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Ten After Closing
10PM: Closing time at Cafe Flores. The door should be locked, but it isn't, Scott Bradley and Winsome Sommervil are about to become hostages.
TEN MINUTES BEFORE CLOSING: Scott's girlfriend breaks up with him over the phone while he's in the cafe's basement storeroom because he's late picking her up for the big end-of-the-year party. Now he can't go to the party, but he can't go home, either--not knowing if his dad will still be in a drunken rage. Meanwhile, Winny wanted one night to let loose, away from her mother's crushing expectations. Instead, she's stranded at the cafe after her best friend ditches her in a misguided attempt at matchmaking.
TEN MINUTES AFTER CLOSING: The first gunshot is fired. Someone's dead. And if Winny, Scott, and the rest of the hostages don't come up with a plan soon, they may not live to see morning.
Told from both Winny and Scott's perspectives, and alternating between the events leading up to and following the hold-up, Ten Past Closing is an explosive story of teens wrestling with their own challenges, thrown into circumstances that will test their very limits.
TEN MINUTES BEFORE CLOSING: Scott's girlfriend breaks up with him over the phone while he's in the cafe's basement storeroom because he's late picking her up for the big end-of-the-year party. Now he can't go to the party, but he can't go home, either--not knowing if his dad will still be in a drunken rage. Meanwhile, Winny wanted one night to let loose, away from her mother's crushing expectations. Instead, she's stranded at the cafe after her best friend ditches her in a misguided attempt at matchmaking.
TEN MINUTES AFTER CLOSING: The first gunshot is fired. Someone's dead. And if Winny, Scott, and the rest of the hostages don't come up with a plan soon, they may not live to see morning.
Told from both Winny and Scott's perspectives, and alternating between the events leading up to and following the hold-up, Ten Past Closing is an explosive story of teens wrestling with their own challenges, thrown into circumstances that will test their very limits.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2018
About the author
Jessica Bayliss
9 books138 followersJessica Bayliss is a fiction author with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology who loves all things reading and writing. Author of the young adult horror novella, BROKEN CHORDS and YA thriller, TEN AFTER CLOSING , she has been a lover thrillers and ghost tales since her days scanning VHS rental shelves—admittedly with eyes half-averted from the gory covers. She also loves to eat, cook, and exercise—in that order—and is a firm believer that coffee makes the world a better place.
In the psychology world, she has more than fifteen years of experience and training in the cognitive-behavioral model. She’s a psychotherapist, a teacher, and a researcher. One day it hit her: Why not combine writing and psychology? Just like that, PsychWRITE, her series of lectures, workshops, and coaching services for writers was born. Her blog features motivational posts for writers that combine her passion for writing with her love of psychology.
She has authored thirteen novels and several short stories that appear in anthologies such as BEWARE THE LITTLE WHITE RABBIT, FRIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and ZOMBIE CHUNKS and in such literary magazines as Sanitarium Magazine. Jessica is a Senior Editor for Allegory Magazine. Member: ITW, HWA, SCBWI, RWA.
Jessica is available for Skype Visits, Workshops, and talks about her books, writing, and related to her PsychWRITE workshops and webinars. For media kits, see the individual pages for each book. For more information, visit http://www.jessicabaylisswrites.com
In the psychology world, she has more than fifteen years of experience and training in the cognitive-behavioral model. She’s a psychotherapist, a teacher, and a researcher. One day it hit her: Why not combine writing and psychology? Just like that, PsychWRITE, her series of lectures, workshops, and coaching services for writers was born. Her blog features motivational posts for writers that combine her passion for writing with her love of psychology.
She has authored thirteen novels and several short stories that appear in anthologies such as BEWARE THE LITTLE WHITE RABBIT, FRIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and ZOMBIE CHUNKS and in such literary magazines as Sanitarium Magazine. Jessica is a Senior Editor for Allegory Magazine. Member: ITW, HWA, SCBWI, RWA.
Jessica is available for Skype Visits, Workshops, and talks about her books, writing, and related to her PsychWRITE workshops and webinars. For media kits, see the individual pages for each book. For more information, visit http://www.jessicabaylisswrites.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
May 19, 2018
*Review provided by the publisher for an honest review - thanks so much for sending me over one, but it didn't change my opinion!!*
You can tell this author has a PhD in psychology, because my goodness, the character's reactions and motivations were so right on. I was super impressed.
From the moment I've heard about this book, I've been quite intrigued. I mean, two teens get stuck in a robbery gone super wrong at a restaurant with some unrequited love thrown in? I mean, it could go super wrong but it definitely could go super right. Trust me, this book fell into more of the latter category for moi. While I felt there was something slightly missing, I thought that it was definitely super interesting and I binge read it in two days because I did really want to know what was going on.
I thought the main two characters were quite well done. Winny and Scott were intriguing and had a lot of solid characterization to back them up. I thought they were both likable, and I totally rooted for them. I think I was a bit more partial to Winny? I really enjoyed Scott, but I think Winny stole my heart a bit more. Both they were just well done, solid main characters. Did I love them dearly and devote my book heart to them? Well, no, but they were very good characters that had intriguing backstories, complex personality traits, and motivations that were clear and realistic. I was invested in them for sure.
Also, speaking of realistic, Bayliss brought on the realistic reactions. I totally thought there would be moments where I would be like, "girl, really" but she showcased what real reactions would look like with a dramatic and perilous situation. And the romance didn't happen except for like two seconds in the robbery which I was most worried about!!!! Can we just include a round of applause????
Pavan was the man. All I have to say. Favorite character. HE WAS JUST SO CUTE AND I LOVED HIM AND HIS OLD MAN GENTLE WAYS.
Also, speaking of EVEN MORE CHARACTERS, I have to say that all the side characters were quite well done as well. Like, Twitch was done wonderfully, and Ryan, Toto, Sylvie, and Oscar had motivations, traits, and I could feel their own voices. It definitely provided a good element to the novel.
