After Tuesday is a young adult novel by Renee Ericson. It is the first book in the These Days series. It is a well written story that handles the subject of living with someone with an addiction.
“I lost my mother so long ago that I never needed to mourn that relationship. This though, this thing with my dad, is like a tortuous death. Laughing in my face on a daily basis, it taunts and teases me with small rays of hope before it reminds me of its opposing darkness.”
The story follows seventeen year old Ruby. She and her father moved to a new town a while ago, and that hasn’t been easy. They’ve been living in the duplex her uncle owns, and the only thing Ruby wants is for her eighteenth birthday to come up, finish school and get out of the town she is living in. Her dad is having problems. Serious problems that affect Ruby’s life. Her father is addicted to alcohol. Picking him up from the local bar in the middle of the night is something she’s gotten used to.
After all that Ruby has been through she doesn’t let people in easily. But she finds a real friend in Lexi, a chat-all-day-long happy girl who she has been working together with as a counselor at the local summer camp.
Ruby doesn’t talk about her dad’s problems to others. But she sees his problems getting worse. And she doesn’t know what to do.
“I’m not generally the type of girl that oohs and aahs to the point of almost fainting at the sight of a guy. If I were, his undeniable hotness would understandably make me fall to the ground.”
Ruby has never had a real boyfriend. And she isn’t planning on finding one. But she does. Even though she doesn’t really believe it at first. Why would this very cute out of her league guy want to date her? But she gives it a chance and soon finds herself falling for him. But the difficulties she deals with in her life form an obstacle. And can their love overcome it?
After Tuesday is a story that reads very easily. I finished reading it in an afternoon. It is very well written, in a way that makes you want to read further and at the same time it makes a topic as alcohol addiction readable. You get a chance to read what a seventeen year old is going through. In a way it reminded me a bit of Jennifer Anne Davis’ The Voice.
The way the author has managed to get the main characters thoughts into the story is very funny. It made me laugh often. This story is certainly worth reading all 360 pages. I recommend it to everyone who has enjoyed reading The Voice.
4 out of 5
