better, before or after, all she knows is that there are questions she can't answer, and if everything she's been told is a lie, how can she know who's telling the truth now?Suspenseful and moving, After the Fire is perfect for readers looking forcult books and storiesyoung adult historical fictionbinge-worthy teen thrillersan intense, ripped-from-the-headlines plotcompulsively readable books that keep you hooked until the very endPraise for After the Fire:"Genuinely different…thrilling and spellbinding!"—Patrick Ness, #1 New York Times bestselling author"The gripping story of survival and escape…It will keep you up late until you get to the very end."—Maureen Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of Truly Devious"A heartrending portrait of a young girl's struggle to survive a domineering religious sect and the resilience of the human spirit; this belongs on every YA shelf." —School Library Journal
After the First Death
by Robert Cormier Craig VirdenWho will be the next to die? They've taken the children. And the son of a general. But that isn't enough. More horrors must come...
After the Music Stopped: The Financial Crisis, the Response, and the Work Ahead
by Alan S. BlinderNew York Times BestsellerOne of our wisest and most clear-eyed economic thinkers offers a masterful narrative of the crisis and its lessons.Many fine books on the financial crisis were first drafts of history—books written to fill the need for immediate understanding. Alan S. Blinder, esteemed Princeton professor, Wall Street Journal columnist, and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, held off, taking the time to understand the crisis and to think his way through to a truly comprehensive and coherent narrative of how the worst economic crisis in postwar American history happened, what the government did to fight it, and what we can do from here—mired as we still are in its wreckage.With bracing clarity, Blinder shows us how the U.S. financial system, which had grown far too complex for its own good—and too unregulated for the public good—experienced a perfect storm beginning in 2007. Things started unraveling when the much-chronicled housing bubble burst, but the ensuing implosion of what Blinder calls the “bond bubble” was larger and more devastating. Some people think of the financial industry as a sideshow with little relevance to the real economy—where the jobs, factories, and shops are. But finance is more like the circulatory system of the economic body: if the blood stops flowing, the body goes into cardiac arrest. When America’s financial structure crumbled, the damage proved to be not only deep, but wide. It took the crisis for the world to discover, to its horror, just how truly interconnected—and fragile—the global financial system is. Some observers argue that large global forces were the major culprits of the crisis. Blinder disagrees, arguing that the problem started in the U.S. and was pushed abroad, as complex, opaque, and overrated investment products were exported to a hungry world, which was nearly poisoned by them.The second part of the story explains how American and international government intervention kept us from a total meltdown. Many of the U.S. government’s actions, particularly the Fed’s, were previously unimaginable. And to an amazing—and certainly misunderstood—extent, they worked. The worst did not happen. Blinder offers clear-eyed answers to the questions still before us, even if some of the choices ahead are as divisive as they are unavoidable. After the Music Stopped is an essential history that we cannot afford to forget, because one thing history teaches is that it will happen again.
After the Rain
by Karen WhiteFreelance photographer Suzanne Paris has been on her own since she was fourteen--and she has no intention of settling down, especially not in a tiny town like Walton, Georgia. She's here to hide out for a little while, not to form connections. <P><P>Her survival depends on her ability to slip in and out of people's lives, on never staying in one place for too long. But no one in Walton plans on making things easy for Suzanne. For one thing, it's a town where everyone knows everyone else--and they all seem intent on making Suzanne feel right at home. For another, Suzanne can't help but feel drawn to this tight-knit community--or to the town's mayor, Joe Warner, and his six kids. But Suzanne can't afford to stick around, even if she's finally found a place where she belongs. Because someone is looking for her--someone who won't stop until her life is destroyed... CONVERSATION GUIDE INCLUDED
After the Rain
by Norma Fox MazerAt fifteen, Rachel is a worrier. She worries about whether her family understands her, whether her friends like her, and whether she'll get her first kiss before she turns sixteen. And she worries about whether she can handle having a real boyfriend if he does come along.<P><P> But it takes a dying old man -- her grandfather -- who has never been easy for anyone to handle, to show Rachel she has very special abilities. With love and compassion, she reaches the heart of an old tyrant who has always been unreachable. And in so doing, she comes to a better understanding of her family, her friends, and herself.<P> Newbery Medal Honor book
After the Snow
