This was a beautiful book about grief, love, forgiveness, humanity, and family. It was much different than I expected. I think I thought there was a thriller aspect involved, however that was not the case and I’m glad for it. I loved the characters of Evangeline, Isaac, and Lorrie. It was interesting how the author told the backstory alternating between Evangeline’s and one of the dead boys voices,. This book did make me cry at one point which I was also not expecting! My only tiny critique is that the teen voices at times were more adult-like than they should have been. Overall, a great read. Grateful for the chance to read it.

Heartbreaking and hope giving, this is a love story about broken people who find love in unexpected loss.

Well paced thriller with an interesting cast of characters and a dip into the world of the contemporary Quaker religion. A great choice for book groups that discovers themes of grief, loyalty and love.

What Comes After by Joanne Tompkins is a beautiful story about loss and healing in a remote area of coastal Washington state. The story begins in the aftermath of the tragic deaths of two teenage boys. Both neighbors and single parents, Issac and Lorrie have recently lost their sons, one by murder and one by suicide. Evangeline, a mysterious teenage girl, who has appeared outside of Issac’s house pregnant and abandoned by her mother. Encouraged by his Quaker religious beliefs, he takes in Evangeline and cares for her. The story is told in multiple perspectives, that of Issac, Evangeline, and brief sections from Lorrie’s deceased son, Jonah. Slowly we learn about their past relationships, how and why Jonah and Daniel died, and why Evangeline has come to Isaac’s home. Each character is layered and complex. You don’t always like their actions or words, but you understand them. What Comes After was a heavy, but beautiful and moving story.

Thank you Penguin Group / Riverhead Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Not a mystery but a great character driven story

I liked the writing style and the characters created. I enjoyed learning about the Quaker religion. I found it very interesting (except in relation to the epilogue 🤨).

There is a lot of sadness crammed into this story. It also alludes to many mysteries that were fairly predictable. It definitely is a slow burn and perhaps unnecessarily longer than it needed to be. All that aside, I found myself looking forward to getting back to it each time I put it down. I will look forward to the next story by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and PENGUIN GROUP Riverhead for a copy in exchange for a review.

The heartbreaking story 9f the aftermath of 2 teenage boys --- one murdered, one suicide.
The characters left behind experience loss, grief, anger and forgiveness.
This is a very emotional and moving novel.

[4.5 stars]

This highly literary, but also propulsive debut novel begins immediately following the death of 2 teenage boys, which tore apart their Washington State community. In the aftermath, a pregnant teenager (Evangeline) becomes involved with the 2 boys’ families. Tompkins' background encountering trauma as a trial lawyer, judicial officer, and mediator inspired her to write this story exploring anger and grief, but also of growth and forgiveness. There is a suspenseful mystery, but it lies in the background of what is ultimately a character-driven story. And, reading this story felt a bit like going on a therapeutic journey without the actual therapy.

I cannot tell you how excited I was to get an early copy of this book to review. I loved the synopsis and the author really delivered with this novel. I thought the characters were amazing and so well-developed and I loved the setting, being from the PNW myself.

This is a truly impressive debut novel - and one that is a definite tearjerker! The book opens not long after the murder-suicide of two high school seniors - two boys who had been neighbors and friends in their small Washington state town. Split across three narrators, Isaac is a Quaker and the father of the murdered boy, Daniel, while Evangeline, a pregnant teen who encountered both boys just before their deaths is left abandoned in town and the third voice comes from Jonah - the other dead boy. But Jonah's not the only one to reveal the "before" leading up to the opening events.

It's genuinely an emotional read on many levels. There were sections that had me actually sobbing (dog-lovers beware, there are deaths here - and a lot on the frailties of an aging larger dog which is just heartbreaking all on its own). The book deals with complicated emotions, complex relationships and also reveals more about the Quaker faith than I was previously aware. It's a character-driven story of both the aftermath and the beforehand. It's about love, friendship and forgiveness. I can definitely see why this is an April Book of the Month Club choice - it would certainly make for a good discussion starter!

