Skip to main content

Member Reviews

My heart was broken and mended so many times during this story that it physically ached afterwards. At one point, I had tears streaming down my face continuously for 30 minutes. All that to say--what a masterfully told story. What a beautiful and heart wrenching journey of grief and forgiveness. Wow. I am in awe of the way the author told this story. I felt like I was reading someone’s real life. I felt with Winter through her trials and was so happy to see her allow herself joy. I will be picking up whatever Joanne Yi writes next.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This was a truly beautiful read. I really enjoyed the short fast paced chapters. Even though it was 400 pages, I was able to blow through it in 2 days. As someone with a father who passed away, it was very difficult to read at times. Beautiful depiction of grief and living with it especially after I read the authors note and saw her experience with ALS.

I selfishly wished it ended differently in terms of her love life but I know that wasn't necessarily the point. It did feel a little unresolved though.

Was this review helpful?

really heartrending, emotional, and impressive novel with some amazingly great characters and plotting. would definitely recommend . 5 stars tysm for the arc.

Was this review helpful?

4.75
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. This name is a heartbreaking coming of age story. Exploring all the different kinds of complicated family dynamics that many people face. Winter is a main character that will have you rooting for her despite her flaws. The relationships she has with the people around her feel so real and so raw that reading this book felt like reading someone’s diary i shouldn’t have been reading. I don’t know much about ALS but this portrayal was so heartbreaking that I really felt the full weight the disease had on everyone in the novel. All of the characters had their flaws but they felt so real that this story just felt so personal. Even though this book is technically a YA the story is very mature and i think it would be enjoyable to all ages. If you plan to read this be sure to have a tissue box nearby because you are going to need it. I highly recommend everyone pick this book up and give it a try.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed All the Tomorrows After by Joanne Yi. This contemporary YA book was a great read and really drew me in. The author does a good job building emotion and crafting relatable characters. It felt thoughtful and well-paced, and I stayed interested the whole way through.

Was this review helpful?

Joanne Yi’s writing captured and communicated emotions so throughly that I was sucked into the story immediately. I read half of it in my first sitting and could have easily finished the whole book if other responsibilities didn’t get in the way. It follows Winter’s life which is slowly being wrenched from her hands as she struggles to hold on for just a bit longer. She dreams of all of the places she will go once she gets just a bit more money. When her mother finds her money and spends it, Winter is devastated. Back to square one she is forced to reach out and make a deal with her estranged father. This story really takes you on the roller coaster through anger, grief, first love and so many more emotions as Winter slowly tries to figure out what she wants out of life. Told through short chapters that pack a strong emotional punch.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you for an advance copy of this YA story of Winter Moon, a young Korean American girl who is dealing with a great deal of loss, grief and pain. When her father comes back into her life, this brings lots to the surface for poor Winter Moon that she must learn. I also really appreciated how it showcased the struggles of being a caretaker. A very touching, beautifully written story.

Was this review helpful?

A story about coming of age while grieving, I loved that this book doesn’t have all storylines tied up with a pretty bow. It’s real, harsh, and something many young adults deal with and could relate to. It doesn’t beat around the bush with anything Winter deals with, but still ends on a note I was happy with.

Was this review helpful?

This is a story that grips you from the start and keeps you thinking until the very last page.
Although there is a lot of loss in this story - loss of relationships - loss of loved ones, there is always some glimmer of hope to pull you through.
The author didn't hold back with showing people as they are - the good and the bad. There wasn't anything that was held back to make a character more appealing. In fact, the characters were more honest and gritty and real than in most books. But even then, they were doing the best they could in the circumstances. And to move on in life, they had to accept who they were and not carry other people's baggage.
This can be tough story for some readers. Or it could be very helpful for others.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this story about the different journeys grief takes us on and how Winter works to repair her relationship with her father. I loved reading how hard Winter works and her building relationship with Joon. Great story about a girl growing up.

Was this review helpful?

I decided not to finish this title. There's a lot of heart, but the very staccato writing style wasn't working for me. I do suspect that All My Rage is an excellent comp, as Winter is going through some really difficult stuff for a teenager.

Was this review helpful?

Winter has a challenging life. Not only does she have normal teenage issues to deal with, she also is the primary caretaker for her ailing grandmother since her own mother can’t be bothered to help. It’s been just the three of them since her dad abandoned them years ago. Eventually it becomes two…Winter and her mother. Until one day a strange woman tracks her down, determined to bring Winter and her father together again. But it’s not that simple. There are a lot of issues and feelings to wade through, and Winter isn't sure if she’s willing to put in the work. This book is full of emotions. Anger and resentment, sorrow and hope. It’s a story about honesty and forgiveness and being true to yourself. Definitely five stars!

Was this review helpful?

A moving story featuring Winter Moon, a Korean teen who lives with her halmoni (grandmother) whom she loves and now takes care of and her shallow, despicable mother. She works after school and is saving her money to take herself and halmoni away. But when her mother steals her money (did I say she was despicable?), she finds herself agreeing to a contract to spend time with her father whom she’s never known, but who finds her. At first Winter spends time with him to get the money he pays her after each visit, but after a while she begins to enjoy the time with Sung as well as his wife Helena and daughter Avery.
Great read.

Was this review helpful?

I wish I could read All the Tomorrows After for the first time all over again! This is no minor undertaking at 400 pages, but what a sweeping, emotional, gripping novel from Joanne Yi. It is totally deserving of its praise!