The plot was interesting as well. I never got really super tense with it, but I was flipping through the pages pretty quickly to figure out what was going to happen with it. I did find the past scenes interesting as well. When they first started popping up, I wasn't as sold with them, but I did find them more interesting as time went on, and it did show even more characterization for our leads. The robbery moments were good, but I will say the big showdown did leave a bit desired for me.
The writing was quite good as well. I will say some of the formatting threw me off sometimes. Like, I wasn't feeling the going back in every few hours with the past scenes, but it did right itself out. And I got thrown off because there was first and third person narrations in parts for the same characters, and that confused me. But Bayliss still made things interesting, it flowed pretty good, and it was just good prose.
Overall, this was a pretty good contemporary, that brings something a little different to the YA scene. I thought it was interesting, and while it didn't quite bring my emotions, it still was a pretty good read for me. I did have a few gripes with it, but overall, I was impressed with Bayliss's characterization and realism that she brought to this novel. Four crowns and an Ariel rating!
You can tell this author has a PhD in psychology, because my goodness, the character's reactions and motivations were so right on. I was super impressed.
From the moment I've heard about this book, I've been quite intrigued. I mean, two teens get stuck in a robbery gone super wrong at a restaurant with some unrequited love thrown in? I mean, it could go super wrong but it definitely could go super right. Trust me, this book fell into more of the latter category for moi. While I felt there was something slightly missing, I thought that it was definitely super interesting and I binge read it in two days because I did really want to know what was going on.
I thought the main two characters were quite well done. Winny and Scott were intriguing and had a lot of solid characterization to back them up. I thought they were both likable, and I totally rooted for them. I think I was a bit more partial to Winny? I really enjoyed Scott, but I think Winny stole my heart a bit more. Both they were just well done, solid main characters. Did I love them dearly and devote my book heart to them? Well, no, but they were very good characters that had intriguing backstories, complex personality traits, and motivations that were clear and realistic. I was invested in them for sure.
Also, speaking of realistic, Bayliss brought on the realistic reactions. I totally thought there would be moments where I would be like, "girl, really" but she showcased what real reactions would look like with a dramatic and perilous situation. And the romance didn't happen except for like two seconds in the robbery which I was most worried about!!!! Can we just include a round of applause????
Pavan was the man. All I have to say. Favorite character. HE WAS JUST SO CUTE AND I LOVED HIM AND HIS OLD MAN GENTLE WAYS.
Also, speaking of EVEN MORE CHARACTERS, I have to say that all the side characters were quite well done as well. Like, Twitch was done wonderfully, and Ryan, Toto, Sylvie, and Oscar had motivations, traits, and I could feel their own voices. It definitely provided a good element to the novel.
The plot was interesting as well. I never got really super tense with it, but I was flipping through the pages pretty quickly to figure out what was going to happen with it. I did find the past scenes interesting as well. When they first started popping up, I wasn't as sold with them, but I did find them more interesting as time went on, and it did show even more characterization for our leads. The robbery moments were good, but I will say the big showdown did leave a bit desired for me.
The writing was quite good as well. I will say some of the formatting threw me off sometimes. Like, I wasn't feeling the going back in every few hours with the past scenes, but it did right itself out. And I got thrown off because there was first and third person narrations in parts for the same characters, and that confused me. But Bayliss still made things interesting, it flowed pretty good, and it was just good prose.
Overall, this was a pretty good contemporary, that brings something a little different to the YA scene. I thought it was interesting, and while it didn't quite bring my emotions, it still was a pretty good read for me. I did have a few gripes with it, but overall, I was impressed with Bayliss's characterization and realism that she brought to this novel. Four crowns and an Ariel rating!
September 23, 2018
Scott and Winny were already having a pretty bad day, but it turned deadly ten minutes after closing.
• Pro: The format of this book was brilliant. It was told from before and after "closing". After moved forward and focused primarily on the hold-up, while before moved backward and focused largely on Winny and Scott's family issues and feelings for each other. The flips were well orchestrated, and the backward storytelling kept me curious.
• Pro: I got the impression, that Winny and Scott were both prisoners - literally during the hold-up and figuratively due to family expectations and demands. They were wrestling with some big decisions regarding their futures, but their families sort of robbed them of their autonomy and limited their choices. I thought Bayliss handled this quite well, as their struggle and emotions regarding the situation were crystal clear.
• Pro: Oscar and Pavan were such great parts of this cast. The addition of Oscar lent believability to some of the actions the hostages took, and Pavan was just a wonderful character, who I really enjoyed meeting.
• Pro: I thought it was a smart choice to include Winny and Scott's backstories, as well as their possible romance. Those "before" pieces were what made this feel YA to me, and not just like a hostage story.
• Pro/Con: There were parts of the ending I was wholeheartedly pleased with. The reactions and responses seemed appropriate and they made me happy. Though I questioned a few choices made for Scott, I did like that the idea of forgiveness was included, because I don't think it's uncommon for people surviving a life or death situation to gain more perspective on things.
• Pro: It was so easy to like Scott and Winny, as well as Scott+Winny. I admired their strength and ambition, and at the same time, I empathized with them regarding their home lives.
Overall: A fast-paced story, which combined a hostage thriller with a teen family drama for a satisfying reading experience.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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• Pro: The format of this book was brilliant. It was told from before and after "closing". After moved forward and focused primarily on the hold-up, while before moved backward and focused largely on Winny and Scott's family issues and feelings for each other. The flips were well orchestrated, and the backward storytelling kept me curious.
• Pro: I got the impression, that Winny and Scott were both prisoners - literally during the hold-up and figuratively due to family expectations and demands. They were wrestling with some big decisions regarding their futures, but their families sort of robbed them of their autonomy and limited their choices. I thought Bayliss handled this quite well, as their struggle and emotions regarding the situation were crystal clear.
• Pro: Oscar and Pavan were such great parts of this cast. The addition of Oscar lent believability to some of the actions the hostages took, and Pavan was just a wonderful character, who I really enjoyed meeting.
• Pro: I thought it was a smart choice to include Winny and Scott's backstories, as well as their possible romance. Those "before" pieces were what made this feel YA to me, and not just like a hostage story.
• Pro/Con: There were parts of the ending I was wholeheartedly pleased with. The reactions and responses seemed appropriate and they made me happy. Though I questioned a few choices made for Scott, I did like that the idea of forgiveness was included, because I don't think it's uncommon for people surviving a life or death situation to gain more perspective on things.
• Pro: It was so easy to like Scott and Winny, as well as Scott+Winny. I admired their strength and ambition, and at the same time, I empathized with them regarding their home lives.
Overall: A fast-paced story, which combined a hostage thriller with a teen family drama for a satisfying reading experience.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
May 2, 2020
Ten After Closing by Jessica Bayliss has the potential to be a hard hitting YA contemporary about everything leading up to and surrounding a hostage situation, which includes domestic violence. As it turns out, it never quite lives up to that promise. It's not for lack of trying, but my main issue is that I never quite connected to any of the characters to the degree that I should have in order to be all that concerned over their fates. I didn't know enough about them even though we get a good deal in terms of flashbacks, about Scott in particular. A few minor characters that I should have felt more for were too flat overall. It's also a tad too long. I think it probably could have been trimmed down about 50-75 pages in length and could have done with tightening up some of the characters backstories. Plus, the way the domestic violence subplot wrapped up was really irritating - how could Scott make that call when he has a 9 month old sister? Finally, this novel is quick and compelling read, but it just isn't as bold or fully formed as it could be.
September 23, 2019
Thrilling, captivating, inventive—TEN AFTER CLOSING by Jessica Baylor was such a wild ride. Scott and Winny are two teens under the immense pressure of their parents’ expectations; for Winnie, she’s expected to go to med school, despite her love for the arts, and for Scott, he’s expected to provide for and protect his family as his drunk and abusive father spins even more out of control. But everything changes for them when they’re held as hostages in the cafe where Scott works. For the next few hours, Scott and Winny will be pushed farther than they’ve ever been pushed before, and as the body count grows, they try desperately just to make it through the night. This book had such an interesting structure: for each chapter narrating the pulse-pounding hostage storyline, there was a chapter woven in that moved farther and farther backward in Winny and Scott’s day so the reader could understand their complicated family dynamics. I thought this worked brilliantly, as it allows us a chance to breathe between the incredibly tense cafe chapters, while still offering a compelling story as we see the texture of the main characters’ lives. I also loved how the hostage experience pushes both Scott and Winny to confront their deepest issues in a way that can, ultimately, be healing and productive.
September 10, 2018
2.5 STARS
Since TEN AFTER CLOSING was one of my most anticipated new reads of September 2018, I felt more let down by the execution than I would have expecting an average read.
Recent high school graduates Scott and Winnie are among several hostages in a restaurant robbery. Told in both Scott’s and Winnie’s first and third person points of view the story line shifts throughout the day and evening of the incident.
Winnie suffocates under her one-dimensional parent’s’ expectations. Scott hopes his mother will leave his violent father. The two had a near-miss romance (because what’s a hostage drama without a little unrequited love).
Jessica Bayliss’s characters lack dimension, particularly the parents. I did enjoy Scott and Winnie, though nothing stood out about them.
I enjoyed the hostage part of the story, but not the illegal drug/gun aspect which felt contrived and beyond belief. Also, if some of the other hostages had been teens they could have added to my interest in the plot.
Since TEN AFTER CLOSING was one of my most anticipated new reads of September 2018, I felt more let down by the execution than I would have expecting an average read.
Recent high school graduates Scott and Winnie are among several hostages in a restaurant robbery. Told in both Scott’s and Winnie’s first and third person points of view the story line shifts throughout the day and evening of the incident.
Winnie suffocates under her one-dimensional parent’s’ expectations. Scott hopes his mother will leave his violent father. The two had a near-miss romance (because what’s a hostage drama without a little unrequited love).
Jessica Bayliss’s characters lack dimension, particularly the parents. I did enjoy Scott and Winnie, though nothing stood out about them.
I enjoyed the hostage part of the story, but not the illegal drug/gun aspect which felt contrived and beyond belief. Also, if some of the other hostages had been teens they could have added to my interest in the plot.
November 12, 2018
♥ Find my reviews here: Literary Meanderings
- - -
This was one of my most-anticipated reads of this year, so I am terribly sad to say it was not my favorite.
Ten After Closing is told in two points-of-view. Scott is our first protag. He is working at a café to help out his mom with finances as his abusive father has recently lost his job and is now bumming it. The other protag/POV is Winny. Winny has a thing for Scott, so upon hearing that Scott has just been dumped, she is headed to the café with her friend, who ditches her there in an attempt at forcing her to confess her undying love to Scott. Ten minutes after closing the café, some men show up with guns to rob the place. It isn't random; it's personal. Scott, Winny, the owners of the café, and a couple of customers are still inside. The timespan of the book is only a day, alternating between pre-holdup, and post.
While I liked the premise of this book and was SO excited for it, the story fell short for a few reasons:
1.) The plot was shallow and not very detailed. Now, the book is centered on the robbery and the things behind the robbery, but I still needed some more backstory to feel a connection to the characters, yeah? We basically get a days' worth of getting to know the characters and a teeny-tiny bit of their backstory (which consists of their feelings [or lack-of] for each other, Winny having strict parents, and Scott having an abusive father). The potential for emotional investment was there, but it wasn't quite carried out.
2.) This book was SO try-hard. It was contrived and mechanical. It was full of clichés to the point of ridiculousness. The thrill/suspense aspect was so unbelievable to me, personally. It all played out like a really cheesy, low budget movie. It was too outlandish, and like I said, try-hard. I just wasn't sold on it.
3.) This book involved domestic violence, which is great. What is not great is the way it was wrapped up—which is not at all. In a nutshell, the abuser gets to keep doing what he is doing because the violence goes unreported to protect him. It literally pisses me off and I hate that there was no justice here. Huge mistake.
As I said, I enjoyed the idea of this book, but it fell way short. I enjoyed the hostage situation to an extent, but it was, overall, a perfect example of trying too hard. I can't say that I recommend this book, but if you enjoy something a bit over-the-top but quickly paced, you may enjoy it if you can ignore the flaws.
- - -
Book source: Via publisher for review
Publisher: Sky Pony Press/Skyhorse
• For more of my reviews, check out my blog!
August 23, 2018
***Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review***
First off, this was a quick and interesting read. I wouldn't say it was a thriller or really suspenseful in a big way...but it was good.
The character development was good for the most part. The story was told from the pov of two high school kids, Scott and Winny. The story also alternates between flashbacks and in the moment events. I kind of like that, but kind of don't....the flashbacks weren't really of any importance, in my opinion.
Scott had a more important story line, he was dealing with some intense home life situations that I felt should have been priority number one for him to fix. Domestic abuse is not okay, and the story line was more about him and girls. The ending and what Scott did, or didn't do, regarding his dad...I hated that part. I felt like that was the LAST thing he should have done.
Winny had an even less interesting back story. Overbearing parents who want her to go to certain colleges and major in certain things. Her story is full of her lying to her parents and pursuing art instead.
The REAL story I want to know about is between Sylvie and Ryan. Sylvie is the wife in the wife and husband run cafe where all the events take place. Ryan is her drug dealing brother. There is a lot of tension and hard feelings between the two and is the whole reason everything in the book goes down like it does. Oscar, Sylvie's husband, is awesome and I want to know more about him!
Overall, "Ten After Closing", was a quick and fun read that I think had some major potential to be really exciting, but it was just missing....something. The writing style was great and the flow of the book was nice, no complaints there. I think Jessica has great potential and I can't wait to go check out some of her other works!
First off, this was a quick and interesting read. I wouldn't say it was a thriller or really suspenseful in a big way...but it was good.
The character development was good for the most part. The story was told from the pov of two high school kids, Scott and Winny. The story also alternates between flashbacks and in the moment events. I kind of like that, but kind of don't....the flashbacks weren't really of any importance, in my opinion.
Scott had a more important story line, he was dealing with some intense home life situations that I felt should have been priority number one for him to fix. Domestic abuse is not okay, and the story line was more about him and girls. The ending and what Scott did, or didn't do, regarding his dad...I hated that part. I felt like that was the LAST thing he should have done.
Winny had an even less interesting back story. Overbearing parents who want her to go to certain colleges and major in certain things. Her story is full of her lying to her parents and pursuing art instead.
The REAL story I want to know about is between Sylvie and Ryan. Sylvie is the wife in the wife and husband run cafe where all the events take place. Ryan is her drug dealing brother. There is a lot of tension and hard feelings between the two and is the whole reason everything in the book goes down like it does. Oscar, Sylvie's husband, is awesome and I want to know more about him!
Overall, "Ten After Closing", was a quick and fun read that I think had some major potential to be really exciting, but it was just missing....something. The writing style was great and the flow of the book was nice, no complaints there. I think Jessica has great potential and I can't wait to go check out some of her other works!
December 30, 2018
I went out on a limb with this one but I actually really liked it. The thriller aspect was really INTERESTING and with the way the story was set up I was afraid I was going to be bored or confused but I actually loved it it made me want to keep reading cause I really wanted to know about what had happened in the past and what was going to happen. It certainly helps that the characters were amazing. Nothing about this story was awkward or out of place it was PERFECTLY WRITTEN
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
June 6, 2018In timelines that alternate between the very recent past--before closing time at the cafe--and the harrowing present--after closing, but before the doors were locked--Jessica Bayliss's debut YA thriller, TEN AFTER CLOSING, carries readers through an armed hostage situation at a cafe from the dual perspectives of Scott and Winny, two teens caught in the crossfire. I'm such a sucker for dual POV and dual timeline narratives--a propulsive read!
Read
July 16, 2018Effortlessly juggles the past and the present on top of dual perspectives, gradually building not just a riveting hostage situation but characters (and a relationship!) worth rooting for. A fun and compelling read!
October 9, 2018
Ten P.M. at Cafe Flores means closing time. But the night is just getting started for those inside the restaurant.
Scott Bradley, ever the dutiful employee, takes the closing shift at the last minute, covering for a friend. Scott is having one of the worst nights of his life. His girlfriend just dumped him, he is stuck working to pay for his family’s bills and he can’t go home for fear of his father’s abusive anger.
Winny Sommervil, the perceived dutiful daughter, goes to the cafe at the last minute, dragged there by a friend hoping Winny and Scott will finally get together following his breakup.
As the cafe closes, Winny and Scott --- along with the sweet couple who owns the Café, Oscar and Sylvia, --- and a few remaining customers are suddenly trapped inside as a vengeful relative enters the cafe armed. Shots are fired and lives lost as the gunman and his crew demand payment. Its ten minutes after closing and Winny and Scott must figure out how to stay alive amid a dangerous hold up.
But before closing, Winny and Scott were already fighting battles. Winny’s strict parents have high expectations for their daughter, planning on her attending EMT training and then med school. Winny has other plans for her life, wanting to be an artist. In a streak of rebellion, Winny enters her project into an art show without her parents knowing. Meanwhile, Scott’s parents are anything but attentive. His father is a mean drunk, throwing tantrums every time Scott does anything wrong. His mother fails to see a problem, thinking that once Scott leaves for college, everything will be fine again. But Scott wants to change things, so one night he records a video that could change his life for the better. But Scott’s and Winny’s plans for parental rebellion are disrupted when, at 10 P.M., a gunman holds them hostage.
Told from the alternating viewpoints of Winny and Scott from both before and during the fateful closing hour at Cafe Flores, TEN AFTER CLOSING is an in depth look at the human psyche and how individuals react in crises.
Jessica Bayliss, a Ph.D. holding breakout novelist brings to life the precarious subjects of gun violence and family dysfunction in her first YA novel. Bayliss writes a complicated story involving drug use, domestic violence, destruction and death in a mature and eye-opening manner. Somehow, Bayliss manages to incorporate a level of humor into a serious story. However, at points the story seemed disjointed as it switched between two characters voices each with two perspectives. I found myself losing track of the timeline of events leading up to the shooting. I also expected a book about such a heavy topic to include more social commentary, but the characters seemed to have very one-track minds, even at the end of the violence.
I did appreciate how Bayliss wrote this book to be more than just a book about a shooting. She explored other topics within that central storyline such as friendship, familial relationships and the struggles that teens face at home, school and in their relationships.
Readers who appreciate novels such as THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS and authors like Ellen Hopkins who approach violence in a respectful and deep manner will enjoy the story written in TEN AFTER CLOSING.
Reviewed by Ellie T
Scott Bradley, ever the dutiful employee, takes the closing shift at the last minute, covering for a friend. Scott is having one of the worst nights of his life. His girlfriend just dumped him, he is stuck working to pay for his family’s bills and he can’t go home for fear of his father’s abusive anger.
Winny Sommervil, the perceived dutiful daughter, goes to the cafe at the last minute, dragged there by a friend hoping Winny and Scott will finally get together following his breakup.
As the cafe closes, Winny and Scott --- along with the sweet couple who owns the Café, Oscar and Sylvia, --- and a few remaining customers are suddenly trapped inside as a vengeful relative enters the cafe armed. Shots are fired and lives lost as the gunman and his crew demand payment. Its ten minutes after closing and Winny and Scott must figure out how to stay alive amid a dangerous hold up.
But before closing, Winny and Scott were already fighting battles. Winny’s strict parents have high expectations for their daughter, planning on her attending EMT training and then med school. Winny has other plans for her life, wanting to be an artist. In a streak of rebellion, Winny enters her project into an art show without her parents knowing. Meanwhile, Scott’s parents are anything but attentive. His father is a mean drunk, throwing tantrums every time Scott does anything wrong. His mother fails to see a problem, thinking that once Scott leaves for college, everything will be fine again. But Scott wants to change things, so one night he records a video that could change his life for the better. But Scott’s and Winny’s plans for parental rebellion are disrupted when, at 10 P.M., a gunman holds them hostage.
Told from the alternating viewpoints of Winny and Scott from both before and during the fateful closing hour at Cafe Flores, TEN AFTER CLOSING is an in depth look at the human psyche and how individuals react in crises.
Jessica Bayliss, a Ph.D. holding breakout novelist brings to life the precarious subjects of gun violence and family dysfunction in her first YA novel. Bayliss writes a complicated story involving drug use, domestic violence, destruction and death in a mature and eye-opening manner. Somehow, Bayliss manages to incorporate a level of humor into a serious story. However, at points the story seemed disjointed as it switched between two characters voices each with two perspectives. I found myself losing track of the timeline of events leading up to the shooting. I also expected a book about such a heavy topic to include more social commentary, but the characters seemed to have very one-track minds, even at the end of the violence.
I did appreciate how Bayliss wrote this book to be more than just a book about a shooting. She explored other topics within that central storyline such as friendship, familial relationships and the struggles that teens face at home, school and in their relationships.
Readers who appreciate novels such as THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS and authors like Ellen Hopkins who approach violence in a respectful and deep manner will enjoy the story written in TEN AFTER CLOSING.
Reviewed by Ellie T
August 10, 2018
TEN AFTER CLOSING is a story about some people taken hostage in a cafe. It is told from two viewpoints.
Scott is a recent high school graduate contemplating his future. He has offers with scholarships to a number of colleges but the best deal would keep him living at home for the next four years. His home is a battlefield. He is physically abused by his drunken father who lost his job over two years ago. His mother is a major enabler who is constantly making excuses for his father and ignoring the fact that her son is being abused. Scott gives most of his earning from his job at Cafe Flores to his mother to pay the bills.
Winny Sommervil is also part of an abusive family. In her case, her abuse is emotional. She feels she needs to live up to her parents high expectations in order to win their love and support. Unfortunately, they want her to be a doctor. She hasn't told them that the sight of blood makes her faint. She is secretly an artist and had received an acceptance letter to an art school. She's afraid to tell her parents about it in case they throw her out of the house.
Scott and Winny care for each other. In fact, they dated briefly until Winny became just too busy trying to meet her parents' demands to sustain a relationship with Scott. Scott then entered a relationship with Becky but the night of the hostage crisis begins with Becky dumping him because she feels she isn't a high priority with him.
Just after closing, three men enter the cafe and take the owner and her husband, Scott, Winny, and two customers hostage. One of the men is the owner's brother Ryan. Her husband Oscar had recently fired him after catching him dealing drugs out of the cafe. Sylvie, the owner, has always taken care of her brother but he resents her because he feels she hasn't done enough for him.
The hostage situation immediately turns violent. One of the customers is murdered. The men get even more enraged when they discover that a bank deposit had been made and there isn't the amount of money in the till to meet their needs to pay off their drug dealers.
I liked most of the story. I thought that the panic and inability to function that Winnie shows was a pretty realistic reaction to the trauma. I liked that Scott wanted to protect Winny and the rest of the people there. It showed his personality as someone who has to take care of others.
I didn't like the fact that the story was not told in a linear way. Different chapters went back to earlier parts of what was already an awful day for both Winny and Scott. Other chapters described what was happening during the hostage crisis. The story was violent with a number of people getting shot and a few being killed.
Fans of intense, realistic thrillers will enjoy this story.
Scott is a recent high school graduate contemplating his future. He has offers with scholarships to a number of colleges but the best deal would keep him living at home for the next four years. His home is a battlefield. He is physically abused by his drunken father who lost his job over two years ago. His mother is a major enabler who is constantly making excuses for his father and ignoring the fact that her son is being abused. Scott gives most of his earning from his job at Cafe Flores to his mother to pay the bills.
Winny Sommervil is also part of an abusive family. In her case, her abuse is emotional. She feels she needs to live up to her parents high expectations in order to win their love and support. Unfortunately, they want her to be a doctor. She hasn't told them that the sight of blood makes her faint. She is secretly an artist and had received an acceptance letter to an art school. She's afraid to tell her parents about it in case they throw her out of the house.
Scott and Winny care for each other. In fact, they dated briefly until Winny became just too busy trying to meet her parents' demands to sustain a relationship with Scott. Scott then entered a relationship with Becky but the night of the hostage crisis begins with Becky dumping him because she feels she isn't a high priority with him.
Just after closing, three men enter the cafe and take the owner and her husband, Scott, Winny, and two customers hostage. One of the men is the owner's brother Ryan. Her husband Oscar had recently fired him after catching him dealing drugs out of the cafe. Sylvie, the owner, has always taken care of her brother but he resents her because he feels she hasn't done enough for him.
The hostage situation immediately turns violent. One of the customers is murdered. The men get even more enraged when they discover that a bank deposit had been made and there isn't the amount of money in the till to meet their needs to pay off their drug dealers.
I liked most of the story. I thought that the panic and inability to function that Winnie shows was a pretty realistic reaction to the trauma. I liked that Scott wanted to protect Winny and the rest of the people there. It showed his personality as someone who has to take care of others.
I didn't like the fact that the story was not told in a linear way. Different chapters went back to earlier parts of what was already an awful day for both Winny and Scott. Other chapters described what was happening during the hostage crisis. The story was violent with a number of people getting shot and a few being killed.
Fans of intense, realistic thrillers will enjoy this story.
July 7, 2018
"I would have sworn it was a lifetime ago that these men intruded on my mundane haven, but the clock tells me it hasn’t been fifteen minutes.”
Genre: Young Adult Thriller.
Number of Pages: 288.
Perspective: Alternating First/Third.
Ten After Closing follows teenagers Winny and Scott during an armed robbery gone wrong at a family-owned cafe.
This book is told in a present timeline starting from the stick-up, alternating between Winny and Scott’s first-person perspectives. AND it also works backward from the event in their third-person perspectives. It is an interesting format. I did enjoy the way it was set-up, but it did take me awhile to get into the groove of all the different timelines and perspectives.
I don’t feel like there are too many thrillers like this meant for teens. It has the action of an adult thriller, but the backstories that connect with high school students. I love how it all tied together. It is a pretty fast read because it is filled with a lot of dialogue and action (rather than all the “fluff” that some novels have). I’d be very curious to see if she has a sequel. I still had some unanswered questions at the end, so I think she left it open for another book.
I recommend this book for lovers of “heist gone wrong” stories. Even though this is technically a young adult story, I think adults will love it too.
To read my full review, go here: http://judgingmorethanjustthecover.bl...
Genre: Young Adult Thriller.
Number of Pages: 288.
Perspective: Alternating First/Third.
Ten After Closing follows teenagers Winny and Scott during an armed robbery gone wrong at a family-owned cafe.
This book is told in a present timeline starting from the stick-up, alternating between Winny and Scott’s first-person perspectives. AND it also works backward from the event in their third-person perspectives. It is an interesting format. I did enjoy the way it was set-up, but it did take me awhile to get into the groove of all the different timelines and perspectives.
I don’t feel like there are too many thrillers like this meant for teens. It has the action of an adult thriller, but the backstories that connect with high school students. I love how it all tied together. It is a pretty fast read because it is filled with a lot of dialogue and action (rather than all the “fluff” that some novels have). I’d be very curious to see if she has a sequel. I still had some unanswered questions at the end, so I think she left it open for another book.
I recommend this book for lovers of “heist gone wrong” stories. Even though this is technically a young adult story, I think adults will love it too.
To read my full review, go here: http://judgingmorethanjustthecover.bl...
August 7, 2018
An effective thriller and character study. This is essentially a locked room story but because of the structure, which intercuts passages in the locked room with characters' backstory, it doesn't feel claustrophobic and doesn't rely strictly on tension. The characters were very easy to care about. Good, relatable kids made sympathetic with believable hopes, problems, inner conflicts, and regrets. We cared as much for how these kids' lives would play out if/when they got out of the central dangerous situation as much as we cared about how/whether they were going to get to safety. I've continued to think about them, and wonder about their lives, weeks after finishing the book, and that's meant as high praise.
August 22, 2018
I was lucky enough to get an advanced review copy of Ten After Closing by Jessica Bayliss and I am thrilled to have gotten to read this book. This is not the first time that I have read something by Ms. Bayliss, but it is the longest of her works that I have read and I really can't wait to read more novels by her. Ten After Closing is a gripping YA novel that is told from two points of view and from two timelines, one moving forward and one moving backwards to show the events leading to what happens in a cafe ten minutes after closing. This is a crime drama, but it is also so much more. It weaves a complex tale of teenagers struggling with their parents, their relationships, their lives, their futures and then being thrown into a terrifying situation on top all of that. This novel is a thrilling ride that readers of all ages should take. 5/5 Stars for sure!
