the beauty that remains by ashley woodfolk

Black identical twins Shay and Sasha were close until leukemia took Sasha’s life. In pain, blocked emotionally and creatively, Logan, a white, singer/songwriter, self-medicates with alcohol. Bram died months after he’d left Logan for Latinx Yara, a girl. Autumn’s guilt over having skipped the party to hang out with Tavia’s brother, Dante, threatens to derail their dawning romance. Shy Autumn, a Korean-American adoptee, was stunned when her best friend, Tavia, a lively Latinx extrovert, died in a one-car accident returning from a party. Isolated by three untimely deaths, a diverse assortment of teen millennials seeks healing in friendship and music. They grow and change believably as they begin to find ways to deal with their grief, and the resolutions of their emotional crises are lucid and deeply satisfying, as, ultimately, is this fine first novel. Her three co-protagonists are fully realized, empathetic individuals for whom readers will care. That quibble aside, Woodfolk has done an exemplary job of character creating and building. Gallons of tears are shed in this novel, too many, really, since their quantity tends to mitigate their impact. Despite these differences, all three have one common coping mechanism: they cry. Autumn obsesses, Shay has panic attacks, and Logan drinks heavily. The three teens are further linked by their love of music, though each reacts to the various deaths in individual, at first unhealthy, ways. Autumn’s best friend, Tavia, has died in a car wreck Shay’s twin sister, Sasha, has died of leukemia and Logan’s erstwhile boyfriend, Bram, has died of an apparent suicide. Autumn, Shay, and Logan have something in common: the loss of a loved one. Potentially Sensitive Areas: Strong language, Mild sexual themes, Underage drinking, Suicide, Marijuana, Alcohol abuse And Autumn sends messages that she knows can never be answered.ĭespite the odds, one band’s music will reunite them and prove that after grief, beauty thrives in the people left behind. Shay is a music blogger who’s struggling to keep it together. Now Logan is a guy who can’t stop watching vlogs of his dead ex-boyfriend. And Logan has always turned to writing love songs when his real love life was a little less than perfect.īut when tragedy strikes each of them, somehow music is no longer enough. Shay was defined by two things: her bond with her twin sister, Sasha, and her love of music. Death might pull them apart.Īutumn always knew exactly who she was: a talented artist and a loyal friend. Music brought Autumn, Shay, and Logan together. We’ve lost everything…and found ourselves. Told from three diverse points of view, this story of life and love after loss is one Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give , calls a “stunning, heart-wrenching look at grief that will stay with you long after you put it down.” The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk.

The beauty that remains by ashley woodfolk