After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away is a story about a 15-year-old girl named Jenna Abbott. She is struggling to come to terms with the car accident that took her mother's life and left her in the hospital and later in a rehabilitation center.

Jenna has built a wall around herself and refuses to let anyone get close. She feels that everyone she cares about leaves her. When she goes to live with her aunt and uncle in New Hampshire, she continues to push important people away. However, her life takes a turn when she befriends Trina, who has a negative influence on her. Trina introduces Jenna to underage drinking, cutting class, and drug use.

This behavior leads Jenna to the hospital, and after this experience, she starts to reevaluate her friendship with Trina. Meanwhile, a romance blossoms between Jenna and Crow. Their relationship seems believable as it follows the pattern of one person having built a wall and the other trying to help break it down. Crow becomes someone Jenna can trust, and she shares her deepest secrets with him.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Although it can be a bit over the top at times, it was impossible to put down. At first, I was a bit confused about what had happened, but as the story progressed, I was able to piece everything together. I was glad that Jenna realized Trina was a bad influence and cut her out of her life. Her relationship with Crow gave me hope that there are people in the world who will not judge us and will be there to protect and make us feel safe.

The reader on my audio book was super animated!

This is a YA book that tells the story of a girl who endured a tragic loss. When driving in New York with her mother, they were involved in a car crash, and her mother passed away. Naturally, she blames herself for the incident. After moving in with her aunt's family, she unfortunately makes friends with the wrong crowd.

For me, this book really emphasizes the significance of teachers and friends in a young person's life. The girl gets involved with drugs, but somehow, due to the efforts of some caring teachers who notice her suffering and are determined to help, she manages to maintain her grades. In the end, she turns her life around, gets back on a good path, and even joins the track team.

Overall, it was a pretty good book, but I have to admit that I've enjoyed other YA books to a greater extent. I couldn't really establish a strong connection with the main character. However, it did make me reflect on what I would do if someone I loved seemed to be making all the wrong choices. It makes you think about how important it is to be there for those we care about and try to guide them in the right direction.

I listened to this on tape quite a while back,

so I do not remember many of the details.

However, up until I read this, I was completely unaware that JCO delved into young adult fiction as well.

This discovery came as a pleasant surprise.

I vividly remember thinking that she did a remarkable job with this particular work.

I firmly believe that teens would probably have a great liking for this book.

It managed to hold my interest throughout,

which is no small feat considering my sometimes fleeting attention span.

The story must have had some captivating elements that kept me engaged from start to finish.

Even though my memory of the details is a bit hazy,

the overall impression it left on me was a positive one.

I would highly recommend this book to any teen looking for an interesting read.

Perhaps they will discover the same enjoyment and fascination that I did.

It is entirely possible that my lack of enthusiasm for this book was simply due to my mood at the time. After all, I generally have a great appreciation for the works of Joyce Carol Oates. However, this particular book left me with a rather underwhelming impression. It tells the story of a young woman who survives a car accident in which her mother loses her life. While the concept has the potential to be deeply moving, the execution felt disjointed and incomplete. I found myself disappointed as I reached the end, thinking, "Really? That's it?" I mean, I understand some of the themes and ideas that the author was trying to convey, but something just didn't quite click for me. On the positive side, it was a relatively quick read, which is always a plus. But overall, I'm not sure if I would recommend this book unless you're specifically looking for something that you can breeze through quickly and easily.

This book has been on my list to read for a long time.

However, it was very disappointing that I was not fond of it.

The book showcased how Jenna handled her grief about the accident.

But following her thoughts and interactions was extremely difficult.

Whether it was due to the writing style or the character herself, trying to understand Jenna's thoughts and feelings was as aggravating as untangling a ball of Christmas lights.

It seemed that the author failed to present a clear and coherent picture of Jenna's inner world.

Whether this was supposed to signify her concussion or not, it should not have been a spotty description throughout the book.

The lack of a smooth narrative made it hard for me to engage with the story and the characters.

I had hoped for a more profound and touching exploration of grief and recovery, but unfortunately, this book did not meet my expectations.

I truly enjoyed this book to a great extent.

It is an excellent piece of literature that not only delves into the theme of dealing with grief but also incorporates the element of running. As we all know, I have a great passion for reading about running, so naturally, this aspect of the book really stuck with me.

However, I must admit that I had a slight reservation. Honestly, I think it would have received a perfect five-star rating if the male character hadn't, for some strange reason, seemingly solved all the problems for the female protagonist. Why did he do that? And then everything just became fine because of his help. I did like the way she was "fixed," but I didn't appreciate the fact that it was essentially him forcing her to do it.

Nevertheless, it's still a good read, but it's no "Jag lever," I think ;)

This is the very first full-length novel that I have delved into by JCO. I have perused a few of her short stories and generally held a favorable opinion of them. However, this particular work? It gave me the impression that Oates perhaps doesn't engage in much conversation with people (owing to the fact that her dialogue is abysmal), especially not with teenage individuals (since every other sentence is punctuated with "I guess"). In the prose segments, it was passable, but once she reverted to dialogue, she maintained the same flowing cadence of the text - a pattern that no one employs in actual speech, particularly not high school students.