February 11, 2019
Rating of 5/5, This is the first book by this author and it was absolutely AMAZING. The back and forth between Scott and Winnie and going forward and then back in time to find backstory is a unique way to handle plot and it def worked. Can't wait for the next book she writes, Definitely recommend this to anyone esp those who like YA novels
October 24, 2018
Jessica Bayliss masters the dual timeline in her exciting novel TEN AFTER CLOSING. I generally tend to be a slow reader, but the pacing of the story and the diverging timelines kept me engaged into the wee hours until I reached the exciting conclusion.
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July 5, 2021I could’ve gone with the dual perspective, but definitely WITHOUT the dual time line. In my opinion the author had a good story outline but tried for too much and fell flat. I expected more adrenaline out of the book and there wasn’t much of that either. I found myself dreading to continue reading so just decided to DNF.
September 30, 2018
What a great book! I loved this fast-paced thriller and was rooting for Winny and Scott the whole way through. This heist-gone-wrong story is told from both main character's point of views and switches from current time (after closing) to earlier in the day flash backs (before closing).
October 9, 2018
This is one heck of a book to read! Roller coaster ride for sure! But yet a great page turner! The way each page plays into the next will have you turning them as fast as you possibly can. This is a book that will leaving you wanting more even though it doesn't have a cliff hanger, it will leave you not being able to walk away from it easily!
April 2, 2024
Descent book
July 25, 2018
I've never come across a novel structured in this clever way - basically alternating between the events that happen 'ten after closing' at a cafe where the main character works, and also going further and further back into the past BEFORE the event happens. Truly unique plot and the reader is pulled along because the stakes grow higher and higher until there's no putting the book down.
September 1, 2018
Thank you for checking out my book! Here's what a few people are saying about TEN AFTER CLOSING:
“Told in alternating perspectives and timelines, this is one unnerving thriller that’s destined to make its mark.” ―Dahlia Adler for Barnes & Noble, BN TEEN Blog
"Both touching and terrifying. Be careful! You may actually burn your fingers reading TEN AFTER CLOSING. What starts as a spark turns into a raging inferno that you won't be able to put down. Wonderful characters + nail-biting tension = one fantastic book." ―Billy Taylor, author of THIEVING WEASELS
“Bayliss uses her understanding of the human psyche to inform her young adult thrillers. Her latest novel, TEN AFTER CLOSING, is a riveting hostage thriller—and a look at the life-altering changes that can come from a traumatic event.”
―Wendy Tyson for The Big Thrill, International Thriller Writers’ Association
"TEN AFTER CLOSING sinks teeth into you from page one and never lets go. Reading this YA heist-gone-wrong thriller was like being strapped to the front of a Ferrari doing 120MPH. Set two alarm clocks―Bayliss has crafted an instant page turner that will have you up way past ten. This book is one. Wild. Ride. " ―Matthew Landis, author of LEAGUE OF AMERICAN TRAITORS and THE NOT-SO-BORING LETTERS OF PRIVATE NOBODY
"When you start TEN AFTER CLOSING you will ignore friends, family, and everyone else until you've read the last page." —Shaun Harris, author of THE HEMINGWAY THIEF
"This fast-paced thriller grabs on from the first page and doesn't let go. I felt an urgent need to read Scott and Winny out of danger, yet feared every new page for all the twists and turns. TEN AFTER CLOSING does not disappoint, culminating in a heart-pounding finale that left me feeling breathless." ―Kristina McBride, author of THE BAKERSVILLE DOZEN and A MILLION TIMES GOODNIGHT
“Told in alternating perspectives and timelines, this is one unnerving thriller that’s destined to make its mark.” ―Dahlia Adler for Barnes & Noble, BN TEEN Blog
"Both touching and terrifying. Be careful! You may actually burn your fingers reading TEN AFTER CLOSING. What starts as a spark turns into a raging inferno that you won't be able to put down. Wonderful characters + nail-biting tension = one fantastic book." ―Billy Taylor, author of THIEVING WEASELS
“Bayliss uses her understanding of the human psyche to inform her young adult thrillers. Her latest novel, TEN AFTER CLOSING, is a riveting hostage thriller—and a look at the life-altering changes that can come from a traumatic event.”
―Wendy Tyson for The Big Thrill, International Thriller Writers’ Association
"TEN AFTER CLOSING sinks teeth into you from page one and never lets go. Reading this YA heist-gone-wrong thriller was like being strapped to the front of a Ferrari doing 120MPH. Set two alarm clocks―Bayliss has crafted an instant page turner that will have you up way past ten. This book is one. Wild. Ride. " ―Matthew Landis, author of LEAGUE OF AMERICAN TRAITORS and THE NOT-SO-BORING LETTERS OF PRIVATE NOBODY
"When you start TEN AFTER CLOSING you will ignore friends, family, and everyone else until you've read the last page." —Shaun Harris, author of THE HEMINGWAY THIEF
"This fast-paced thriller grabs on from the first page and doesn't let go. I felt an urgent need to read Scott and Winny out of danger, yet feared every new page for all the twists and turns. TEN AFTER CLOSING does not disappoint, culminating in a heart-pounding finale that left me feeling breathless." ―Kristina McBride, author of THE BAKERSVILLE DOZEN and A MILLION TIMES GOODNIGHT
October 21, 2018
Amazing.
RTC...
RTC...
February 1, 2019
Scott and Winny already have enough problems, but when they get stuck in the middle of a hold up at Cafe Flores, they both have to put their problems aside and fight for survival. Excellent pacing, which is an amazing feat considering the non-linear timeline. Quick and intense read that I really enjoyed!
June 6, 2018
An exciting read about a hostage situation gone very, very wrong. I enjoyed all the parts in the 'now' section; however, I found myself skimming the past sections. I'm sure they were meant to make points about the characters, but I found them dull and uninteresting and I didn't need them to understand what was happening.
A great read, one I'll heartily recommend.
"Ok, everyone," Pavan whispers to us as he comes around the counter with Twitch's coffee. "Just calm down. Those guys will be back soon. If you're saying we're still defenceless, we'd better come up with a way to remedy that."
