by Kelly Easton

Honestly, I bought the book because I was enticed with its cover - it seemed so mysterious and vague so I thought might like it. The story revolves around Adam who lost his parents in a tragic car accident on the way home to Rhode Island from a peace rally in Seattle. You would certainly feel Adam's sorrow as he recalls what has happened to them that resulted to his parent's death.

What I didn't understand is that how come he left his parents there lying on the pavement to cross the country by just walking away? I would certainly not do that to my parents, unless I would call for help (which Adam did not do apparently; I did not get whether he was just disoriented so he didn't do that but then again, if I was in his shoes whether disoriented or not I would STILL call for help).

On the other hand, this book teaches some values learned from Adam's experiences as he journeys along - the people he met, the places he's explored and the impressions they leave on him. However, there are good and bad points in Aftershock: it worked on the story by means of flashback although some of the way it was presented was drastic, the reader could not distinguish whether Adam was in reality or was he recalling a memory. But I guess it's just the nature of Adam's experience: shocking and mind-swifting. I think even though he has been weary, he enjoyed the journey as he struggles to get home because he has certainly learned a lot from it.

A very good example is this line that I loved from the book, "People separate themselves from each other by so many things: race, gender, religion, class. But on my travels, I learned to distinguish people by the only thing that really matters: kindness."

Rating: 3 stars