One Two Three

I'm generally a sucker for novels involving dance or gymnastics - myself being a dancer at a very young age, and a gymnast for many years. So the novel One Two Three, by Elodie Nowodazkij, seemed right up my alley. What I didn't expect was the overabundance of romantic relationships woven in the story - I'm generally not a fan of romance novels. However, I still really enjoyed the novel and zipped through it in two days.

Natayla is seventeen years old, and is getting ready to start high school in a new state, a new town, at a new house. Well, kind of. It's at her grandmother's house, where her and her mom moved to after her father was killed in a car accident that nearly took Natayla's life as well. Nata used to be a dancer, an amazing dancer, but the car accident ruined her knee, and there was little hope that she'd ever be able to train as a dancer again. Nata was trying to come to terms with this, as well as her mother's alcoholism getting really bad while trying to settle into a town she'd only known from the summer's she spent there as a child. The one good thing was her best friend Becca, who was always there for her, even when Nata pushed her away after the accident.

The author does a great job of showing the character's emotions, and doesn't let Nata hold anything back. I felt with Nata the raw emotions she was going through, even though I've never been in a terrible car accident or lost my father.

Nata's first day of school isn't what she expected though, a boy named Tonio won't leave her alone, even though Nata wants nothing to do with her. But throughout the novel, he won't go away and Nata slowly finds herself falling for him. Their romance is a bit like Perfect Chemistry, but we also have Becca's love interest blossoming that changes it up a little.

Nata is scared though. She won't do anything that means leaving her mom home alone longer than she has to, because she needs to be there for her. She often finds her mom passes out on the floor, one two many bottles of alcohol. Nata yearns for a normal family situation like Becca has, and actually finds great comfort when Becca's mom Mina gets involved and sends Nata's mom to rehab. Nata gets to move in with Becca, and finally feels like she has a real family taking care of her. Her parents used to fight so often, and Nata always wished her parents were more like Becca's.

But when a family secret comes bubbling to the surface, and Nata knows everyone is hiding something, she becomes angry and not being able to deal with her emotions, turns to alcohol. She's knows it's bad - look at what it did to her mother - but she liked the numbness is gives her. Luckily, Becca's parents step in and put a stop to that before she falls down the rabbit hole, and it's only with her strong support system - including Tonio - that she is able to deal with the big family secret that comes out and work towards forgiving her mother.

This novel had so much information and events that I barely scratched the surface. What is the big family secret? Will Nata ever dance again? What eventually happens between Nata and Tonio?

Pick up this novel NOW to find out :)

Blind

The novel Blind, by Rachel DeWoskin, actually took me quite a while to read. Maybe it was because I was busy with school and work and life, or maybe the story didn't progress as fast as I wish it would have. However, I still really liked the novel - the author took time to develop all of the characters really well and while the plot was a bit broad, was well put together.

We enter Emma's life a year after she went blind from a fireworks accident in her tiny, nothing-bad-happens town. She was the talk of town for the entire year, as she struggled to relearn how to live her life without being able to see anything. She had to switch schools to a school for the blind, that focused more on how to do certain things that come easily to sighted people than focusing purely on schoolwork. Emma hated it there, and her main goal was to make it back to "normal" public high school. And as we enter Emma's story, she is ready to start her first day back to "normal" high school. She has her dog Spark by her side, a paraprofessional to help her out and her best friend Logan to help her. Things are different though still, she has to read in braille, and her para has to tell her what the teacher is writing on the board so that Emma knows what is going on. But Emma is getting by, until another huge event rocks her tiny nothing-bad-happens town. A teenager in the community goes missing, and soon turns up dead at the lake. What was a kidnapping situation is now clearly a suicide situation, and the town struggled to understand.

The rest of the novel really focuses on the kids of the town coming together at an old abandoned village to talk about Claire, the girl who committed suicide, and try to come to terms with it. They meet often, at night, and while fights are common, they're all there for each other to try and understand the tragedy that shook their already fragile town.

I feel the author did a really good job of developing the characters in this novel  - Emma comes from a large family, yet I felt I got to know each and every one of her siblings on a more personal level. We get to see how Emma interacts with different people, from her mom who blames herself and thinks hovering will stop anything else bad from happening to her twin sisters who are polar opposites. We learn about the mistake Emma made at her blind school with her friends she was developing there, and how she works to recorrect her wrongdoings towards the end of the novel.

This is a coming of age novel as Emma rediscovers and redefines herself as someone who is blind, a teenager who is blind and quickly approaching adulthood.

Probably my favorite part of Emma's story was her development of synesthesia, or the ability to hear words as colors. Each word or voice that Emma heard translated into a different color or scene in her mind. This disorder actually exists, and I really enjoyed the author delving into this disorder that is often not talked about.

DeWoskin did a really good job with wrapping up this novel, and her use of descriptive words and strong characters really enhanced this novel. It was amazing to me how well I could envision the scenes of everything, since Emma couldn't describe for herself what she could see! Emma had to rely on everyone else to tell her what was going on, if she couldn't depend on her other senses to let her know.

Naked

     Naked, by Stacey Trombley is a hauntingly beautiful novel. Naked is Trombley's debut novel, and an excellent one at that. I was actually reading a different book that was slow going, and raced through Naked in a couple of days. This novel was just published on July 7th, so go pick up your copy today!
     Exquisite is a 16 year old prostitute living in New York City, no stranger to sex and police stations, for that matter. But Exquisite wasn't always a prostitute - she used to be a girl named Anna who lived an hour outside of the city with her parents until she ran away at the age of 13. The novel opens up with Exquisite once again in a police station, but this time is different. A lady is sitting across from her who she decides is definitely NOT an officer. Her instincts are right - this lady is anything but, trying to coax information out of her without being violent - trying to help her. This lady, Sarah, soon offers Exquisite a way out of her prostitute life, which she is more than ready for. Exquisite had been living with a guy named Luis who sold her to men for money until he was done with her and sold her to a pimp, abandoning her. Sarah knows that Exquisite is really Anna, and wants to help reunite her with her family. After some time, Exquisite relents, and confirms she is Anna, and did run away from home when she was 13. Her parents are already at the station to take her home, but Anna is less than thrilled that this is the solution. There was a reason after all that Anna ran away from home at 13 and never came back.
    Anna goes back home, walking on eggshells. Not much has changed, just that her father views her as an even more vile human being and her mother is still submissive to everything her father says. Anna hasn't known parental love since she was a young child, and it doesn't appear moving back in after three years is going to help. But Anna has to move on, including going back to school and not getting into any more trouble. She soon starts school - a freshman in high school at 16 - and the rumors are there from the start. She constantly is stared and sneered at, hearing the words "whore" and "slut" flung at her from every direction. She doesn't know how she is going to handle it, until Jackson enters her life. Jackson lives down the street from Anna, and they soon become good friends. Jackson doesn't believe the rumors and their friendship blossoms. Anna feels safe with him, and Jackson stands up for her time and time again. But Jackson doesn't know the truth of Anna's part, and Anna is terrified to have him find out.
    It isn't until more and more threatening mysterious notes are dropped off in Anna's locker that she becomes concerned. She is finally fitting in - her classes are making sense, her relationship with her mother is improving, she has a few friends and she has rediscovered her passion for art. But these notes dropped off in her locker threaten the new life Anna has built for herself - they threaten to expose her, and Anna knows they are serious because they address her by her street name Exquisite.
    What happens when Anna is put in a situation where she is alone with the mysterious man putting notes in her locker? Will Anna be able to tell Jackson the truth and still keep him as a potential boyfriend? Will Anna be able to overcome her past and move on with her future.
    Find out when you pick up a copy of Naked, a choice you won't regret! :)

The Choice

      The Choice, by Allison J. Kennedy, is a wonderful masterpiece that everyone should experience reading. However, disclaimer, this book does deal with heavy issues surrounding trauma, and could potentially be quite triggering. When I received the ARC for this beautiful novel, there was a discretion warning on there, which I was very pleased they included. But back to the masterpiece.

