Before the Ever After

Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson

Text from the back cover:

For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has been everyone's hero.  As a charming pro football star, he's as beloved to the neighborhood kids he plays with as he is to his millions of adoring fans.  But lately ZJ's dad is having trouble remembering things and seems to be angry all the time.  ZJ's mom explains it's because of all the head injuries his dad sustained during his career.  As ZJ contemplates his new reality, he has to figure out how to hold on tight to family traditions and recollections of the glory days, all the while wondering what their past amounts to if his father can't remember it.  And most importantly, can those happy feelings ever be reclaimed when they are all so busy aching for the past?

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Ms. Sharp's quick review:  This novel in verse is filled with so many great moments!