Taylor Before and After

In journal entries alternating between two timelines―before and after a tragic accident―Jennie Englund’s heartfelt coming-of-age story follows the year that changes one girl’s life forever. Before, Taylor Harper is finally popular, sitting with the cool kids at lunch, and maybe, just maybe, getting invited to the biggest, most exclusive party of the year. After, no one talks to her. Before, she’s friends with Brielle Branson, the coolest girl in school. After, Brielle has become a bully, and Taylor’s her favorite target. Before, home isn’t perfect, but at least her family is together. After, Mom won’t get out of bed, Dad won’t stop yelling, and Eli … Eli’s gone. Through everything, Taylor has her notebook, a diary of the year that one fatal accident tears her life apart. In entries alternating between the first and second semester of her eighth-grade year, she navigates joy and grief, gain and loss, hope and depression.