Before the Ever After
Jacqueline Woodson
ZJ remembers his father as a neighborhood hero and a professional football player admired by many fans. Then severe headaches and memory loss bring his father’s career to an end, leaving ZJ to cope with an unsettling change in their family. His friends Ollie, Darry, and Daniel support him through it. Written as a novel in verse, the book follows a son whose father eventually forgets his name. It considers how a family moves forward after the years when sports success and public attention shaped their lives.
This book appears on 4 reading lists across 2 editions from 4 organizations.