The book has an almost timeless feel to it in many ways, without many mentions of technology or pop culture. Although some of this makes the teen portions a little harder to believe, that's not the only thing that defies belief. Evangeline's non-official living status and other scenes with authorities, while explained away by the small town still seem unlikely. Health insurance issues alone seem like many red flags would be raised... but other than that, I really couldn't tear myself away from this. Parts of the plot are easier to see coming than others, it all builds with an emotional tension that makes these characters not only come fully to life, but also makes this a truly riveting read!

This book holds a lot within its pages, but inside all of that lot, there’s also so much human struggling and truth, and it was also deeply satisfying in a number of ways.

What comes after starts in the shadow of Daniel and Jonah, two teenage boys and friends who are now dead. Daniel’s father and Jonah’s mother and sister are neighbors and Evangeline a girl who knew both boys before their death.

These three are unlikely to be close, and yet Evangeline shows up and forces questions to be asked. Isaiah, Daniel’s father is a Quaker and that spirituality informs his journey through grief and understanding and self-awareness. Lorrie brings her own pain and history. Every character in this story brings brokenness and trauma into the story, and that trauma is allowed to exist within the pages, yet hope is always there as well. I really enjoyed this book.

I fell in love with these characters and didn't want the story to end! I really enjoyed the writing style on this one too.

This had a great storyline but i just felt out of touch with the characters that it took away from my reading experience.
Not a bad book just didnt work for me.

This book is right in my "reading wheel" and it really grabbed me in the beginning with a murder/suicide. However, I had a difficult time staying focused on the story because it just dragged on. Many readers who have patience will enjoy this book, but sorry, I didn't.

This book takes you on a journey through the grief and anger that comes after loss and then to the hope and forgiveness that follows. What Comes After is a character-driven novel with several well-written characters that are easy to understand and empathize with. I did find parts of the story over-done and struggled to keep reading halfway through. It did pick up again by the end, but I'm not totally sure I am satisfied with the ending.

When there is a murder/suicide on page two, a novel can generally be counted on to deliver non-stop action and whodunit mystery through its final paragraphs. But JoAnne Tompkins’ debut novel, What Comes After, is not that type of book. In this introspective story, it is not the police who explore what happened and why. It is the victims and their families who struggle to discover the causes and effects of this tragedy. They are the ones who are left to analyze what caused, and to cope with what comes after the shocking loss of loved ones.
Childhood friends Daniel and Jonah, now high-school seniors in the sleepy coastal town of Port Furlough, Washington, become entangled with a homeless girl and the results are catastrophic. After their deaths, Jonah’s mom, Daniel’s dad, and the girl herself embark on harrowing interior journeys, trying to process their love, responsibility, guilt, shame, sorrow, helplessness and existential despair over the death of the boys.
Evangeline, the sixteen-year-old child of a broken home, has been abandoned by her mother and is left alone, pregnant and penniless. She knowingly wanders towards Daniel’s house and is taken in by his devastated father, Isaac, who is initially unaware of any connection between his son and this filthy, hungry girl. Eventually, as he learns the truth of Evangeline’s relationship with the two dead boys, they confront their inner separate, yet related turmoil, and strive to create a new human bond between them.
What Comes After is a novel about how people think and feel. While various locations are well-described, none of them really matter. Whether the interactions between the characters occur on a moon-lit sailboat, at an austere Quaker meeting hall, or in a noisy high school cafeteria, the setting is often irrelevant. The action takes place inside the heads and hearts of the narrative characters and the people with whom they interact.
The narration technique itself is unique. The author provides a first-person point of view from Isaac, the rigid, compartmentalized, divorced father of Daniel. Other chapters are told in third person, often through the thoughts and feeling of manipulative, cunning Evangeline, who is certain she was the catalyst for the violence. And a third point of view is also on display: several chapters are narrated by one of the dead boys, Jonah, who alone has first-hand knowledge of what actually transpired between him and Daniel.
Ms. Tompkins is clearly a student of human nature. She captures tiny gestures and nuances of behavior that are telling, yet commonly pass unnoticed. She has Evangeline describe one of her seducers: “Not only was the guy movie-star handsome, he could act, too. At least he’d mastered a way of looking at a girl as if utterly indifferent yet obsessed all the same.” Later, evicted from her low-rent home, lurking in the woods with only a candy bar in her pocket, Evangeline longs for the days “when she luxuriated in the daily petty grievances a teenage girl could harbor against her mother.”

Sometimes reading more like psychological or philosophical musings on how people perceive themselves rather than like an actual novel, Ms. Tompkins delves into the interior lives of her characters. What Comes After exposes the lies they tell themselves and the lies they tell the people they know, just so they can make it through a day, just so they can posit a world they can bear to live in.

The characters in this book willfully fabricate reality, wrap themselves in gauzy curtains, in an attempt to avoid the unpleasantness of their existence. The author’s implication is clear: these characters are us; we are them; we are all living in self-created fog. Evangeline doesn’t even always bother to deceive herself. “If a few so-called facts needed a tweak here or there to help those people understand – or to distract them from investigating her prior life – she’d be happy to supply them.”

Ms. Tompkins also unflinchingly tackles the topic of evil. Is it an internal or external force and are all humans susceptible? Maybe a little evil is a positive thing, because it allows us to test ourselves and prove our goodness. What Comes After rejects original sin: people are not born inherently evil; evil is a force that possesses us. Evangeline with her lies, Isaac with his temper, Daniel with his bullying, Jonah with his rage… everyone carries the struggle within them.

Although bleak, this novel of individual reflection and anguish ultimately resurrects the prospect of hope. Evil is not innate, and the struggle between evil and good, hate and love, resides eternally within each of us. We choose, each minute of each day, and past choices do not dictate future outcomes. What comes after is up to each one of us, and we have the capacity to choose love, mercy and understanding. Whether we do or not, well, that’s up to us.


Susan Pearlstein is an Allegheny County attorney who looks forward to once again volunteering at the Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale

"What Comes After" is an interesting novel, but it just didn't live up to my expectations. I'm very picky when it comes to my reading tastes, so I think the majority of avid readers will enjoy this book. The main problem I have with this genre are the plot and outcome are always very predictable. I wasn't blown away by the ending, I was pretty much anticipating it, and not in a good way. I still think it's worth a read. The cover art is stunning.

Thank you, Netgalley and Riverhead for the digital ARC.

One teenager kills his best friend in a fit of rage, then later kills himself. Left behind are two grieving single parents, and a homeless teenage girl who knew both boys. When the girl ends up pregnant, she shows up at the home of one of the dead boys, and the boy's father welcomes her in. This book is a tangled weave of human relationships where the focus is on uncertainty, healing, forgiveness, and becoming whole. It's a balm for the soul!

A beautifully-layered novel told in three character voices, What Comes Next will stay with me for a long time. Subjects include identity and love and family and forgiveness of others and yourself. I found the pacing to be perfect and the characters complex and relatable. I was fascinated by the Quaker beliefs and want to learn more. More thoughts later. This book is lovely and well-worth your attention.

What a beautiful, heartbreaking story. If you loved "Where the Crawdads Sing", I think you'll really enjoy this one! This is more than just a typical "coming-of-age" story and not quite a mystery novel. I think that's what I like best about it. The writing is breathtaking, especially for a debut author! This is one of those books that will stick with you for a long time. Highly recommended!

This book blew me out of the water. It was incredibly dark, but somehow not depressing. It looked at relationships, religion and feminism, all wrapped up in a little bit of a mystery. I would recommend this to people who like literary fiction and thrillers.