Imagine seeing a school bus crashing through guardrails and tumbling hundreds of feet into the frozen water filling a sandpit. Next, imagine children screaming, crying and bleeding. The Sweet Hereafter is told through many points of view as the characters each have their own chapters.

Banks' novel has some interesting aspects, including an affair, a father sexually abusing his daughter, alcoholism and drug use. The mood is basically melancholy, but the theme shows how a town survives without its children.

The Sweet Hereafter can be compared to Chris Crutcher's Chinese Handcuffs, since both have a sexually abusive father figure and girls too scared to tell. In my opinion, this book should be recommended to mature teenagers and adults, since some of the language and content could offend younger readers or be difficult for them to comprehend.

Overall, I really liked this novel. It has an extremely creative plot, yet is very realistic. Russell Banks did a wonderful job figuring out how a town would react during an intense period of mourning.