The Bright Afters

By: Sadie McCarney

Write A Review

Paperback | 14 May 2026

At a Glance

Format
Paperback

Dimensions(cm)
21.59 x 13.97 x 0.51

Paperback

$52.99

or 4 interest-free payments of $13.25 with

Ships in 15 to 25 business days

A genre-bending, heartbreaking book-length lyric poem about a gay teenager's stabbing in a rural town. When a gay teenager is mercilessly stabbed in a high school bathroom in West Nowhere, Nova Scotia, the surrounding community is sent into a tailspin. While Colton fights for his life in a hospital room at West Nowhere General, everyone from a school janitor to the boy's abusive stepfather overflows with emotion in the form of verse monologues, unburdening themselves of their feelings. The Bright Afters is a poetic container for the pain endured by the town and surrounding area - and sometimes, their confessions. The voices we hear from include the sympathetic (a favourite teacher) and the arresting (the kid who stabbed Colton). As Colton recovers, his powder keg sister Christine and his escapist best friend, Annie, have the most to lose from the act that almost killed him - and the most to gain from coming to a new understanding about the senseless violence. Told from a variety of perspectives, The Bright Afters seeks to interrogate collective and individual trauma, queer belonging, and the ways in which a place sculpts the people it produces. Its individual poems take their names from Broadway shows, containing all of the community's fraught hope for a positive 'big finish' to the story.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.