Before the Ever After

Before the Ever After

Jacqueline Woodson
Nancy Paulsen/Penguin, 2020 161 pages
Grades 4-6
Narrative Poetry

First verse narrative poetry traces the journey of ZJ (Zachariah junior) as his father goes from respected professional football player to confused angry guy in pajamas. Zachariah-44 is everyone's hero and kids want to know ZJ just to get near his dad. To ZJ he is just "Dad", yet also his whole world. It is Dad who drives him to school when he is home, supports his music, and hangs out and listens. Suddenly this very together person's hands start shaking uncontrollably and he is becoming forgetful. Mom takes Dad to a parade of doctor's, yet no one can seem to get to the bottom of the condition. Worst of all, it seems to be happening to other professional football players as well. Meanwhile, life continues as ZJ tried to adjust to the new normal. Luckily he has his "boys": the three best friends who call themselves the Fantastic Four and have ZJ's back no matter what. He also his family and some close friends, who support ZJ and his parents as Dad's condition worsens. There are no easy answers and Dad does not seem to be getting better, but ZJ has at least figured out a way to move forward and to accept this new person who has become his father.

Woodson revisits the style that earned her a national book award and Newbery medal for Brown Girl Dreaming. Though alike in style, this new title is not a memoir, although it feels as if it is. Woodson's writing is beautiful and lyrical and every word is chosen carefully. The book is separated into two parts, the before and after, tracing before Dad gets sick and who he becomes afterwards. The bewilderment and confusion is all part of the story and, much like ZJ, readers will not know the truth behind Dad's condition until the author's note at the end. Set in 1999, Woodson sheds light on CTE, a brain condition suffered by athletes who experience too many hits to the head and the doctor who discovered what was happening. ZJ feels like a real person and readers will consider him a friend by book's end. I love that he is into music, not football, and that his father, who clearly loves football, supports this. I also appreciated ZJ walking away from the sport all while watching an acquaintance continue the cycle because of his love of the game. Boys will be especially drawn to the is book and it will be an easy sell to reluctant readers-all while offering an amazing piece of literature. Teachers will find this title useful for classrooms and it will be sure to win awards. My only complaint is that I would be interested in the author's personal connection to this topic and her journey to spending the time to explore it in her latest endeavor. Certainly an unrepresented topic in children’s literature, this book is worth exploring for many reasons.