Emily Barth Isler
The Color of Sound AfterMath Always Enough Love
Emily Barth Isler
Writer. Author. Storyteller. Friend.
 

winner of the 2022 mathical book prize!

“This book is a gift to the culture.”

— AMY SCHUMER
COMEDIAN, ACTOR, ACTIVIST, WRITER

WATCH THE book TRAILER

 
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“One thing I like about math is how you have to show your work. It’s one thing to say that x + y = z, but another to prove how you got there.

That’s how it is with friendship too.”

Twelve-year-old Lucy is not prepared to be the new kid at school. She’s still grieving her little brother, Theo, who recently died from a congenital heart defect. Her parents are so intent on a “fresh start” that she doesn’t know how to talk to them anymore. And the other kids in her grade are survivors of a very different kind of tragedy: a school shooting that devastated their small town four years ago.

Without the shared past that both unites and divides her classmates, Lucy feels lost. Even her love of math doesn’t offer the absolute answers she craves. But when an after-school mime class gives her a chance to forge new kinds of connections, Lucy finds that while grief can take many shapes and sadness may feel infinite, love is just as powerful.

 Praise for AfterMath

"Parents aren't perfect, friendships aren't perfect, and life most certainly isn't perfect, but this novel comes pretty close to perfect in its fearless and compassionate exploration of the sorrows, struggles, and hard-won maturing of a spunky twelve-year-old as she deals with the aftermath of loss. The losses are real, the pain is real, but so—the author persuades us—is the saving grace of loving connection."

—Judith Viorst, author of The Tenth Good Thing about Barney

“Isler's extraordinary debut will stay with readers long beyond the final page."

—Alex Richards, author of Accidental 

"Lucy's story of grief and healing packs an emotional punch that will tug at your heart strings long after you've read the last page."

— Edith Cohn, author of Spirit's Key and Birdie's Billions

"AfterMath is gorgeously written, infinitely heart-wrenching, and tragically timely. Lucy's voice is powerful and distinct. I loved this novel."

—Leslie Margolis, author of Ghosted, We Are Party People, and the Maggie Brooklyn Mysteries

"This book is for any kid who has ever felt alone with pain. It offers a light, an understanding, a togetherness that brings hope."

—Melissa Walker, author of Why Can't I Be You 

"Emily Barth Isler handles so many potentially explosive topics with grace and subtlety but also with enormous assurance and power. This is a brave, important and even essential novel."

—Yona Zeldis McDonough, author of The Bicycle Spy and Courageous

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Awards & Events

AfterMath Features
Winner of the 2022 Mathical Book Prize
Winner of the 2022 Mathical Book Prize

The Mathical Book Prize is awarded by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) in cooperation with the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS). The prize is awarded in partnership with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and in coordination with the Children’s Book Council (CBC).

Nate Berkus’s April Nate’s Reads Book Club Pick
Nate Berkus’s April Nate’s Reads Book Club Pick

Read more here.

Emily appeared on the panel “Middle Grade: Coming of Age in a Fractured World” at the LA Times Festival of Books
Emily appeared on the panel “Middle Grade: Coming of Age in a Fractured World” at the LA Times Festival of Books

Fellow author panelists included John Cho, Kelly Yang, and Lexie Bean, and the panel was moderated by Sharon Levin.

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Reviews

Publishers Weekly review 8/9/21 “Showing a keen understanding of loss, Isler’s compassionate debut is written with stark honesty, showcasing various responses to tragedy, including Lucy’s parents’ inability to talk about the past, the students’ collective need to share their stories, and encouragement of therapy.”

Bulletin for the Center On Children’s Books review “It’s an honest and surprisingly hopeful story about the way love and joy can return to lives that grief has shaped.”

School Library Journal review, 9/1/21 “Isler nose-dives into the perhaps taboo topic of school shootings, yet breathes healing, change, and math into the emotional catharsis.”

Booklist review, 9/15/21 “Like Jewell Parker Rhodes’ Ghost Boys, Isler's novel takes the timely and realistic topic of gun violence and turns it into an engaging story without sensationalizing it.”

Always in the Middle review 9/10/2021 “AfterMath is more than coping with tragedy. It’s also about healing, understanding, and a teacher who truly makes a difference. It would be a helpful beginning for those in need of answers.”

Little Reading Coach 9/13/2021 Review ”Her writing is poignant, honest, supportive and loving. I could feel her warmth towards families affected by school shootings throughout my reading. I can’t wait to see what this talented writer does next.”

Wesleyan University Alumni Magazine review 8/14/21 “In her touching middle grade debut, Emily Barth Isler ’01 manages to tackle heavy topics with grace and nuance, while still being in touch with the younger minds of her intended audience.”

Prose and Kahn review “Lucy is thoughtful and relatable. I just loved her careful observations of her new circumstances. Give this book to students who enjoy intense exploration of emotion. It's a difficult book to read, but also a difficult book to put down.”

Lists & Features