This debut novel, Slingshot, by Mercedes Helnwin, starts out a little rough. Gracie is a 15 year old teenager who attends boarding school in a less than glamorous, inland Florida location. Her Dad pays to send her there - and that's about all he does, since he has a whole other family in California. She's on the bottom of the totem pole and has no friends going into this year.
The opening scene doesn't seem to contribute a lot to the plot or Gracie's overall character development and seems swept under the rug a little bit too much. It's issues are concerning and need to be addressed. After we move on from the almost teacher-student relationship, the novel goes to great places! I loved how real the novel could be with issues of loneliness and coming of age. I really enjoying the friendship that Wade and Gracie developed first before it blossomed into more, and was devastated when it shattered into pieces. The ending broke me as well, I could feel Gracie's pain as she was dealing with heartbreak and desertion. A solid four stars from me!
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