The Beginning of After is a moving tale of grief and hope. Laurel's parents and younger brother are killed in a car accident during her junior year of high school. With the help of her only remaining relative, her grandmother, Laurel tries to pick up the pieces of her life, while forging a tentative connection with David, the son of the man responsible for the accident.

Although I found the writing to be a bit clunky in the first couple of chapters, it got much better, and I was so caught up in the story that any minor writing issues didn't bother me. Laurel's grief felt very realistic. There weren't a lot of big, sobbing, grief in all caps sort of moments. Her grief is quiet and very real. She's trying to get on with her life, but sometimes she doesn't know what to do next. Everyone in her life is walking on eggshells around her, and she just wants to feel normal again.

I liked Laurel's growing relationship with David. The two were once childhood friends, but they haven't been close for years. In the aftermath of the accident, David is also an orphan of sorts (his mother is dead and his father is in a coma). In the months after the accident, he drifts in and out of Laurel's life. They're connected by their shared grief and by David's dog, Masher, who Laurel looks after. David isn't an easy person to like, but there's something between them that Laurel can't deny, even when he's frequently gone from town.

I really enjoyed this book. Laurel is a likable, realistic heroine, and I was caught up in her struggle to keep her life together in the face of her terrible grief. Despite the sad topic, the author keeps the story from becoming too depressing, and there's an undercurrent of hope running through the book.

I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine.