{"id":48341,"date":"2021-07-24T11:12:38","date_gmt":"2021-07-24T15:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/?p=48341"},"modified":"2021-07-22T12:28:25","modified_gmt":"2021-07-22T16:28:25","slug":"before-the-ever-after-by-jacqueline-woodson-in-school-library-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/before-the-ever-after-by-jacqueline-woodson-in-school-library-journal\/","title":{"rendered":"Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson [in School Library Journal]"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-48323\" src=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/07\/Before-the-Ever-After-Jacqueline-Woodson-BookDragon-532x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"532\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/07\/Before-the-Ever-After-Jacqueline-Woodson-BookDragon-532x800.jpg 532w, https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/07\/Before-the-Ever-After-Jacqueline-Woodson-BookDragon.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 532px) 100vw, 532px\" \/><strong>*STARRED REVIEW<\/strong><br \/>\nThe \u201cBefore\u201d was when ZJ\u2019s football-playing father was \u201ceverybody\u2019s \u2026 next great hero,\u201d but to ZJ, world-famous \u201cZachariah 44!\u201d was \u201cjust my dad \u2026 which means \/ he\u2019s my every single thing.\u201d For most of 12-year-old ZJ\u2019s life, Daddy was the very best parent, playmate, music-maker, nurturer, supporter, and more. But years of injuries on the field have been causing memory loss, sudden disconnects, and inexplicable anger.<\/p>\n<p>In the early 2000s, little was known about the debilitating consequences of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a direct result of repeated concussions. For ZJ and his family and friends, \u201cthe Ever After\u201d offers no cure.<\/p>\n<p>Guy Lockard\u2019s versatility elevates Jacqueline Woodson\u2019s already stupendous novel-in-verse, showcasing his emotional agility from the exuberance of \u201cBefore\u201d to the roller-coaster uncertainty of during, all the way to the heartbreaking sadness and determined acceptance of \u201cthe Ever After.\u201d Nuanced, intimate, and empathic, Lockard again proves to be a gifted narrator.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verdict<\/strong>: Pair with Gordon Korman\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/pop-by-gordon-korman\/\"><em>Pop<\/em><\/a> (expertly voiced by Nick Podehl) for additional literary illumination.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Review<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.slj.com\/?reviewDetail=before-the-ever-after\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">&#8220;Audio,&#8221; <em>School Library Journal<\/em>, July 1, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Readers<\/strong>: Middle Grade<\/p>\n<p><strong>Published<\/strong>: 2020<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>*STARRED REVIEW The \u201cBefore\u201d was when ZJ\u2019s football-playing father was \u201ceverybody\u2019s \u2026 next great hero,\u201d but to ZJ, world-famous \u201cZachariah 44!\u201d was \u201cjust my dad \u2026 which means \/ he\u2019s my every single thing.\u201d For most of 12-year-old ZJ\u2019s life, Daddy was the very best&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,142,6,30,94,6535,7933],"tags":[9643,6608,58,10,189,11,7075,51,123,3224,39,6704,434],"class_list":["post-48341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-audio","category-black-african-american","category-fiction","category-middle-grade-readers","category-poetry","category-repost","category-verse-novel","tag-before-the-ever-after","tag-bookdragon","tag-coming-of-age","tag-family","tag-father-son-relationship","tag-friendship","tag-guy-lockard","tag-identity","tag-illness","tag-jacqueline-woodson","tag-parent-child-relationship","tag-school-library-journal","tag-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.14 - 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