Parents' Guide to

After the First Death

By Monica Wyatt, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Suspenseful plot has a psychological twist.

Book Robert Cormier Contemporary Fiction 1979
After the First Death Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 13+

Based on 10 parent reviews

Melanie S.
Melanie S. Adult
May 27, 2023
age 15+
pancake kitty
pancake kitty Adult
January 24, 2015
age 16+

Parents beware

I read this book when my 13-year-old child read it for school and disliked it intensely. It is a difficult read, and many kids will not fully grasp the details due to a constantly-changing narrative viewpoint. The plot revolves around a bus of 5-year-old children being kidnapped by terrorists. The bus is driven by a 16-year-old girl. All of the 5-year-olds are drugged. Parents should know that two of the little children are murdered by terrorists in this book; one overdoses on the forced drugs and one is shot and killed. The murders are celebrated by the terrorists in front of the media. Parallels are drawn between the United States military and terrorists. Two major characters commit suicide, a father and his teenage son. The girl is murdered point-blank in the end while begging for her life and crying for her mom and dad. The ending is unresolved with the main terrorist escaping and murdering yet another person. There is no doubt this book would be rated R as a movie due to drugging/overdosing of children and violence against children. Educators who select this book for children under 16 are baffling to me, given the wide range of fiction available today. Hideous book, parents beware.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 10 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Miro is sixteen, and it's time for him to prove his manhood by killing for his cause. Miro has been raised and trained as a terrorist, knowing only his older brother and Artkin, his leader, as family. As part of this group, Miro helps capture a bus full of small children.

Kate, the seventeen-year-old temporary bus driver, does her best to calm the children as they wait in the heat for rescue. She hides a spare key to the bus, and when Miro temporarily steps off, she tries to drive the bus away, but the engine stalls.

Much of the story is told through the eyes of Ben, the general's son, whom the general sends to the terrorists with proof that their leader has been captured. But is it really Ben who's talking? A surprise ending reveals what has happened to Ben, and to his father.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (10 ):
Kids say (28 ):

This dark tale of suspense and murder gains added complexity with a stunning psychological twist in the final chapter. Not all young readers will understand the surprise ending, but most will find the book extremely compelling and intriguing. On the surface, this appears to be a straightforward suspense story of good guys versus bad guys. But Robert Cormier examines the thinking of everyone involved. He depicts Miro as a real human being, not merely as evil or crazed. The 16-year-old ponders his feelings about his life and his duty to kill.

Kate, the young bus driver, constantly weighs her options as she struggles to outwit her captors. Even a child on the bus, smart little Raymond, becomes human to readers, increasing the emotional intensity when the hijackers kill him. Most interesting is Ben, the son of the general. We see Ben in alternating chapters as he remembers the violent incident and as he awaits a visit at his school by his father. Ben appears to be suicidal, but readers don't know why. Cormier gives the book a stunning twist when readers discover that the narrator of those chapters may have been someone other than Ben. The shocker of an ending lifts the book out of a standard suspense genre, transforming it into an intriguing psychological study.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the way in which Cormier structured his book to include various points of view.

  • Why do you think he wrote it the way he did?

  • What are the different points of view and how do they help advance the story?

  • Would you have enjoyed the book more or less if it was structured another way?

  • Does this book have clear-cut heroes and villains? Why or why not? Among the various characters, who do you admire the most? The least?

Book Details

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