After Annie: A Novel | 
pickAnnie dies and leaves four kids, a husband and a best friend devastated. The book follows them in the first year after she dies, each dealing with their own complicated feelings of grief.
Based on this blurb and coming from Anna Quindlen the book could have been great. It was just good.
“Annie Brown died right before dinner.”
#firstlinefridays
@ShyBookOwl
pick“Grief was like spring, maybe. You thought you were getting out from under it and then it came roaring back. And getting out from under it felt like forgetting, and forgetting felt like treason.”
Quindlen‘s gentle and authentic prose uncovers the range of realizations in a family‘s grief after losing a mom and wife 😔
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@DieAReader @Texreader @BarbaraBB @Lauredhel
pickI loved this book! It was really wonderful in many ways and more inspirational than I expected. High recommendations here!
pickThis is a very lite pick for me. I‘ve loved a few of this author‘s novels but this one felt really removed and, while touching, just didn‘t draw me in like I would have liked. Also, and this might seem small, but all 3 of the main female characters had such similar names that it was hard to keep clear while listening to the audiobook (Annie, Ally, and Ann Marie). Still, it was well written and I‘d definitely read more by this author. 🌟🌟🌟
After Annie
Can you believe this is my first Anna Quindlen book? I'm shocked. I'm beyond shocked. This book was SO GOOD. Sad yes. It made me shed lots of tears. It also made me laugh a few times and brought out some anger(Bill's mother). This book is a very emotional one for sure. But it's so good.
Full review: https://tinyurl.com/2ut328wz
@annaqwrites
@penguinrandomhouse
pickThis novel about the aftermath of a young g mother who dies suddenly, focuses on her daughter, her best friend and her husband. Some parts are incredible, some parts stretch a little too much. Overall, good read, without being overdone.
pickI‘m calling this a pick even though it left me wanting more in ways I can‘t quite articulate. It‘s the story of a family as they struggle to deal with the sudden death of their mother, wife and best friend. The tone of it felt almost dispassionate at times, though —I felt emotionally detached in a way that surprised me, given the subject. A decent read, although I likely won‘t remember the plot in 6 months.
pickIf you like Quindlen, and I do, this captures what she does so well - giving you a snapshot of a family at a key passage of life. She follows a family thrown into sudden emotional chaos and examines the daily minutiae of the grief that follows during the first year after a loved one‘s death. It is a thoughtful, reflective book. I do love how Quindlen conveys the interior lives of her characters with such compassion.
pickI‘d forgotten how much I enjoy Anna Quindlen‘s books (though I‘ve only read three including this one). I was completely swept into this story about a family struggling with the sudden loss of a wife and mother, and how they all dealt with that grief and trauma in different ways. Beautiful.
so-soI really struggled to get through the first three quarters of this book. A woman drops dead in her kitchen out of the blue, leaving four young children, a husband and a best friend. The book deals with the year after her death, how the husband, oldest child and best friend deal with these new circumstances. The characters seemed very cardboard to me, and I couldn‘t get a grip on them. But it all came together in a very satisfying way.
so-soA year in the life of the loved ones left behind after death.
I liked the story. I liked the characters. I really hated the way it was written--like a semi-stream of consciousness as the characters would drift into memories of Annie. Made it hella confusing at times.
19/62
pickI picked up this book because I enjoy the author's novels. This one did not disappoint. It likely won't stay with me as amazing literature, but I enjoyed the plot and character development. It wasn't entirely predictable, and ended hopeful.
"Annie Brown died right before dinner."
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
New Anna Quindlen trumps re-read of a book I wasn't all that thrilled with the first time around. Problem solved!
pickDepending on where the reader is on their own journey with grief, this is a meaningful story. Annie has died at the onset of the book devastating her husband and their 4 kids - the oldest only 13. She also left behind her lifelong BFF, who never thought she would survive Annie. It details how each person who loves this one woman so much has their own unique journey with grief.
📖 𝓒𝓾𝓻𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 📖
I have long been a fan of 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐧 so was very excited to read her just-published 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞. The author of 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞, 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐧𝐞, 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞, & 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲, among others, never disappoints. On this stormy day, I am wrapping up Feb. 2024 with this riveting, emotionally gripping story.
Now Available! 🥳🎉📚
After Annie- Anna Quindlen
Book Review- https://www.boleybooks.com//after-annie/
#boleybooks #afterannie #annaquindlen #bookbeast #netgalley #pubday #bookbuds
pickA very real gut-punch of a book of a family dealing with the loss of the one who held them together.
Annie is a 30-something wife and mother of four, who dies suddenly of an aneurysm in front of her husband and children (ages 6-13) while cooking dinner.
This story is told from three perspectives: Bill, Annie‘s husband; Ali, Annie‘s oldest and only daughter; and Annemarie, Annie‘s life-long best friend. Each perspective contains bittersweet 🔻