      May is your typical high school teenager, with two best friends, a little sister and an independent personality. At the beginning of the novel, one of May's best friends, Addison, is in Italy exploring her heritage alone leaving the best friend trio out of sorts. So May and Danica are navigating high school together, with some drama thrown in. Their lives are normal and joyful, with thoughts of the future looming happily in heir minds. But one day, May is pressured by Danica to attend a party, and being the good best friend she is, she reluctantly goes ahead and attends. But that night May senses trouble and wants to leave, and when Danica breaks the promise that she'd leave with May if May wanted to,trouble brews and their lives are changed forever. After Danica is hurt, May is frustrated and tries to get away from the party I an upstairs bedroom. However, tragedy strikes when May is raped, and time stands still. 

      May rushes out of the house, trying to comprehend what has just happened to her, and without explaining why, drags Danica out with her. When the two have a knockout fight that same night, May is left alone and traumatized. She tells no one. The emotions that Adwen were able to portray in May's character are raw, passionate, encompassing and poetic. You can empathize with May in an uncanny way, experiencing how victims feel when everything was taken away from them without permission. May is sick of days, won't talk to anyone and retreats inward. She loses weight and can't feel anything besides sick and disgusted. 

      Addison finally returns home from her amazing trip to Italy, and May starts to pickup a little with her best friend by her side. She goes back to school, but has to endure sitting in the same room as her rapist for most of her classes. Addison soon (correctly) guesses what happens the "night she lost her virginity", and experiences May's pain with her. 

      In the background, May has started to heal a tiny bit by riding and taking care of her horse, a lifelong passion. At the horse barn, May spots a new guy riding a horse around the stables. She tries to hide, not anywhere near ready to get involved with the male species, but her interest is piqued at his natural ability. When he runs into her "accidentally," she's stunned that she is so relaxed around him. Alex has been through a lot in her life, and although at the time has no idea what trauma May has just endured, takes to her immediately. Alex is new to the area, his grandfather just passed away and as the only living relative left, he inherited his bookstore. After a cautious invitation is extended to May to come see the bookstore, May warily agrees. The more May gets to know Alex, the more comfortable she is, surprising herself. Even after they share their first kiss, May isn't terrified and still wants to be around Alex. Addison is concerned though - she thinks May is taking this way too fast so soon after her traumatic experience and warns May to be cautious. May understands this though, she just is enjoying feeling safe and comfortable to Alex's presence.

     But more is in store for May when she thinks she may be pregnant. She missed her always on time period, and then got some spot bleeding for a couple of days before it went away. She panics and calls Addison, and after a positive pregnancy test, May breaks down. She wants this child out of her - NOW. Abortion is the only thing on her mind, she can't believe the luck she has. After Addison texts her and her mom sees the text message, her whole family is in on what happened. But she doesn't let them know that she was raped, so they say hurtful things about her having unprotected sex and being unsafe, leading to becoming pregnant. Especially when she tells them she doesn't even remember who did it. Why is May protecting her rapist? She gently tells Alex, amazed he still wants to be near her, since she considers herself "damaged goods" now. But Alex is supportive more than ever, and just wants to be there for May. May is falling for Alex, and Alex seems to have already fallen for May.

    Addison is whole-heartily against May getting an abortion, and wants her to reconsider. But her amended, but still shaky relationship with Danica has improved, and she agrees to go with her to the clinic along with her mother while she gets the procedure done. More trials are ahead for May though. May starts to rethink if this is really the right thing to do, and in the meantime something tragic happens that will again change May's life forever.

   Is May ever going to be okay? Can she get through and past this trauma she's endured? Where is Alex and May's relationship going to end up?

    Kennedy gives short glimpses into May's future throughout the book, enough to keep you knowing that May will endure and will survive, and even come out happy on the other side. But these glimpses are infrequent and mysterious, until it all comes together at the end.

    There are so many twists and turns and emotions flooding throughout this masterpiece of a novel, I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy and read it cover to cover again. Pick up this novel right now and read it! You won't regret it, it has quickly made its way onto my short list of favorite books of all time.

(Sorry about the two day delay, apparently I didn't figure out how to work Blogger's "publish on this day" function, Ugh!)