Review of “After the Wreck I Picked Myself Up, Spread my Wings, and Flew Away,” by Joyce Carol Oates

“After the Wreck I Picked Myself Up, Spread my Wings, and Flew Away,” by Joyce Carol Oates is a truly unique book.

“After the Wreck” is narrated by a teenage girl named Jenna Abbott. Jenna’s life is completely changed by a deadly car wreck that kills her mother and leaves Jenna injured not only physically but mentally and emotionally.

“After the Wreck” is told in a very powerful first person voice that opens up Jenna’s deepest and most important feelings to the reader. The very first sentence grips the reader with its raw power:

“Went off somewhere and when I came back Mom was gone.”

Although Jenna survives the accident she finds that life after the wreck has completely changed, and that she herself has changed as well. But through all that faces, Jenna eventually realizes that there are people who want to help her.

“After the Wreck” is wonderfully written. Joyce Carol Oates has created a very well defined and rich character in Jenna, and the techniques that she uses to express Jenna’s feelings are very interesting. Much of the book could be classified as prose poetry, ranging from delicate to raw. I highly recommend “After the Wreck I Picked Myself Up, Spread my Wings, and Flew Away” as a worthy read that I enjoyed immensely.

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