I'm such a stupid, useless ass.
Everyone's martyr...
Except it's the martyr's job to die. With my rash decision, I may have killed us all.
A great read, one I'll heartily recommend.
"Ok, everyone," Pavan whispers to us as he comes around the counter with Twitch's coffee. "Just calm down. Those guys will be back soon. If you're saying we're still defenceless, we'd better come up with a way to remedy that."
I'm such a stupid, useless ass.
Everyone's martyr...
Except it's the martyr's job to die. With my rash decision, I may have killed us all.
May 8, 2018
Anyone who has worked at a restaurant knows closing time is the worst but this takes it to a whole new level.
“Ten Minutes After Closing” tells a story in two parts both before and after closing where Winny and Scott each have their day go from bad to worse when they find themselves hostages in a robbery. With very little time and far less chances of survival, they with the help of the other people hoping to survive the night do all they can to outsmart their captors with the hope of seeing tomorrow.
There’s a lot I liked about this book and some things that didn’t work for me but let’s start with the positive. I really liked seeing into the lives of our two main leads with how different their home situation was but how they follow a similar path when debating on what they want to do with their lives after graduation. It was easy to see why they worked together and despite their current situation you really root for them to make it at the end.
What bothered me is the after closing section is told in chronological order but the before is told backwards through time ending with the morning and I’m not sure if that helped support certain aspects of the narrative when things were happening in the present.
The biggest concern is the resolution to the domestic violence story line which was very upsetting I know there was an attempt to tie it back to the main antagonist and their childhood but I did not like ending this book with the abuse going unreported in order to protect the perpetrator because coming forward would “shame him” so therefore the main character accepts that he’s not only going to continue to suffer violence but that he will be blamed for it by the parent who isn’t actually beating him. That’s a huge misstep for me and for anyone who has seen that kind of violence firsthand the victim deserves justice and the abuser deserves punishment and I hope that can be fixed prior to publication.
This book is a bit of a whirlwind with unrequited romance in the middle of a café turned war zone but it keeps you on your toes and makes you question who you’d be if god forbid you were ever in a situation like this.
**special thanks to the publishers and edelweiss for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!**
“Ten Minutes After Closing” tells a story in two parts both before and after closing where Winny and Scott each have their day go from bad to worse when they find themselves hostages in a robbery. With very little time and far less chances of survival, they with the help of the other people hoping to survive the night do all they can to outsmart their captors with the hope of seeing tomorrow.
There’s a lot I liked about this book and some things that didn’t work for me but let’s start with the positive. I really liked seeing into the lives of our two main leads with how different their home situation was but how they follow a similar path when debating on what they want to do with their lives after graduation. It was easy to see why they worked together and despite their current situation you really root for them to make it at the end.
What bothered me is the after closing section is told in chronological order but the before is told backwards through time ending with the morning and I’m not sure if that helped support certain aspects of the narrative when things were happening in the present.
The biggest concern is the resolution to the domestic violence story line which was very upsetting I know there was an attempt to tie it back to the main antagonist and their childhood but I did not like ending this book with the abuse going unreported in order to protect the perpetrator because coming forward would “shame him” so therefore the main character accepts that he’s not only going to continue to suffer violence but that he will be blamed for it by the parent who isn’t actually beating him. That’s a huge misstep for me and for anyone who has seen that kind of violence firsthand the victim deserves justice and the abuser deserves punishment and I hope that can be fixed prior to publication.
This book is a bit of a whirlwind with unrequited romance in the middle of a café turned war zone but it keeps you on your toes and makes you question who you’d be if god forbid you were ever in a situation like this.
**special thanks to the publishers and edelweiss for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!**
June 29, 2018
This was an exciting book, filled with lots of action, drama, and romance. When Scott, Winsom, Pavan, and a handful of others all get caught up in a hostage situation with three young men who are desperate for money in a tiny little restaurant, Scott tries to find a way to get them free and safe. But with a dead cell phone, one dead body, and the only real fighter in the small group taken hostage who was a veitnam war veteran shot in the leg…their chances aren’t looking so good.
The plot goes on, revealing what happened to everyone before the hostage scene took place. To be honest, I was more interested in the ‘after’ chapters than the ‘befores’, and it also alternates between characters Scott and Winsom, aka Winny.
The story is a rapid-paced, action filled adventure that’s full of life or death situations. I really liked the character Scott quite a bit, though his home life situation calls for a trigger warning of child abuse, whereupon the father physically abuses Scott on near daily basis. Scott is desperate to escape, and find his way to college, but with the lack of funds holding him back, he winds up working out of a small restaurant that barely makes any money…the same restaurant that he gets held hostage in, with his friends and a few customers that he barely knows.
It’s an entertaining read, and I’m sad that it took me this long to get to it. I liked the book enough that I’m definitely willing to read more from the author in the future. Overall, I’m giving this book 4/5 stars.
{Review also posted on my blog}
The plot goes on, revealing what happened to everyone before the hostage scene took place. To be honest, I was more interested in the ‘after’ chapters than the ‘befores’, and it also alternates between characters Scott and Winsom, aka Winny.
The story is a rapid-paced, action filled adventure that’s full of life or death situations. I really liked the character Scott quite a bit, though his home life situation calls for a trigger warning of child abuse, whereupon the father physically abuses Scott on near daily basis. Scott is desperate to escape, and find his way to college, but with the lack of funds holding him back, he winds up working out of a small restaurant that barely makes any money…the same restaurant that he gets held hostage in, with his friends and a few customers that he barely knows.
It’s an entertaining read, and I’m sad that it took me this long to get to it. I liked the book enough that I’m definitely willing to read more from the author in the future. Overall, I’m giving this book 4/5 stars.
{Review also posted on my blog}
December 31, 2018
I would have liked to know what happened with Scott and his family after all this, other than that I enjoyed the book and how everything was wrapped up
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