BOOK REVIEW: BEFORE & AFTER YOU & ME – DALLAS WOODBURN

Book Review: Before & After You & Me – Dallas Woodburn

Emma blames herself when a freak accident at a pool party leaves Hunter, the town’s rising track star and her former boyfriend, paralyzed from the waist down. As she struggles with anxiety, loneliness and regret, she begins to obsessively paint portraits of legs and feet—Hunter’s legs and feet—and for the first time receives critical acclaim and notice for her artwork.

But what started as therapeutic for Emma ends up deepening her guilt. Does creating meaningful art require retreating inward toward self-expression, or striving outward toward recognition—or can it somehow be both?

Searching for one whole, authentic identity, Emma grapples with love, ambition, grief, homecoming, and—ultimately—redemption.

I am forever grateful for Dallas Woodburn for sending an ARC of this book to me, I really enjoyed it!

The book is about Emma. Emma is haunted by guilt following a freak accident at a pool party leaves Hunter, the town’s promising track star and her former boyfriend, paralyzed from the waist down. Her focus becomes obsessively creating portraits of legs and feet—Hunter’s legs and feet. To her surprise, these paintings earn her critical acclaim and bring her artistic recognition for the first time. However, this newfound success intensifies Emma’s feelings of guilt.

She begins to question whether meaningful art stems from inward self-expression or outward pursuit of recognition, or if it can be a balance of both. As Emma searches for her true, authentic self, she grapples with complex themes of love, ambition, grief, homecoming, and ultimately, redemption. This emotional journey challenges her to reconcile her past with her aspirations and find peace within herself.

“𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐀 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤.” ~ Before & After You & Me, Dallas Woodburn

Before & After You & Me, is a beautifully written novel captivated me from the beginning till the end. It was very heartfelt and felt very light to read. Dallas has crafted very believable and authentic characters that seem very relatable. Emma’s story was very easy to dive into, and explore her situation. Her flaws where what made her real. Her character development was flawless, showcasing her growth. Even though I wanted to see more of a peek in Hunter’s recovery, but he was a very mature and kind character.

I really enjoyed the back and forth between the present and the past, emphasizing the theme of before & after throughout the novel. The alternating chapters also added more perspectives and depth to the story. At first, I was taken aback since I had never read a book with this structure before, but going forward it really grew on me.

The poignant and engaging read beautifully takes the tragic accident of Hunter and creates a compelling outcome. It is full with complex emotions that I loved, The resolution that took after the wrenching twist was very satisfying as it brought Emma and Hunter’s story to a powerful conclusion. The subplot of serendipity and fate vs free will was very engaging as well.

One thing I did not really life was that I felt as though Emma’s story would have been really nice told chronologically, but at the same time the full blend of emotions would not have encompassed in the novel.

Overall, this intricate book woven with emotions, romance, tragedy, and overall amazing plot is a must read for ya-readers and lovers of contemporary romance!