After This

After This is a story about the Keane family and the years that this family struggles and grows through. It starts with the day Mary meets John, then moves to their lives with small children. As the book progresses, the reader “watches” the 4 children: Jacob, Michael, Annie and Claire, grow into the adults they are destined to become. It's an interesting look at the lives of people who live through wars and protests.

That being said, I just didn't like the way the story was written. I felt like there was no transition from one year to another. There were several times where on one page, the 4 Keane children would go from youngsters (under the age of 10) to adults/teens. I had a difficult time knowing what year it was and figuring out how old the children were.

The book sounded so very interesting when I picked it up and I was excited to read it, but by the time I was halfway through it, I was bored and no longer cared about the characters. This book did not hold my interest and it took a lot of effort to finish it. My interest was peaked again when the youngest child, Claire, became a teen bride but then the book ended abrupty. I felt like I was “jipped” on the outcome of Claire's life. I knew the outcome of the other three children and wanted to know more about Claire.