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After Annie
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
19 posts | 18 read | 12 to read
"A wise and heartfelt novel of connection, of loss and love and the power of both."Amy Bloom Quindlens trademark wisdom on family, emotions, and the secrets of people in a small town are at the center of this novel about triumph over adversity and the power of love to transcend time, by the bestselling author of Alternate Side and Every Last One. A new Anna Quindlen novel is always cause for celebration. After Annie might just be my favorite one yet. It's a beautiful and deeply moving story about love, loss, friendship, marriage, family and community from one of our wisest chroniclers of modern life. I treasured every page." J Courtney Sullivan When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her four young children and her closest friend are left to struggle without the woman who centered their lives. Bill Brown finds himself overwhelmed, and Annies best friend Annemarie is lost to old bad habits without Annies support. It is Annies daughter, Ali, forced to try to care for her younger brothers and even her father, who manages to maintain some semblance of their former lives for them all, and who confronts the complicated truths of adulthood. Yet over the course of the next year, while Annie looms large in their memories, all three are able to grow, to change, even to become stronger and more sure of themselves. The enduring power Annie gave to those who loved her is the power to love, and to go on without her. Written in Quindlens emotionally resonant voice, and with her deep and generous understanding of people, After Annie is a story that ends with hope, a beautiful novel about how adversity can change us in profound ways.
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review
candc320
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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Pickpick

This 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. 🌟🌟🌟

29 likes1 stack add
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Lsmoore43
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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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

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LatrelWhite
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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Just could not put down. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

17 likes1 stack add
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Floresj
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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Pickpick

This 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.

17 likes1 stack add
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Amiable
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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Pickpick

I‘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.

CBee I liked it but I also completely agree with your review - it felt like it needed something more. 6mo
Amiable @CBee And the situation with Jenny, the friend? It seemed odd to insert that as a side thread. It kind of confused me. 6mo
52 likes2 comments
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HeatherBookNerd
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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Pickpick

If 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.

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CBee
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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Pickpick

I‘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.

HeatherBookNerd I love her. My favorite is 7mo
Hooked_on_books I love this cover 7mo
CBee @Hooked_on_books you made me look at it more closely and I realized that the leaves/tree have a very special meaning in the book ♥️ 7mo
CBee @HeatherBookNerd stacked! Thanks 😊 7mo
Hooked_on_books Oh, that‘s even better! I just think it‘s pretty. 😬 7mo
67 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Lesliereadsalot
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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Mehso-so

I 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.

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TheBookgeekFrau
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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Mehso-so

A 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

Crazeedi I've been thinking about reading this one, thanks for reviewing 8mo
37 likes1 comment
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NovelNancyM
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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Pickpick

I 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.

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TheBookgeekFrau
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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"Annie Brown died right before dinner."

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

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TheBookgeekFrau
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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New Anna Quindlen trumps re-read of a book I wasn't all that thrilled with the first time around. Problem solved!

dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 8mo
TheBookgeekFrau @dabbe 💕💞💕 8mo
46 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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marleed
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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Pickpick

Depending 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.

BarbaraBB It sounds so tough but I used to love Anna Quindlen so am tempted to purchase this one. 8mo
Reggie Idk, I read Black and Blue 25 years ago and I still have a bruise on my heart from that book.Mmmmm…maybe 8mo
69 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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JHSiess
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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📖 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.

26 likes1 stack add
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Lsmoore43
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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BoleyBooks
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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24 likes1 stack add
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robinb
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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Pickpick

A 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 🔻

robinb flashbacks of Annie, who the reader never really gets to know, but by the end of the story, we have a fully recognized character…her strengths, her faults, her loves, her life.
Obviously, each character‘s view of Annie and what she meant in their lives is unique, but also unique to each is how to begin to fill the hole from her death in not only themselves but in their family as well. The process of grieving is seen through: Ali as the 🔻
(edited) 9mo
robinb oldest, trying to step up as the caregiver while also having to navigate her own adolescence on her own; through Bill, who began as a somewhat bemused and reluctant husband/father but grew into those roles through Annie‘s own embracement and joy of her own wife/mother roles; and through Annemarie, who has to learn to navigate her mess of a life without her mentor, guiding light and soul sister. My favorite characters here were 🔻 9mo
robinb Ali and Philomena Cruz, a warm-hearted counselor, but each cast member tugged at my heart in different ways.
I enjoyed reading this book, and I recommend it. 4.5/5⭐️
(edited) 9mo
kspenmoll After your review, I must read this! 9mo
robinb @kspenmoll I‘d love to hear what your thoughts are. 😊 This was my first Quindlen, but I‘d like to read more. (edited) 9mo
47 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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robinb
After Annie: A Novel | Anna Quindlen
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😔😔😔

** Subject to change upon publication.