Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler
10:00 AM
Author: Ann Redisch Stampler
Release Date: December 31, 2013
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 416
Source: ARC provided by author
Overall: 4 Stars
Summary:
A toxic friendship takes a dangerous turn in this riveting novel from the author of Where It Began.
Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective father, she is the antithesis of her mother—whose name her dad won’t even say out loud. That’s why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened to her…and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she’s everything Emma isn’t.
And it may be more than Emma can handle.
Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It’s more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, a bash where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop...
My Thoughts:
Emma has always been a good girl; she's polite, dresses modestly, and achieves high grades in school. Her father has always been extremely overprotective and Emma never wants him to be reminded of her wild mother when he looks at her. But Emma is also tired of always being so good... and when she meets Siobhan, she finally gets a taste of freedom from her sheltered life.
Siobhan doesn't care about rules; she's reckless, experienced, and loves to party. Emma can't help being drawn into her orbit, shocked and grateful that Siobhan would befriend her in the bizarre and unfamiliar world that is L.A. That's why, to me, Ann Redisch Stampler's Afterparty is like a dark, modern version of Alice in Wonderland with crazy friends and wild parties. Emma has definitely stumbled down the rabbit hole, but will she ever find her way back home?
What really hooked me into eagerly turning the pages was the dysfunctional lives of the characters. As Emma struggles with her identity and what it will mean to not be the "good girl" anymore, in the meantime, Siobhan spirals more and more out of control. Emma begins to realize that Siobhan is not really a good friend and tries to break away from her toxic influence, but she also feels a sense of loyalty to the girl who first befriended her, even if it's not a smart decision. The dynamic between the girls is further complicated and fractured when Emma begins to crush hard on their classmate Dylan.
The cover for Afterparty is absolutely gorgeous and perfectly captures the darker undertones of the storyline. Ann Redisch Stampler's Afterparty is a compelling YA contemporary read. The characters are flawed, unpredictable, and make mistakes. They're not even always likeable. But that was part of the fun in reading Afterparty.
Siobhan doesn't care about rules; she's reckless, experienced, and loves to party. Emma can't help being drawn into her orbit, shocked and grateful that Siobhan would befriend her in the bizarre and unfamiliar world that is L.A. That's why, to me, Ann Redisch Stampler's Afterparty is like a dark, modern version of Alice in Wonderland with crazy friends and wild parties. Emma has definitely stumbled down the rabbit hole, but will she ever find her way back home?
What really hooked me into eagerly turning the pages was the dysfunctional lives of the characters. As Emma struggles with her identity and what it will mean to not be the "good girl" anymore, in the meantime, Siobhan spirals more and more out of control. Emma begins to realize that Siobhan is not really a good friend and tries to break away from her toxic influence, but she also feels a sense of loyalty to the girl who first befriended her, even if it's not a smart decision. The dynamic between the girls is further complicated and fractured when Emma begins to crush hard on their classmate Dylan.
The cover for Afterparty is absolutely gorgeous and perfectly captures the darker undertones of the storyline. Ann Redisch Stampler's Afterparty is a compelling YA contemporary read. The characters are flawed, unpredictable, and make mistakes. They're not even always likeable. But that was part of the fun in reading Afterparty.
A toxic friendship takes a dangerous turn in this riveting novel from the author of Where It Began.
Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective father, she is the antithesis of her mother—whose name her dad won’t even say out loud. That’s why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened to her…and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she’s everything Emma isn’t.
And it may be more than Emma can handle.
Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It’s more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, a bash where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop... - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Afterparty/Ann-Redisch-Stampler/9781442423244#sthash.nLq2X9eg.dpuf
Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective father, she is the antithesis of her mother—whose name her dad won’t even say out loud. That’s why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened to her…and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she’s everything Emma isn’t.
And it may be more than Emma can handle.
Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It’s more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, a bash where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop... - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Afterparty/Ann-Redisch-Stampler/9781442423244#sthash.nLq2X9eg.dpuf
A toxic friendship takes a dangerous turn in this riveting novel from the author of Where It Began.
Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective father, she is the antithesis of her mother—whose name her dad won’t even say out loud. That’s why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened to her…and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she’s everything Emma isn’t.
And it may be more than Emma can handle.
Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It’s more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, a bash where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop... - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Afterparty/Ann-Redisch-Stampler/9781442423244#sthash.nLq2X9eg.dpuf
Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective father, she is the antithesis of her mother—whose name her dad won’t even say out loud. That’s why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened to her…and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she’s everything Emma isn’t.
And it may be more than Emma can handle.
Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It’s more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, a bash where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop... - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Afterparty/Ann-Redisch-Stampler/9781442423244#sthash.nLq2X9eg.dpuf
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