We get to know Winter Moon, whose story is sort of heartbreaking from the start. She deals with betrayal, loss, and fear after her mother steals her lifelong savings - and her vehicle for escape from the life she’s known. Enter her estranged father and all of the complicated, complex, uncertain elements that relationship - or lack thereof - brings to Winter’s life.

Winter is so likable it’s almost confounding. She’s a teenager, and she does things a teenager would do, grapples with questions a teenager has, but also has to contend with traumas and life-changing bombshells brought upon her by her estranged father and the mother who betrayed her. And all the while, I had an open heart and was thoroughly rooting for her. She has rich character development, feels really authentic and real, perfectly flawed and abundantly forgiving. She’s a really wonderful protagonist and I think because of Yi’s careful creation of Winter Moon, a book centered around her was amazingly easy to read.

I’m so grateful to have been given the chance to read this book! It broke my heart wide open and I’m so glad I got to have that experience. Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this e-arc!

Was this review helpful?

Went into this book with 0 expectations and came out with a new perspective on how we overlook sometimes the simple mundane things in life. This book is very grief heavy. It’s also very challenging to read a character who just seems so miserable. However, watching Winter bloom and slowly come into herself and open herself up to others was so rewarding. This book felt raw and real. The romance was also very pure and realistic. I think Joon brought out the best in Winter and also reiterates the message that some people come into your life for a reason. I also enjoyed the kpop/k-drama references in the story and learning more about Korean culture. This is a good book to read when you really want to be in your feels and let out a good cry. The author note in the back was also insightful and helped me better understand why the story was about and why the author wrote it.

Was this review helpful?

This book surprised me in the best of ways. When I first started reading, I was unsure whether I would be able to make it through--the characters were hard and unlikable. But as I got further into the story, I became completely engrossed. This is a high interest story that gives students exposure to Korean words, Korean food, and some traditions, as well as more universal experiences of American teenage-hood. I really appreciate everything about the journey the characters go on and the ways in which they learn to navigate their different communities. A great read for a unit on identity development, personal voice, and/or community.

There are some slightly (appropriately, realistically) spicy moments that would be good to warn students about ahead of a recommendation as well as some abuse and mentions that are within the realm of suicide/suicidal ideation. A definite recommend for 9-12 graders.

Was this review helpful?

I was really loving this book until halfway through when it started to drop off. Where I was flying through it before, I began to skim through parts at the end.

It had been just Winter and her grandmother for as long as she could remember. Her father left when she was young and her mother was absent and abusive at times. This story details Winter navigating her grief as her grandmother’s health declines and she begins to feel all alone in the world.

Along the way, she meets Joon who has also experienced grief and where she makes it hard for anyone to be there for her, he finds a way. They form a sweet friendship that turns into something more. Winter begins to reconnect with her father and when grief sinks back in, she pushes everyone away yet again. This is where the author lost me as things began to drag. I wanted to see Winter through as I was invested in her character, but I was just not satisfied with the end.

This was one of those reads where I feel like I wasted my time becoming emotionally invested in the characters and I hate that :/

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All
Opinions are my own.

This was good! I enjoyed it. I read a lot of romance, but I always love new to me authors and this was one. I enjoyed the writing style and think this was super good! Definitely intrigued to read more.

Was this review helpful?

I received a complimentary copy of this book "All the Tomorrows After" and all opinions expressed are my own. This book would be an awesome audiobook. I didn't know how to pronounce the Korean words and I would love to listen to the book. You have to feel for Winter, she is trying her best but things keep bringing her down, mostly her mother. I loved how she took care of her Halmoni. Everyone has dreams. Overall I did like this book. If I see the audiobook sometime I will definitely listen to it.

Was this review helpful?

Winter always felt like she was losing. Watching her Halmoni wither away, wondering why her dad left, and living with a mother who was physically present but emotionally absent—someone who had ‘abandoned’ her in every way that mattered.

She longed for things that felt just out of reach: a mother who looked at her with love, a father who stayed simply because he wanted to, and the privilege to imagine a life beyond high school—a future filled with hope. But hope felt like a luxury she couldn’t afford. Because deep down, she questioned, "Do I even deserve something good?"

That question lingers, then echoes louder when her mother steals the life savings she’d quietly built—money meant for her escape. Just like that, Winter is back at square one. And then, in a twist she never expected, her estranged father reappears, eager to reconnect for reasons of his own. He even offers to pay her for her time. And she accepts.

This book is a tender unraveling of grief, lost hope, wasted time, self-pity, guilt, anger, first love, complicated family dynamics, healing, facing hard truths, rediscovering hope—and ultimately, acceptance.

Joanne masterfully portrays the grief not only of losing loved ones, but of losing dreams. She makes it raw, real, and heartbreakingly relatable. You can’t help but root for Winter as she navigates what many couldn't imagine enduring—especially at her age.

I was especially struck by this line: “I’ve longed to leave myself behind and emerge anew. But I am already living my life. Here, in the present. It’s messy, and cruel at times, and surprising at times. Still, it belongs to me. It is within me.” A reminder that even amidst the chaos, we are still whole, still worthy, and still becoming.

I am beyond grateful to @simonteen for the eARC! This was such a spectacular read and a first for me from @, but definitely not my last. Please pick this up when it’s out!

Was this review helpful?