After the Death of Anna Gonzales - by Terri Fields (Paperback)

About the Book

Poems written in the voices of forty-seven people, including students, teachers, and other school staff, record the aftermath of a high school student's suicide and the preoccupations of teen life.

Book Synopsis

A powerful look at the effects of one girl's suicide on her high school

Brutally honest and authentic in tone, this young adult novel in verse centers on the suicide of high school freshman Anna Gonzales. Each piece, read alone, portrays a classmate's or teacher's personal reaction to the loss, taken hard by some, by others barely noticed. Read together, the poems create a richly textured and moving testimony to the rippling effects of one girl's devastating choice. Terri Fields has written a thought-provoking, important work that resonates with both pain and hope. This is a book of poetry that will stay with readers long after they put it down.

In support of Suicide Prevention Month, the book AFTER THE DEATH OF ANNA GONZALES will be available for FREE for September, 2020 only. The collection of poems of 47 people's reactions to learning of a teen's suicide has been successfully performed as readers theater. To obtain permission for the free rights to perform it during Suicide Prevention Month, please contact

Ebony Lane
Senior Rights Manager
Macmillan Children's Publishing Group
120 Broadway, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10271

Praise for After the Death of Anna Gonzales:

"Readers will gain some important insight into the serious issue of teen suicide through this treatment of the topic." --School Library Journal

"The poems are natural and direct, and portray a high-school setting well, showing a diversity of experiences. . . . [F]or Mel Glenn fans, or as a resource for dealing with teen suicide, this will be useful in most YA library collections." --Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Terri Fields is the author of many books for children, including Holdup and After the Death of Anna Gonzales, as well as several middle-grade novels. She is also an educator, and was named--among other honors--Arizona's Teacher of the Year and selected to the All-USA Teacher Team. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona.