Joanne Tompkins

One of O, The Oprah Magazine's MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2021 "JoAnne Tompkins writes about the people in this small town with wisdom and grace." --Ann Napolitano, New York Times- bestselling author of Dear Edward "An American Tana French, Tompkins is a writer to watch." --O, The Oprah Magazine After the shocking death of two teenage boys tears apart a community in the Pacific Northwest, a mysterious pregnant girl emerges out of the woods and into the lives of those same boys' families--a moving and hopeful novel about forgiveness and human connection. In misty, coastal Washington State, Isaac lives alone with his dog, grieving the recent death of his teenage son, Daniel. Next door, Lorrie, a working single mother, struggles with a heinous act committed by her own teenage son. Separated by only a silvery stretch of trees, the two parents are emotionally stranded, isolated by their great losses--until an unfamiliar sixteen-year-old girl shows up, bridges the gap, and changes everything. Evangeline's arrival at first feels like a blessing, but she is also clearly hiding something. When Isaac, who has retreated into his Quaker faith, isn't equipped to handle her alone, Lorrie forges her own relationship with the girl. Soon all three characters are forced to examine what really happened in their overlapping pasts, and what it all possibly means for a shared future. With a propulsive mystery at its core, What Comes After offers an unforgettable story of loss and anger, but also of kindness and hope, courage and forgiveness. It is a deeply moving account of strangers and friends not only helping each other forward after tragedy, but inspiring a new kind of family.

What Comes After

Abigail F

She wondered if this is what it meant to be a mother. To ache for a life that was not your own, to long for a child who could, without the slightest input from you, fall completely out of view.

It was a wonder-a painful, horrible, terrifying wonder-this unexpected understanding of love.

and this is what she worried about: how what was felt but not spoken, not even allowed to be thought, would weigh between them. Wasn't it the anger lurking beneath the surface that killed things in the end?

Strange how she hadn't really thought about that before, all the deaths that accompany birth.

The permanence of what was arriving and the loss of who she was and had been-who she'd never get a second chance to become- could no longer be ignored.

she sat in the overstuffed chair and cried. Not out of joy but because nothing in the world could terrify her the way happiness could.

Could a passion like that have been love if that's what it produced?

She had recognized him, and he had recognized her. And maybe that was a type of love, finding in someone the same river that flows through you, both of you sharing its barnks. 

The question wasn't a question at all but a statement, one that said, You have limited a child of God to one word, a word that reduces an entire life to a single moment, one that gnores that of God in him.

But now she understood. You can see the crimes that people commit, see them in their clear brutality, and yet someday, somehow, forgive. It might be the only way. How is forgiveness of what is not acknowledged forgiveness at all?

Evil is not a person. It's not a political group either. Or a religion like some people think. Evil is a force. Like gravity. It acts on all of us. We're all vulnerable to it.

It's strange how you discover whats been hiding in you all along.

I felt the world's suffering as a vast and permanent expanse, an ocean that stormed and settled, that could on a moment’s whim sweep anyone it chose to its depths.

Not the God who delighted in this Divine torment, this nagging, insistent whisper: I have left you with nothing, but you are alive, alive, alive. 

You are alive. You must come to grips with that.

She and I shared an ignorance of each other. That is what I missed when she went out, the relief of another's presence without the false notion that I was known.

Humans are forever picking their heroes and villains in waves of reversing fashion… we name our villains and then treat them in such a way that they prove us prophets.

Ugly edges, But that was a given wasn't it? If anywhere there existed something pure she'd never found it.

But you, because of that tiny bit of love in you, you don't know what you're seeing. That's what messes you up. The love. You can't see right with that in rour heart. Or maybe you're the only one who can see anything at a. Either way, you're fucked.

Kylie Robinson

Q&D: amazing book about love and grief and the amazing nature that is human connection. Took me a minute to get into but once I did I couldn’t put it down. Some plot lines felt unnecessary in the end but loved it all. Problematic characters that are aware of their flaws and want to better themselves. 

Cheri McElroy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Daniel and Jonah grew up as friends in the Pacific Northwest. Now, the two teenagers are dead-both killed by Jonah. And Daniel’s father, Isaac, and Jonah’s mother, Lorrie, are trying to simply live.

Then a 16-year-old girl, Evangeline, shows up, and their lives become intertwined.

Around the plot comes a beautiful look at parenting, marriage, family, grief, anger, and regret. Above all is the question of how we wrestle with our faith in the midst of devastation. This stunning debut was beautifully written, and is a best read of 2021 for me, so far.

Kaitlyn Lundebrek

I really liked this book and all the layers it had. I think I felt every emotion while reading this. I also really liked hearing about the Quaker religion!

Celeste Richardson

Beautifully written. Incredibly sad with just enough hope sprinkled in to keep me from wanting to throw myself off of a cliff. My favorite element of this book was, surprisingly, the look into modern Quakerism. That’s not a belief system I’ve thought much about outside of when it’s mentioned in American History textbooks, so I found Isaac’s faith fascinating. The characters were well developed, the story was interesting. All in all, this was a great book that was just too heavy for me when I picked it up.