by S. D. CrockettThe oceans stopped working before Willo was born, so the world of ice and snow is all he's ever known. He lives with his family deep in the wilderness, far from the government's controlling grasp. Willo's survival skills are put to the test when he arrives home one day to find his family gone. It could be the government; it could be scavengers--all Willo knows is he has to find refuge and his family. It is a journey that will take him into the city he's always avoided, with a girl who needs his help more than he knows.S.D. Crockett on narrative voice and an especially cold winter:What was your inspiration for After the Snow?Well, apart from the unbelievably cold winter during which I was writing—in an unheated house, chopping logs and digging my car out of the snow; I think much of the inspiration for the settings in After the Snow came from my various travels. In my twenties I worked as a timber buyer in the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia, and that work led to travels in Eastern Europe and Armenia. As soon as I step off the plane in those places it smells like home. It may sound strange to say, when After the Snow is set in Wales, but really the practical dilemmas in the book come directly from places I've been, people I've lived with, and the hardships I've seen endured with grace and capability. I was in Russia not long after the Soviet Union collapsed and I've seen society in freefall. Without realizing it at the time I think those experiences led me to dive into After the Snow with real passion.What would western civilization look like with a few tumbles under its belt? What would happen if the things we took for granted disappeared? I wanted to write a gripping story about that scenario, but hardly felt that I was straying into fantasy in the detail.What do you want readers to most remember about After the Snow?We all have the capacity to survive, but in what manner? What do we turn to in those times of trouble? Those are the questions I would like people to contemplate after reading After the Snow.How did Willo's unique voice come to you?Willo's voice appeared in those crucial first few paragraphs. After that it just grew along with his world and the terrible situations that arise. I think his voice is in all of us. We don't understand, we try to make good—maybe we find ourselves.How did you stay warm while writing this novel?I banked up the fire—and was warmed by hopes of spring.
After the Woods
by Kim Savage"Statistically speaking, girls like me don't come back when guys like Donald Jessup take us." Julia knows she beat the odds. She escaped the kidnapper who hunted her in the woods for two terrifying nights that she can't fully remember. Now it's one year later, and a dead girl turns up in those same woods. The terrible memories resurface, leaving Julia in a stupor at awkward moments-in front of gorgeous Kellan MacDougall, for example.At least Julia's not alone. Her best friend, Liv, was in the woods, too. When Julia got caught, Liv ran away. Is Liv's guilt over leaving Julia the reason she's starving herself? Is hooking up with Shane Cuthbert, an addict with an explosive temper, Liv's way of punishing herself for not having Julia's back? As the devastating truth about Liv becomes clear, Julia realizes the one person she thinks she knows best-Liv-is the person she knows least of all. And that after the woods was just the beginning.
After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away
by Joyce Carol OatesIn the raw was how the world felt now. My feelings were raw, my thoughts were raw and hurtful like knife blades.... In the blue had been my place to hide, now In the raw there was nowhere to hide.<P><P> Jenna Abbott separates her life into two categories: before the wreck and after the wreck. Before the wreck, she was leading a normal life with her mom in suburban New York. After the wreck, Jenna is alone, trying desperately to forget what happened that day on the bridge. She's determined not to let anyone get close to her -- she never wants to feel so broken and fragile again.<P> Then Jenna meets Crow. He is a powerfully seductive enigma, and Jenna is instantly drawn to him. Crow is able to break down the wall that Jenna has built around her emotions, and she surprises herself by telling him things she hasn't told anyone else. Can Jenna bring herself to face the memories she's tried so hard to erase?
Aftercare Instructions: A Novel
by Bonnie PipkinEveryone is talking about Aftercare Instructions, Bonnie Pipkin’s electric debut novel:“Important, fierce. Pipkin stole my heart with this book.” —A.S. King, author of Still Life with Tornado“Mighty, innovative, and nearly impossible to put down.” —David Arnold, author of Kids of Appetite“Incredibly honest and empathetic.” —ALA Booklist“Big-hearted, sensitive, and engrossing.” —Publishers Weekly“Troubled.” That’s seventeen-year-old Genesis according to her small New Jersey town. She finds refuge and stability in her relationship with her boyfriend, Peter—until he abandons her at a Planned Parenthood clinic during their appointment to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. The betrayal causes Gen to question everything.As Gen pushes herself forward to find her new identity without Peter, she must also confront her most painful memories. Through the lens of an ongoing four act play within the novel, the fantasy of their undying love unravels line by line, scene by scene. Digging deeper into her past while exploring the underground theater world of New York City, she rediscovers a long forgotten dream. But it’s when Gen lets go of her history, the one she thinks she knows, that she’s finally able to embrace the complicated, chaotic true story of her life, and take center stage.Aftercare Instructions, a debut full of heart and hope, follows Gen on a big-hearted journey from dorm rooms to diners to underground theaters—and ultimately, right into readers' hearts.