The O.W.L.: Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler Blog Tour

Very excited today to be part of the blog tour for
Afterparty
by Ann Redisch Stampler!

I've got a review for you and a great giveaway being hosted by the tour!

First about the book

Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective father, she is the antithesis of her mother--whose name her dad won't even say out loud. That's why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened to her… and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she's everything Emma is not.

And it may be more than Emma can handle.

Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It's more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop...

This explosive, sexy, and harrowing follow-up to Ann Redisch Stampler's spectacular teen debut, Where It Began, reveals how those who know us best can hurt us most.

About the author

Ann Redisch Stampler is the author of young adult novels Where It Began and Afterparty, as well as several picture books, including The Rooster Prince of Breslov. Her books have been an Aesop Accolade winner, Sydney Taylor notable books and an honor book, a National Jewish Book Awards finalist and winner, and Bank Street Best Books of the Year. Ann has two adult children and lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband.
Website: annstampler.com
Twitter: @annstampler
Facebook: https://facebook.com/WhereItBegan
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15751652-afterparty

When I was in high school a lot of people saw me as a “good girl”. I didn’t get in trouble. I didn’t drink. I listened to my parents – hey I LIKED my parents. So when I saw what this book was about I was intrigued because Emma is a “good girl” too. The only difference – she decides it’s time to break out of that box. Although I didn’t always agree with Emma’s choices, I completely understood where she was coming from and why those were the choices she made. Her father is very controlling, plus she has some guilt over the history of her mother and she wants change how she lives her life. Putting that all together made for a young girl that wasn’t always in the best place to make good decisions. I felt for her. She so wanted to be the good girl her father believed her to be. I could feel her guilt any time she did something she knew he’d disapprove of. Just the act of telling him one small lie was difficult for her! Seeing this guilt was hard sometimes because I knew it tore at her even when she wanted to the very thing that was making her feel guilty!

Ok now about that friendship with Siobhan. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm – I have to look at it two ways! To begin with it is a very unhealthy friendship - that is perfectly clear to everyone except Emma! I have to look at it through the eyes of the age it was written for. For them they see girls like Siobhan – or know if them so they can relate to who she is and how she is. For me I teach middle school so there were times I had a hard time with her. BUT that is because I’m not the intended audience! She can be mean, pushy and demanding. I don’t think the intended audience would struggle with her at all – she is a reality in a lot of schools and they would know that. Plus she had to be that way because she had to be the foil to Emma's good girl image. Now I also had to look at their friendship through Emma’s eyes. Siobhan was the complete opposite of Emma so of course she would find her so appealing. Here is a girl that does and says everything that Emma would never be allowed to do. She sees and gets this freedom with Siobhan that she has never had and that’s very appealing to her. When I looked at Siobhan this way – I could completely buy into why Emma was friends with her. I got it even if I didn’t agree with it. The friendship was completely necessary and exactly what it needed to be. It drove the plot and the change in Emma.

Now the ending. Don’t worry I won’t give anything away! I was pleased with the ending. It gave answers without wrapping everything in a nice neat bow. It was more realistic, and I liked that. I felt satisfied with what I knew at the end and where I could see it going after the book was closed.

Over-all I enjoyed the book. At points it was like watching a car-wreck about to happen because you knew Sib had trouble written all over her! But the motives and history of Emma kept me wanting to know how she would be.

The Giveaway