Michelle García

For a good chunk of it I wasn't sure where this book was going but by the end I was delighted. It truly shows the pain and the ugly of forgiveness, of oneself and others. I feel like it truly touched me. I loved it!

Suz Corso

3.5/5. I loved the beginning half of this book and the writing style is beautiful. However, I thought the last 1/3 or so of the book fell flat and did not connect as it should have. Though this book isn't any type of thriller, I do think there could have been more information about Daniel and Jonah and their deaths I also found the main character, Evangeline, pretty annoying at times as such a stubborn, needs-nobody, self-sufficient type of character. For the most part, I enjoyed this book but I do think it was too long and should have had more elements of mystery/crime involved, since it operates around the storyline of a murder-suicide.

Brian Walborn

A great book can heal wounds while opening new ones you didn't know were there. What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins is hands down that book for me. A brilliant debut with breathtaking, unflinching prose and my personal favorite of 2021 and perhaps the last several years. If you like Delia Owens or Ann Napolitano then this will be an instant fave.

JoAnne Tompkins

One of O, The Oprah Magazine’s MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2021 “JoAnne Tompkins writes about the people in this small town with wisdom and grace.” —Ann Napolitano, New York Times- bestselling author of Dear Edward "An American Tana French, Tompkins is a writer to watch.” —O, The Oprah Magazine After the shocking death of two teenage boys tears apart a community in the Pacific Northwest, a mysterious pregnant girl emerges out of the woods and into the lives of those same boys’ families—a moving and hopeful novel about forgiveness and human connection. In misty, coastal Washington State, Isaac lives alone with his dog, grieving the recent death of his teenage son, Daniel. Next door, Lorrie, a working single mother, struggles with a heinous act committed by her own teenage son. Separated by only a silvery stretch of trees, the two parents are emotionally stranded, isolated by their great losses—until an unfamiliar sixteen-year-old girl shows up, bridges the gap, and changes everything. Evangeline’s arrival at first feels like a blessing, but she is also clearly hiding something. When Isaac, who has retreated into his Quaker faith, isn’t equipped to handle her alone, Lorrie forges her own relationship with the girl. Soon all three characters are forced to examine what really happened in their overlapping pasts, and what it all possibly means for a shared future. With a propulsive mystery at its core, What Comes After offers an unforgettable story of loss and anger, but also of kindness and hope, courage and forgiveness. It is a deeply moving account of strangers and friends not only helping each other forward after tragedy, but inspiring a new kind of family.

A Novel

Lauren Attaway

What Comes After was a book that I almost gave up on without giving a chance, but I am really glad I stuck with it. I was concerned this would be all gloom based on the initial chapters, and it is very gloomy but that is not the whole story. After the terrible loss of each of their sons, two families are brought back together by a teen girl with connections to both boys. This book is so sincere, and the characters have all suffered tremendously and are still trying. That’s the best part, that these people haven’t given up in the face of everything they have lost. I saw this called suspenseful-it’s not-and the mystery is so back burner that you won’t really care about the answers to your questions, but you will care about the families involved.

Meagan N Reece

i actually really liked this book. maybe not a new all-time favorite, though. 

a little long and drawn out, but over all, it was good.

Elli

(April BOTM) I found this story really beautiful. The characters feel deeply human, flawed, battling between who they want to be and their trauma, pain, ego. It's a story that could feel like a cheesy Hallmark movie but is handled with the right kind of subtlety and care that it steers clear of cliches that could cheapen it's emotional force. 

CW: for death (human and animal), abuse (of humans and animals), suicide, and sexual assault

Jadyn Post

Such a heavy book but well worth it. Loss, evil, love, and belonging were brought out so beautifully. Such an amazing debut novel.

Wonko the Sane

meghan healy

betty books

Paige Wanner

Jessica Gardner

Kayla Higginbotham

After the shocking death of two teenage boys tears apart a community in the Pacific Northwest, a mysterious pregnant girl emerges out of the woods and into the lives of those same boys' families--a moving and hopeful novel about forgiveness and human connection. In misty, coastal Washington State, Isaac lives alone with his dog, grieving the recent death of his teenage son, Daniel. Next door, Lorrie, a working single mother, struggles with a heinous act committed by her own teenage son. Separated by only a silvery stretch of trees, the two parents are emotionally stranded, isolated by their great losses--until an unfamiliar sixteen-year-old girl shows up, bridges the gap, and changes everything. Evangeline's arrival at first feels like a blessing, but she is also clearly hiding something. When Isaac, who has retreated into his Quaker faith, isn't equipped to handle her alone, Lorrie forges her own relationship with the girl. Soon all three characters are forced to examine what really happened in their overlapping pasts, and what it all possibly means for a shared future. With a propulsive mystery at its core, What Comes After offers an unforgettable story of loss and anger, but also of kindness and hope, courage and forgiveness. It is a deeply moving account of strangers and friends not only helping each other forward after tragedy, but inspiring a new kind of family.

What Comes After

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