I picked up After when several of my female students expressed an interested in it after hearing a book talk on the novel by our fabulous school librarian. After finishing Efaw's book, I can see the appeal for young readers. 
 Devon Davenport, the young main character, has a baby and places it in the trash. The big question throughout the novel is did Devon know she was pregnant and did she knowingly plan to kill her own child? 
 The novel spends the rest of its time following Devon into the juvenile system and looking at her interactions with her lawyer, Dom. Efaw does a nice job with flashbacks, which draw the reader in to Devon's life pre-baby. She also paints the juvenile court system quite well. Because no one is really sure what Devon is thinking, including Devon herself, the book often leaves the reader wondering as well. 
 The relationships between Devon and the other inmates of her cell block feel a bit thin as does the premise for why Devon might have potentially blocked out the fact that she had unprotected sex. There isn't really enough in the book about Devon or her mother to really sell that part of the book. Additionally, the end of the book felt a bit dissatisfying for me, but despite that I plan to check out Efaw's other offerings.