After by Francine Prose is
a well-written suspense filled tale about a high school in the aftermath of a
shooting at a neighboring high school. This novel explores the issues of
personal freedom, political control, and the common good of society. This novel
will definitely generate discussion among students, teachers, and readers in
general.

After by Francine Prose is
set at the beginning of another school year in an unnamed fictional town in
Western Massachusetts. As the novel opens, a shooting at neighboring Pleasant
Valley High School is in progress. Before killing themselves, the three
students shoot and kill five students and three teachers. Fourteen more
students are critically wounded. For fifteen-year old, Tom Bishop and his
friends – good-looking Brian, bright Avery, and stoner Silas – the "Smart
Jocks", it is hard to imagine that they have experienced their last normal
school day. When they return to school the next day, the students are called to
an assembly where they are introduced to Dr. Henry Willner, a grief and crisis
counselor. It is announced that Dr. Willner will be in-residence at the school
for the next three months in order to help the students through their time of
crisis. Dr. Willner, however, does not offer any empathic counseling, but
instead begins to introduce strict rules and new procedures. First, he installs
metal detectors and institutes random backpack and purse checks. Any forbidden
items are seized and the student is given a mandatory two-day suspension. Next,
he institutes a strict dress code. Violators are immediately sent home and
given a mandatory two-day suspension. When popular Stephanie Tyrone does not
return to school after refusing to remove her red AIDS ribbon worn in memory of
her brother, (wearing red is strictly forbidden) it becomes apparent to the
other students that Dr. Willner means serious business and did not play
favorites. Next, Dr. Willner institutes random drug testing for participants in
extracurricular activities. Then, Dr. Willner installs loud televisions on the
buses that air "Great Moments in History." While on the surface the
new rules, procedures, and innovations "for the protection of the
students" did not seem all that abnormal, the students knew that there was
something much more sinister happening. Every day the rules changed, the list
of forbidden items grew, and new forms of search instituted often without the
students being informed. Even the teachers and administrators began acting in a
very guarded manner. It was not long before Tom and his friends were caught in
Dr. Willner’s web. First, a copy of Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye and a Rap CD are found in Tom’s locker during an
unannounced random locker search. Next, he is caught with a cell-phone – an
item he did not know was forbidden. Finally, his friend Silas is caught in the
random drug testing of athletes. While Tom’s items are simply seized Silas is
sent to "Operation Turnaround" a facility with an unusually high
death rate. The finally straw comes when Tom, Brian, and Avery, the remaining
"smart jocks" are informed by Dr. Willner that they will throw the
basketball game against Pleasant Valley. While initially the loss is couched in
terms of helping to lift the sagging spirits of Pleasant Valley – a number of
the basketball team were killed or wounded in the shooting – finally Dr.
Willner informs the three that "bad things, very bad things will
happen" if the team does not lose. Will the three throw the game? What
"bad things" is Dr. Willner talking about? Will Silas ever return
from Operation Turnaround or will he become another statistic?

The students of Central High are well drawn and
realistic. Tom Bishop describes himself and his friends as "smart
jocks". "Smart jocks" are definitely not your average teen novel
stereotype and neither are these characters. Tom worries about his widowed dad,
struggles to reconcile his conflicted feelings about his father’s girlfriend,
Clare, and desires to go out with the bright and popular Becca Sawyer. Silas
while also "a smart jock" smokes marijuana sometimes to excess. His
parents are former hippies and drug experimentation was not as major an issue
while growing up in his household as consuming sweets, eating meat, and
watching television. Since the Wilmer regime, Silas, however, is smoking
marijuana more than usual and definitely more than he should given the random
searches and drug testing. While at fist his conspiracy theories about Stalinist
control and Invasion of the Body Snatchers takeovers sounded like the
paranoid ramblings of a drug abuser after Willner’s changes they begin to sound
rational. Avery is another "smart jock." His parents are lawyers and
he is one of the few African Americans in the school. His racist attitude makes
him suspect that "he and his kind" might be next, but unlike Silas,
he has learned to control his behavior and curb his tongue. Finally, there is
Brian, the last of the clique of "smart jocks." He is enviably
popular with the girls but too quick with sarcastic remarks. Mrs. Ridley is
delightful as the sympathetic social studies teacher who is obviously scared,
but willing to bend the rules in order to protect a student’s best interest.
Finally there is Dr. Willner. His is cold and manipulative with the students,
but has a sickeningly sweet fake veneer for parents. He is evil incarnate at
its insipid best.

After is a wonderful exploration
of personal freedom versus societal protection. The book is a wonderful
springboard for a number of topics to discuss with young people, including the
limits of personal freedom, political control, societal repression, and public
good. While students can discuss the relationship of these issues to a school
environment, many adults may find the book analogous to life in general in post
September 11th America. In fact Francine Prose wrote the
book after it occurred to her that following September 11th "the
problematic aspects of our new lives—baggage searches, metal detectors, incursions
on our privacy—were already part of our children’s lives, and had been for some
time."

Su Terry: Education:
B.A. in History from Sacred Heart University, M.L.S. in Library Science from
Southern Connecticut State College, M.R.S. in Religious Studies/Pastoral
Counseling from Fairfield University, a M.Div. in Professional Ministry from
New Brunswick Theological Seminary, a Certificate in Spirituality/Spiritual
Direction from Sacred Heart University. She is a Licensed Minister of the
United Church of Christ and an Assistant Professor in Library Science at
Dowling College, Long Island, NY. Interests in Mental Health: She is interested
in the interplay between psychology, biology, and mysticism. Her current area
of research is in the impact of hormonal fluctuation in female Christian
mystics.

Categories: Children