Aftermath

by Clara Kensie

Overview

Charlotte survived four long years as a prisoner in the attic of her kidnapper, sustained only by dreams of her loving family. The chance to escape suddenly arrives, and Charlotte fights her way to freedom. But an answered prayer turns into heartbreak. Losing her has torn her family apart. Her parents have divorced: Dad's a glutton for fame, Mom drinks too much, and Charlotte's twin is a zoned-out druggie. Her father wants Charlotte write a book and go on a lecture tour, and her mom wants to keep her safe, a virtual prisoner in her own home. But Charlotte is obsessed with the other girl who was kidnapped, who never got a second chance at life--the girl who nobody but Charlotte believes really existed. Until she can get justice for that girl, even if she has to do it on her own, whatever the danger, Charlotte will never be free.

"For all of us who have watched the chilling news of kidnapped females rescued and thought 'There but for the grace of God' and 'How do they go on?'...here is the answer fully imagined, exquisitely written, ultimately triumphant. You will cry all the way through this story but you will not put it down." ~Jennifer Echols, award-winning author of Going Too Far

"Kensie deftly explores what happens after the supposedly happy ending of a nightmare. But nothing is as simple as it seems--not even the truth." ~April Henry, author of The Girl I Used to Be; Girl, Stolen; and The Night She Disappeared

"A captivating story of self-(re)discovery, Clara Kensie's Aftermath introduces us to Charlotte, a sixteen-year-old girl trying hard to reclaim her place in a family decimated by her kidnapping four years earlier. Charlotte wants only to catch up to her twin Alexa and live out all the plans they'd made as children, but finds the journey back to 'normal' is not only hers to take. Charlotte is a heroine to cheer for...with gut-twisting bravery and raw honesty, she takes us through that journey--back to the unspeakable tortures she endured in captivity and forward to how those years scarred her family, leaving us intensely hopeful and confident that she will not merely survive, but triumph." ~Patty Blount, author of Some Boys; Send; TMI; and Nothing Left to Burn

"Delving deep into the darkness of abduction and its 'Aftermath,' Kensie takes us on an unflinching journey of healing, courage, and triumph of the human spirit. Heartbreaking, yet stubbornly hopeful." ~Sonali Dev, author of A Bollywood Affair and The Bollywood Bride

"Aftermath is a timely, powerful portrait of hope amid tragedy, strength amid brokenness, and the healing power of forgiveness." ~Erica O'Rourke, award-winning author of the Torn trilogy and the Dissonance series

"Gripping, powerful, deeply moving, Aftermath is a book I didn't want to end. It's written with such compassion that it will help readers heal. A must-read." ~Cheryl Rainfield, author of Scars and Stained

A Children's Book Review pick for one of the Best New Young Adult Books, November 2016

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440598715
Publisher:	Simon Pulse
Publication date:	11/01/2016
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	382,630
Lexile:	HL670L (what's this?)
File size:	842 KB
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Clara Kensie is an award-winning author of dark fiction for young adults. Her debut series, Run to You, was named one of RT magazine Editors' Best Books of 2014. Book One in the series, Deception So Deadly, was the winner of the 2015 RITA Award for Best First Book.

Editorial Reviews

"Charlotte's bravery will inspire readers. Her ongoing struggle to confront the horror of what she's endured rings true, and her recovery process could provide therapeutic reading for rape survivors. Teens who revel in worst-case scenario stories like Natasha Preston's The Cellar and Kevin Brooks's The Bunker Diary will enjoy the shocking plot twists." —School Library Journal

"A gut-wrenching, emotional tale of a teen who is found after being abducted. There's...also a ray of hope in this story. This makes this book stand out among the others out there. Charlotte goes from being a victim of horrific abuse to a survivor. The ending chapter is perfect. A story of hope and the power of love." —YA Books Central

From the Publisher

Twelve-year-old Charlotte was kidnapped by a man she calls Keeper. She lived in his attic and was abused for four years. When she escapes alive and is reunited with her parents and her twin sister, Alexa, she is crushed. During her captivity, she imagined Alexa fulfilling the plans from the Dream Book they wrote together. Instead, her father held a memorial service for her, divorced, remarried a woman barely ten years older than herself, and they have a baby whom they named after her. Her mother is an alcoholic who always hoped Charlotte was still alive. Her sister stopped cheerleading, fell in with the “bad” crowd, just returned from detox, and thought Charlotte was better off dead. Keeper is arrested and is not talking about the girl he murdered before catching Charlotte. Charlotte cannot stop imagining his hands closing on that girl’s throat. Can Charlotte free herself of her demons and make things right? Kensie writes a powerful novel about the will to survive under terrifying circumstances and the impact of a kidnapping—and its aftermath—on the victim, her family, the perpetrator’s family, and the community at large. Charlotte’s struggles are deeply moving as her return to “normal” life is fraught with enormous difficulties. The cast of supporting characters is well developed and strong; readers will relate to their attempts to cope with Charlotte’s return. There are frank discussions about child abuse, rape, alcoholism, and drug use. Fans of happy endings will not get one here, but readers will love Charlotte’s re-integration into society. Charlotte and Alexa will haunt readers long afterward. Give this to readers who love gripping, heart-wrenching tales of hope and survival. Reviewer: Etienne Vallée; Ages 15 to 18.