Setting aside the writing style, there are several plot holes. To begin with, the narrator, Jenna,遭遇了一场车祸 in May where her mother lost her life. Consequently, she now resides with her aunt and uncle in New Hampshire. But it isn't until an accidental overdose at Christmas that the aunt and uncle decide to place her in therapy.

On the whole, Jenna's reactions are likely authentic; they seem to mirror how a girl would feel and behave in the aftermath of such a tragic accident. (Nevertheless, repeatedly responding to numerous statements with "but this is AFTER the wreck" or "that was BEFORE the wreck" becomes tiresome). Regrettably, true and accurate responses don't always translate into captivating reading.

Also: how on earth did I end up with TWO books simultaneously that both feature track runners, and both of them compete in the 800m sprint?

I have very mixed feelings when reading this book. To be honest, it's not really a great one. It's a fast-paced book that I could finish in one sitting. At the beginning, it's kind of boring and uninteresting. You might even feel a bit frustrated with Jenna. But as you continue reading, it becomes captivating in some way. However, the repetitions of some sentences really get on my nerves.

I can completely understand Jenna's pain after the wreck. She feels that the world is against her, no matter which way she looks. Even when she tries hard, she still feels that people are only being nice to her because they sympathize with her situation.

Nevertheless, Jenna is a lucky girl. She has people who truly dote on her, like Aunt Caroline's family. Her mother's sister is very kind to her. And she is also able to make new friends. I'm really proud of her for that because we all know how hard it is to make new friends, and even harder to find a better one.

I like her friendship with Crow. Crow is a bit of a bad boy, and she has a crush on him. I like how they meet and the progress of their relationship. At least to Jenna, Crow is a good man at heart.

I'm going to give this book 2 stars, but I'll settle for 3 because Jenna did manage to pick herself up. She wasn't a completely desperate girl.

Overall, I liked the work.

However, I do wish that it was paced in a somewhat different manner. Despite being prominently featured on the back blurb, Crow doesn't actually make many appearances. I think I would have been more satisfied if the story had been divided into thirds, with each section focusing on therapy, Trina, and Crow respectively.

I did appreciate Oates' experimentation with formatting and the inclusion of more surreal scenes, especially at the beginning. However, I can understand how this might be off-putting for the average reader. It requires a certain level of openness and willingness to engage with the unusual. Nevertheless, it adds an interesting dimension to the work and showcases Oates' creativity and willingness to take risks.

Overall, while there are some aspects that I would have liked to see done differently, I still found the work to be engaging and thought-provoking.

This is probably a testament to how deeply The Goldfinch has remained in my mind.

Interestingly, this other book, which I found on the adult fiction shelf at my library but am fairly certain is a YA book, shares some of the same themes.

In both works, the main characters experience the violent deaths of their mothers, which leaves them burdened with both profound guilt and grief.

The internalized guilt then leads them to make potentially self-destructive choices.

The way in which these choices are resolved (or not) has far-reaching consequences.

Overall, it's a good book that delves into these complex emotions and the impact they can have on a person's life.

It makes one think about how we deal with loss and the choices we make in the face of such difficult circumstances.

Whether it's a YA or adult novel, it has the power to touch readers and make them reflect on their own experiences with grief and guilt.

Marking this three stars is rather strange.

Because this is indeed a well-crafted book, even if it's not one that you might "enjoy" in the traditional sense of the word.

It's short, which makes it relatively easy to read. However, it doesn't shy away from hefty topics such as drug abuse, drinking, and rape.

I've come across complaints that this book is "trying too hard," but I, for one, enjoyed the way JCO played with words and structure.

This gives the book a duality: on one hand, it seems flimsy, yet on the other, it's gritty, much like the life of our protagonist after she's involved in a fatal car accident.

Throughout the book, I understood Jenna, even in those moments when I wanted to slap her.

I liked the character of Crow, but his involvement in the storyline was, for me, the weakest part and the most forced.

There was a bridge scene that had me rolling my eyes. It took Crow like 10 minutes to get Jenna through some issues she's been battling all book long.

Okay. But either way, I can still appreciate this book for its merit and substance.

It may not be a perfect read, but it has its own unique charm and value.

JCO might very well be the finest YA novel writer in existence.

This particular work does indeed skate along the border of the banal and the stereotypical. However, it never tips over into the realm of the truly unoriginal. In fact, by the end, I find myself completely engrossed, reading with bated breath.

It's one of those books that you just can't put down, a real page-turner. And let's not forget that wonderful title. It's catchy and draws you in from the very beginning.

Despite its flaws, this novel has a certain charm and appeal that keeps you hooked until the very last page. It's a testament to JCO's skill as a writer that she can take a potentially tired concept and make it feel fresh and exciting.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to any YA fiction fan looking for a quick and enjoyable read.