VOYA, December 2016 (Vol. 39, No. 5) - Etienne Vallée

This book does a great job characterizing the aftermath of a kidnapping and living with the captor for four years. All of the main characters are realistic and reflect realistically how others might act in a similar situation. There is no happy ending, but ultimately Charlotte is able to deal with what happened. Mystery lovers will enjoy this book. 5Q, 5P. Reviewer: Cassidy Sturgeon, Teen Reviewer; Ages 15 to 18.

VOYA, December 2016 (Vol. 39, No. 5) - Cassidy Sturgeon

Charlotte Weatherstone has been held captive for four years, surviving each day through the memories of her family. She cherishes the once new, blue and white cheer uniform she was wearing the day she disappeared and spends her solitary hours envisioning her twin sister, Alexa, continuing to pursue the dreams they mapped out in their Dream Book as children. Now that they are sixteen, these dreams include things like cheering at Woodland Creek High School and getting driver’s licenses. Alexa now has to do everything double, since Charlotte cannot do it at all. Charlotte’s fate changes when her Keeper suffers a stroke; emergency personnel arrive; and an ambulance whisks her forever away from her attic prison. Free of her keeper, Charlotte should be able to live the Dream Book; but her Keeper still has a hold on her mind, and the aftermath of her disappearance and the life outside of her captivity is not what Charlotte envisioned. Her parents’ marriage crumbled; her twin sister has become a stranger and has betrayed her in an unimaginable way; and Charlotte learns the truth of another girl who was never able to break away from her Keeper. In the end, it is not just Charlotte who needs to move beyond the events of the past in order to rebuild a future. Kensie’s narrative is painful and traumatic; yet, Charlotte’s story manages to instill the central message of hope throughout the entire reading. The audience will connect with the raw emotion and the hopefulness that Charlotte gains with each passing page. It is an unforgettable story that remains with the audience long after the last chapter is through. The reading also closes with a listing of phone numbers and websites for nationally recognized abuse and missing children organizations. Reviewer: Amanda Huneke; Ages 14 up.

Children's Literature - Amanda Huneke

10/01/2016
Gr 9 Up—Once 16-year-old Charlotte is rescued from her kidnapper, she's anxious to return to her family, particularly her twin, Alexa. But during the four years she spent in her Keeper's attic, her family fell apart. Charlotte's parents are divorced, her mom is an alcoholic, and Alexa is in rehab for drug use. Now Charlotte must accept her dad's new wife and daughter, cope with reporters hounding her for interviews, and adjust to the pressures of high school. She's also determined to discover the identity of The One Before, a girl her captor killed prior to taking Charlotte. On top of all that, the teen's mom barely allows her to leave the house and her dad pressures her to talk to the press. Kensie's richly detailed descriptions of Charlotte's daily life redeem a plot overrun with melodrama. By the novel's end, it's difficult to accept that so many wretched events could befall one person. Both Alexa and her mom recover from their addictions so quickly it defies logic. However, Charlotte's bravery will inspire readers. Her ongoing struggle to confront the horror of what she's endured rings true, and her recovery process could provide therapeutic reading for rape survivors. VERDICT Teens who revel in worst-case scenario stories like Natasha Preston's The Cellar and Kevin Brooks's The Bunker Diary will enjoy the shocking plot twists.—Amy Duffy, Chicago Public Library

School Library Journal

2016-08-17
A white teenage girl must navigate the emotional aftermath of her rescue from an abusive kidnapper. Sixteen-year-old Charlotte is rescued after four years imprisoned in the attic of a man she calls her Keeper. Despite her ordeal, she is determined to move on with her life as best she can, but she is shocked to discover the damage her absence wreaked on her family. Her parents are divorced, her mother has developed an alcohol problem, and her twin sister, Alexa, morphed from a happy-go-lucky young girl into an angry teenager with a troubled history. Dismayed, Charlotte becomes obsessed with trying to prove that her Keeper had previously abducted another girl before her—The One Before, who had not survived—in the desperate hope of giving that girl's family the closure her own family lacked while she was gone. She focuses her remaining energies on fulfilling the childhood goals she and Alexa once dreamed about, including their hope of joining the high school cheerleading squad. As narrated by Charlotte in the present tense, her path to recovery often feels forced. Too, her family's interactions lack subtlety and sensitivity proportionate to the horrors she experienced, contributing to a jarring dissonance between the sensitive nature of the subject matter and the tone of the narrative. A melodramatic take on a sensitive subject. (resources) (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews