#ChildrensLit Summer | #KidsBooks Summer | #KidsLit Summer
#SummerReads | #SummerReading | #iReadYA
+ my own: #MyYASummer | #JorieLovesYA
(*) If you know of others, kindly add them to the comments!
reading from 1st July – September, 2024
→ DUE NOTE: Some of the books featured on #MyYASummer Reading List were books sent to me for review consideration at some point over the past years. A few were bookaways I won from the authors themselves. And, one was gifted to me by my parents (ie. Columbine’s Tale). Most of this post was written during the pandemic and shortly thereafter – I found it in my Drafts and decided since EVERYTHING within this post still applies to where I am right now as a reader and allows a bit more insight into my readerly life of the recent past and how long a road I’ve been taking to read more Young Adult Fiction – I decided to leave it nearly untouched and/or edited as it was originally written. Thereby consider this a TIME CAPSULE post which then shifts FORWARD to now.
A bit of background:
I have been wanting to read more #ChildrensLit for absolute ages – each time I would get close to tucking into these stories, something would divert my attention, and more hours were lost against the clock. This cycle has been repeating itself off/on for more years now than I dare say – if you take into consideration [2017] was the year my father recovered from his stroke (wherein I became his caregiver). Soon thereafter, I experienced a lot of different health afflictions mixed with a steady increase of frequencies in regard to my chronic migraines from [2018/19]. [2020] was the year which began on a rocky foundation – the fires were out of control in Australia, Puerto Rico had too many earthquakes and the whole world seemed to be holding in its breath. We had no idea what Spring would bring and that was an untold blessing in of itself. Uniquely enough – [2020] was also the year I saw a serious reduction in my migraines – wherein my first one which truly affected me was the weekend before I started co-hosting our 3rd Year of #WyrdAndWonder. Except of course for when June eclipsed that statistic and I was battling through more migraines, allergy attacks and toxic air issues than any person ought to have to deal with in a singular week. (see also tweets)
I had other things happening in the background of Jorie Loves A Story – both my parents had ER visits in March 2020; Mum and I were struck down by a serious cold in February 2020 (for three weeks!) and April 2020 to be honest just felt like a month to find a way to breathe again as March was seriously too overwhelming to process as it was lived. Not just for us as a family – but as a nation, as a global community and as a new path towards a future we’re all still sorting out as we shift out of the cycle of Covid-19. Nor how civil unrest and the cry for reform in social justice would write new chapters in American Civil Rights History in Spring and Summer, 2020.
Cue why March (2020) was far more involved than a global pandemic: I was so physically and emotionally spent by April 2020, I was streaming British & Aussie crime dramas via #AcornTV and had a true lack of interest and focus on reading, blogging and being socially bookish. Not that that is a bad thing – it’s just that I needed some personal space to re-group and find my groove again. We all do when we have little crises which arise in your everyday life. Of the two visits (to the ER) in [March 2020] – Mum’s was the most dire and thankfully had a happy ending. She’s nearly fully recovered from her injuries, and she did not have a TBI which was what put my heart in a lurch the moment the ER doc braced me for that possibility on the phone. Seriously – life happens in a series of blinks, you barely have time to breathe and have the courage to face whatever comes your way.
I have been working earnestly towards erasing my backlogue (of reviews) for several years and this challenge is helping me to become re-inspired to read after seasons of personal angst. Yet at the same time, I’ve been actively reducing my booked reviews and blog tours; a carry-over from [2016] when I first started to pull back my schedules on Jorie Loves A Story whilst being more mindful of what I want to read per each new Season which arrives which inspires me to seek out the genres I love most to soak inside.
Rewinding a bit: Let’s face it – JUNE [2018] was a wash-out. It barely blinked into view before it extinguished out of sight – I barely posted anything during its duration. The one thing I did accomplish was finding a way to bring ART back into my life and to resume KNITTING giving myself a way to put some Zen into my downtime. Especially imperative as I was ill more than well in Spring [2018 & 2019] as I had 5x migraines during #WyrdAndWonder Year 2 (May, 2019). It had been my hope on the arrival of the monsoon Summer rains starting as we entered into JULY (2019), I could hope my seasonal allergies would start to relent and give me back the clarity of calm I’ve missed all SPRING (for two years).
FAST FORWARD: [2019] marked the first Summer since [2015] I felt I could re-enter the stories and yet the only review I was able to release Summer [2019] when I first conceived this plan to read the initial batch of #MyYASummer was “Summer by Summer”. It proved to be a harder book to read than I first expected and yet, I still have good memories of the journey it took me on. Thus, this remains the ‘first’ book of this personal reading challenge and the rest was meant to follow suit this Summer (of 2020) – as I re-embark on my journey into reading Young Adult stories throughout the volcanic Summery months of June, July, August & September. [we’re just going to overlook the fact the first weeks of this re-genesis of a personal reading challenge was a bit delayed due to double shifts at work, volcanic heat and intensive lightning storms!]
Over the years from [2015-2020] I’ve strived to get current on my backlogue – encouraging myself with different readathons, personal challenges and goals and/or participating in book blogosphere events wherein I could interact with this beautiful community and/or find encouragement to reach my own goals as I move forward and backwards on my readerly journey. Each of these five years has held its own share of woes and challenges – as each of us has a lot of LIFE being lived #behindtheblog – yet, I have optimistically held the hope each new season, each new year would be the season and/or year wherein I could find the JOY again in spending time with these stories.
In August, of 2021 I did release another #MyYASummer review which was for the novel: The Twin Stars (see also Review) which was a very emotional read for me as well. It seems to be tradition now that each story I attempt to read for this personal challenge is not only emotionally convicting but difficult at times to get through the stories themselves.
Time Shift to 2024: I’d love to say I was able to host #MyYASummer during the last four years but despite an attempt to co-host this lovely event of mine with a fellow book blogger whose blog hasn’t been updated in a few years – I haven’t been able to bring this goal of mine into reality. Most of this post was written ages ago now but it gives a lot of insight into my readerly life and the angst of trying to focus on stories I dearly wanted to read during moments of my life which were far more adverse and challenging than originally thought. I decided to resume my readings of Young Adult Lit this Summer and even then, that particular goal shifted again. I had my sights on starting in June not August – but alas, I decided, ANY YA book I can read before the 30th of September is going to be a win for me as a reader because I’ve wanted to have a microfocus on this section of Literature for so many years now! It is my hope this kicks off a new journey each Summer (ie. starting in June hopefully in 2025!) and a tradition of reading YA for four dedicated months.
I look forward to your visits as I release my ruminations on these stories whilst if you have any suggestions for #mustreads after those stories are discussed, I’d love to hear your comments & receive a revolving list of recommendations. Kindly read my Review Policy in case you are not aware of my personal bookish turn-offs, etc. As I am rather particularly particular about the stories, I seek out to read and/or review.
The exact order of how I will be reading these stories is UNKNOWN as I am simply going to be picking them up to read and seeing how I get on with them. I will say that all of the titles I’ve chosen to read this year are very emotional reads and with intense storylines attached to them.
#MyYASummer Reads as they generate over the years:
- Summer by Summer by Heather Burch | #SRC2015 via #YASRC 2015 | read in 2019
- The Twin Stars by Bridgette D. Portman | read in 2021
- Birds on a Wire by Ellen Plotkin Mulholland | DNF August, 2024
- Columbine’s Tale by Rachel Nightingale
- American Ballerina by Nancy Lorenz | sequel to The Strength of Ballerinas
- Chasing Eveline by Leslie Hauser | #ReviewPit 2019
- How the Light Gets In by Katy Upperman | publisher ARC 2019
- Boys and Girls Screaming by Kern Carter
- The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill
Why this self-directed readathon is helping me as a reader:
It is allowing me to focus on Young Adult authors I’ve crossed paths within the past as well as in the present. I’ve been a dedicated reader of YA stories for a long time and despite falling behind on some of the stories I receive for review consideration over the last several years, I still have a fondness for reading YA and celebrating YA. Which is one reason I wanted to get this dedicated focus on YA off the ground for a long time now on Jorie Loves A Story. Focusing on the stories which interest me to read whilst reading both mainstream releases and Indie authors alike – which is how I love to read overall.
My #24PagePreview is a feature of Jorie Loves A Story wherein I share my initial thoughts on behalf of the stories I am reading for review consideration and/or considering reading outside of a review opportunity. These are those initial reactions and ruminative thoughts as I first discover a story and the authors’ style for telling it. They oft lead to fuller reviews and showcases and sometimes, the stories take a bit of time to circle back inside. It is simply my personal way of talking about stories ahead of reading them in full and hopefully inspire other readers to pick up the stories themselves to see if they’re a good fit for them as a reader, too.
Columbine’s Take (book two of The Tales of Tarya) by Rachel Nightingale
This novel isn’t pictured on this post, as it was already selected to be read this Summer for #MyYASummer showcases as it is the sequel to Harlequin’s Riddle. Two years have slipped past me since I first read this series – part of that has a lot to do with the medical crises and changes in my Dad’s life during that same period of time. My family has undergone a lot of change in two years and that also had an effect on my reading and blogging life as things like that do. This is a very emotional charged series for me to read, too, and with everything else going on that was equally emotional to process and get through, it was a story I just pushed forward. This Summer, I didn’t want more time to slip past me and the series I loved reading which is why I had already announced it is in the queue to be read via this Insta post about my Current and Next reads.
The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill
(*) I believe this was a bookaway I won years ago and never had the proper chance to read.
The publication year is the year I began my book blog in 2013 and the dedication references Roseanna White of whom was an author I was following during the first years of being a book blogger. I am thinking I won this book somehow from a bookaway I no longer remember the details of sadly. And, I’ve just learnt this has a sequel called: The Unlikely Debut of Ellie Sweet! And, she’s written a few novels of Historical Fiction which is totally my jam as most of the stories I’ve reviewed over the last 11 years were Historical Fiction releases – so, there is much more for me to discover by this author!
I was quite impressed with how readily Morrill brings us all back to high school and the insanity of being there amongst the anguish of teen life. Ellie is in class and despite trying to keep a low profile with her fellow peers, we enter her life on the day where someone decides to put her in the spotlight and inadvertedly outs her on her crush. She happens to have feelings for one of the more popular boys and although, his feelings are unknown at the beginning of the story – he plays into the hand of the boy who outed her by calling her sweetheart and making her internally regret being there that day. You have to wonder what is going through the minds of boys – especially if they knew it was a joke why make the girl feel worse by egging on the joker? Teenagers. Aye.
As Morrill shifts between the scenes in school with Ellie’s homelife, we start to see the fuller picture of her world. Ellie is a shortened name for Gabrielle which is such a beautiful name – it felt as if a part of Ellie was wistful about what her life might have been like if people had called her by her full name instead of the cute nickname. A lot of her personality feels as if she’s trapped living a life that isn’t fulfilling her but rather a life that is required to be lived right now as she’s still in high school and has all the dramas to go along with it. Including the absent best friend who had chosen to follow a different kind of crowd and do the kinds of things that can get girls into more trouble than their asking to receive. For Ellie has other interests and one of them is being a writer. Morrill beautifully writes in this part of the story well – by inserting a glimpse into the story Ellie is writing in-line with what is happening to Ellie creates a wicked fusion of girl, book and lived life.
Ellie is on the cusp of a major upset in her social life – as her childhood best friend Lucy is relocating as her parents are going through a divorce. For Ellie, the change will upend everything from her status in school and the social connections they used to share. You can tell she’s on the fringes of not knowing if she can handle the change as much as Lucy is withdrawn and upset about the prospect of switching high schools and having to sort out a whole new life and world herself. Lucy is far more emotional and sensitive to life than even Ellie first realised herself and both girls’ have to sort out for themselves their new normal without each other. Yet, whilst all this is happening Ellie has a renewed sense of purpose with her writing and with the encouragement of her critique partner, you gathered the hope that perhaps this change would be the one that would give Ellie the courage to pursue her own path rather than constantly be worried about what her peers felt about her instead.
Final Thoughts and Takeaways:
I felt in-step with the story and definitely want to find out what happens next in respect to Ellie’s journey as a budding writer who’s in the closet with her family about the whole affair, too. I’d like to continue to see her evolution as a writer but also, to see if she can separate herself from her peer group to where their antics and insults won’t affect her as much as they do now as she’s still within that sphere of orbit where their thoughts and actions can sting her heart. It has a good pace and is definitely written in an evergreen way to where each generation then and now can relate to it.
Birds on a Wire by Ellen Plotkin Mulholland
(*) This was a bookaway I won years ago and never had the proper chance to read.
Uniquely this was also published the year I started my book blog: 2013.
The other novel this author has released is This Girl Climbs Trees. I remember our paths crossed online soon after I launched my blog Jorie Loves A Story. I’m not sure how our paths and communications ended or became unconnected rather but somewhere along the route of time we lost touch with each other. Sadly, her novel has sat unread on my shelf for too long. Which is why I also wanted to develop this concentration of reading of YA and sometimes, YA lingers on my TBR and/or on my shelf and time just gets away from me to return to those stories to read.
I had a bit of trouble gaining traction into this story – I remember at the time, as I was in contact with the author, I understood a bit more about Birds on a Wire. However, as I first opened the novel – the very first chapter had a different kind of tempo to it and a different kind of delivery to introduce us to Matt, the title character of whom is of high school age. Mulholland has a unique style of writing – it flows differently and is set with a different kind of tone of narrative too. I felt a bit muddled and lost in the opening chapter(s) because of how the story was unfolding. I also felt a bit misdirected as I thought Matt might have been in a coma at first rather than simply asleep and didn’t wish to wake for another day of school. It was very disconcerting because usually I can tether myself into the vibe of a story and sort out the details as I proceed forward into it.
Final Thoughts and Takeaways:
Unfortunately for me, this is going to be a DNF. I simply can’t get into the story at this time and the ways in which the story is told is difficult for me to follow. By the time I was reading about Matt’s mother and how tragic it was her parents passed when she was 15 – I felt nearly connected to the story until I turnt a page and was taken back into Matt’s current life in high school. He was talking with his friends’ and despite the language being stronger than I prefer in YA, the whole story just didn’t work for me. It just felt too jarring and kept switching perspectives a bit too much as well. If we had been rooted in Lee’s (Matt’s Mom) life at the beginning – learning about how she had Matt as a teenager herself and had a bit more backstory on her and Janie’s life (her sister) that might have anchoured it more for me as a reader. Or if that had been used as a flashback sequence ahead of Matt’s own timeline even then I think I might have enjoyed this story more than I did now. Especially since that whole sequence about Lee held me in the grip of the drama and emotion pooling off the pages – it was such a strong part of the story.
Plus, alcohol plays a strong role in the story – for various reasons but it all felt disjointed and disconnected from the flow of the story, too. It was like reading facts about a person’s lineage but without the roots of what connected those sections to the current storyline. In other words, it was just a miss for me as a reader as much as I wanted to feel anchoured into the story, I felt it was too difficult to follow and find connection. Perhaps it would suit someone else better than me. Or maybe I will reattempt to read this again and see if I can find the rhythm within it.
Boys and Girls Screaming by Kern Carter
(*) I received a complimentary copy of this novel for review consideration.
The author has a new release this year (2024) called: And Then There Was Us. This was a novel that was pitched to me to review by a publicist, and I remember at the time that it was going to be a different kind of novel for me to read. I don’t usually seek out stories about loss and abandonment as they tend to be dearly hard to read and get through – I try to read a variety of stories, but sometimes certain subjects are harder for me as a reader, and I do shy away from some topics and stories overall. However, there was something unique about this particular story – including the tone of voice the writer uses which inspired me to want to seek it out to read. I only regret it took me a bit of extra time to get inside it.
The story opens with us learning that Candace’s mother can’t handle raising her any longer and simply walks out the door whilst her daughter is painting in her bedroom. The scene pulls at your heart because how can a mother simply ‘walk out’ on their own daughter? Without calling someone to watch her or to take over caring for her in her absence? She just simply ‘left’. Blessedly Carter didn’t leave us wondering for too long about what would happen to Candace or to start the story on a harder note if something had happened to Candace whilst she was abandoned. The story quickly shifts forward to where her schoolteacher Mrs Heard finds her and takes her home. I had a feeling she might adopt her because I’ve read stories about how teachers have adopted their students when their parents are unable to take care of them. This marked a turning point for Candace – of where she was welcomed into a home where people put her needs first and cared dearly for her as parents should.
Her childhood friends of Ever and Jericho quickly became mainstays in her life – where they would be at each other’s homes and spent most of their hours together. The story is very fluid and fast-paced – as there seemed to be a need for acceleration to get each of their stories into the setting where their lives changed together which would be high school. Each of them was trying to sort through their own traumas and tragedies in their lives – for Ever and Jericho they lost their father too early as much as Candace had lost her entire family. Candace only knew her mother, but the rest of her family never sought her out or asked to be involved with her life either. I felt that that would be a secondary loss for her even if she wasn’t able to process it all.
You’re pulled into this story quite immediately – as the story just flows onto the pages Carter has written. You can also tell he’s keeping a bit of the story back from the reader – as there are harder moments to come as he focused on setting the stage for it all first and then, I knew he would let the story get even more real about the aftereffects of the traumas these teenagers had endured. We’re just starting to see things from Jericho’s point of view, too, when I reached page twenty-five – as he has been a quieter presence in the story up until now.
Final Thoughts and Takeaways:
I will definitely continue reading this story as it is emotionally convicting and written with such a strong voice in Carter’s approach to the journey of the characters themselves. I appreciated how he anchoured us into their past and allowed us to see how their lives started to become entwined before revealling the tragedy and loss which would affect Ever and Jericho. He used the lens of the characters to tell part of their stories, too, giving them a chance to be focused on for the reader’s perspective which I felt was a smart approach as well. Shifting from one character to another allowed us to gain more insight into what each character was thinking, feeling or experiencing too. I have a feeling this one is going to be a very emotional read by the time I conclude it as well.
How the Light Gets In by Katy Upperman
(*) I received a complimentary copy of this novel for review consideration.
The author has a new release in 2025 called: Everything I Promised You. I remember requesting this book for review ahead of it being published. What I can’t remember is what happened that derailed my efforts to read it back then, though for a lot of years as a book blogger I did suffer from chronic migraines and other health afflictions that delayed my reviews and showcases. That could have been what happened with this title, too.
We enter Callie’s life on the heels of her parents giving her an intervention and a choice: she’s either destined to return to life by the ocean with her Aunt Lucy or she has to endure a camp in Montana which could break her soul and spirit even though its intention is to restore both. I wasn’t surprised when she took the option to go to her Aunt’s even if she’s not entirely comfortable with that choice either as it is attached to the memories, she shares with her sister whose passed away. Her sister’s death hasn’t been revealled yet as we first begin reading the story of How the Light Gets In as we find Callie at a crossroads – her life isn’t working for her right now, as she’s not motivated to live it at the same level of light as she had been before her sister died. Her grief and her sorrow are choking the light out of her and even though she recognises that in herself, she’s not sure how to change it either.
Her mother I felt (although a passive non-verbal presence in the story) might have been able to help her a bit more if she was given a voice in the marriage. Her father is strict, stern and non-bending and definitely didn’t show compassion or empathy as he spoke to his daughter whilst in the presence of his wife. You definitely could tell he was the ruler of the house and whatever he said not only went but it was not to be argued with nor discussed. I had a feeling her mother was shouldering her own struggles and couldn’t do more to help her daughter if she wanted too.
Callie is a shell of her former self as we observe her as she travels with her father to her Aunts. He barely says anything as they make their way to the house and a part of me felt he was worried for his wife. It is finally revealled that his wife has become an alcoholic whilst Callie has become addicted to smoking marijuana. Neither of the women can express what has locked them inside themselves or can vocalise a way forward from their grief either. They’re both on their own journey but only one of them is taking a tentative step towards finding the grace to survive their mutual loss. You truly feel gutted for Callie – how everything in her life has shifted and changed since the day her sister died. Even without the details of how she died you can feel the vacuum of loss which was created in her absence in her life.
Her Aunt Lucy on the other hand has a vibrancy of life about her – she’s quite the special spirit, choosing to embrace second chances and take a leap of faith. As evident by the fact she chooses to undertake a renovation of an old Victorian house and turn it into a functioning Bed and Breakfast business. You can see why Callie could look up to her Aunt for both courage and inspiration but also why choosing to be here could also make her down spiral back inside herself and the darkness which has been consuming her for the last year.
There is a mischievous cat at her Aunts and there is a hinting of paranormal experiences happening around Callie, too. Upperman is clever enough not to reveal too much towards that at first – only nodding at the potential or the cause but allows both Callie and the reader to choose their own reactions and opinions too. At least at this stage of the story. I was so tethered to Callie and the anguish she was feeling at this moment in her life that I definitely knew I had to read more of her story.
Final Thoughts and Takeaways:
Upperman writes with such an emotionally charged style of narrative that you cannot help but feel compelled to turn the pages and to find out more about Callie’s journey. There is the curious notion that Callie might be having a paranormal visitor at her Aunts whilst the cat who takes up residence there might be a familiar or a companion who understands what cannot be seen across the veils from human sight. There is an urgency of truth that needs to be told, too, as part of what I felt might heal this family is if everyone would talk about Chloe and their feelings related and unrelated to her death. They each went through the loss, but they went through it separately and apart. They didn’t come together and walk through the pain of their sorrow or share their thoughts and their feelings to find a path towards healing either. Instead, each of them: Callie, Aunt Lucy and her parents took turns trying to find a way to live without addressing the undercurrent of their grief.
I am hopeful as I read this story further, that it is not just about Callie’s route of reclamation of her life but of her family’s ability to transcend their grief too.
Chasing Eveline by Leslie Hauser
(*) I received a complimentary copy of this novel for review consideration.
The author has released two more novels since I received Chasing Eveline which are as follows: The Brillance of Fireflies and So in Luck. I look forward to seeking these out! I cannot remember if this was an author who sought me out to review the novel or if this was one of the final #ReviewPit authors I found on Twitter several years ago. Somehow our paths crossed and it just now I am able to focus on reading this story.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first started reading Chasing Eveline but a food fight at a school dance was almost certainly the farthest thing from my imagination! And, the sad bit is that these were juniors in high school acting like elementary aged children! Who starts a food fight because they were upset about the music at a dance? Apparently, this high school! Oy. I nearly fell out of step with the story right then and there because it felt so unbelievable to me that teenagers would fling food and candy and drinks at a pair of teenage DJs who were playing a music set rather than asking them to change the music. Either that, or my age is showing as I’m a GenX YA reader who didn’t grow up or round that kind of shenanigan in school.
What gave me a bit of hope about the story food fight aside was the hopeful and wistful honesty about the character of Ivy who’s simply a girl who misses her mother at a very difficult age in her life. Her mother apparently was part of a band, and that particular band was the music which was playing at the dance which led to the fight itself. Again, not something I can personally relate too. However, it was the fervent hope she had inside her to find a way back to her Mom through the music and the band which gave me something to find anchour with in the storyline.
After the dance, the novel took a very dramatic turn and started to envelope us into the heartache and confusion of what happens after a parent walks out on their family. Ivy was still struggling to come to terms with her mothers’ absence but also, to understand why she left in the first place. Her mind is a hive of memories and emotions, none of them resolved and that has left her caught betwix and between the past and the present. It was there – in those rare moments of understanding the journey she’s been on after her Mom left that Hauser gives us something to hold onto and feel connected to Ivy.
Final Thoughts and Takeaways:
I initially wasn’t sure if I could read this novel as it felt a bit too young for me as a reader or at least, it felt too disconnected in a sense that I couldn’t relate to or understand the ways in which it was being told. Until of course, I entered the chapters after the opening one and fully understood the path the novel was going to take shortly thereafter. I appreciated the honesty and the rawness to how Hauser was telling Ivy’s story but also, letting Ivy tell her story herself – in her own way, manner and time. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the story develops and unfolds from here.
American Ballerina by Nancy Lorenz
(*) I received a complimentary copy of this novel for review consideration.
I tried to find a website or updates by this author but couldn’t find any which saddened me. The author had reached out to me after I reviewed The Strength of Ballerinas and offered me to read the sequel which makes these two novels a duology. I had fully intended to read it closer to when it arrived, but different interruptions back then prevented me from reading it. Sadly, I was hoping the author had more releases in the years since and I was going to seek them out to purchase as this was an author I knew I appreciated reading.
I knew I might need to re-read The Strength of Ballerinas (see also Review) which was the first novel in this duology and that became quite evident as I tried to re-step into the life of Kendra. I vaguely remembered some of the important bits of her story, but time was not very kind to me to remember more than a fleeting sense about her life and the story being told. Thereby I chose to focus on this sequel to get a preview of sorts about what this story would be about before choosing to re-read the first novel and then, read this sequel soon afterwards.
We are resuming our time with Kendra shortly after she graduated high school and she’s about to embark on the next journey of her ballet career. She’s about to do an intensive ahead of college and she’s going to be living on her own for the first time. Meanwhile her boyfriend Troy is off to college himself soon clear across the country and her best friend Becca feels lost in the shuffle. I had forgotten she was Troy’s sister, too. Kendra’s younger brother Petey is still a focus in the storyline as he means the world to Kendra even if she’s not sure how he will adjust to her absences or how it will affect her not being as close to him as she was growing up.
All of them are on one last Summer vacation at the beach – trying to soak up as much time together as they can and not focus on what will soon be happening where time and distance will become their new norm. Kendra wanted Troy to agree to a promise ring before they departed but he initially reacted differently than she thought he might at the suggestion. By the next morning his attitude had become circumvent and he readily agreed that she had the right idea all along. Although I suspected along with Kendra that Becca might have intervened on their behalf. It was something a good friend and sister might do to repair a relationship between the two. I wasn’t sure though if that was the right choice for them – as Troy seemed to show his truer colours the night before and his temper and anger seemed to be a bit out of sync with the calm serenity of Kendra. She had her head together and knew her priorities, but Troy seemed to be the typical teenager going off to college and a bit too possessive to understand where Kendra was coming from with her insistence, they do not make things too complicated.
As we saw the arrival of Kendra and Becca to the intensive program in LA, part of me wondered how it was going to go for both of them. The ballet world is a restrictive environment and can break a lot of spirits due to how that world is set for perfection out of all who dare to dance ballet. It seemed benign enough in the beginning, but I remember how dramatic and emotional the first novel was by Lorenz in this series and part of me wondered if I was prepared again to take that kind of journey with Kendra in the sequel.
Final Thoughts and Takeaways:
I was a bit surprised the writing style has changed a bit from what I remembered of the first novel, as I remembered the first one flowed so easily and well. This sequel didn’t have the same confluence of ease, and I noted a few copy-editing errors as well. I overlooked those as I was trying to hone in on the storyline and where we were with the characters right now. Some of it just felt a bit disjointed in certain places, too. Almost as if there were different directions the story could go but fell short a bit, too. For instance, I was thinking it might have been in Kendra’s best interest to let go of Troy and resume their relationship after college or not at all as his whole personality had changed and wasn’t the kind of person you’d want to hang onto going into an intensive like this one.
It is hard to say what my final thoughts are as I feel like this one requires more reading and to root out Kendra’s story a bit more before I can reconcile my thoughts about the story itself.
Sometimes it takes a bit longer to get to where your going – you get there, but the timeline is not generally the one you thought you’d experience. In other words, this is MY SUMMER of renewing my love of reading stories – sorting out my readerly wanderings outside those I commit to as a book blogger who participates in blog tours and finding a renewal of joy in listening to audiobooks.
Closing Thoughts:
#MyYASummer is my own self-directed challenge to encourage me to read more of the YA stories I’m curious about reading whilst also remaining firmly planted into the realms of Fantasy as each new year I’m hosting #WyrdAndWonder, I recognise how much I’ve missed reading Fantasy regularly. Towards that end, I’m truly excited to see which of these authors become my beloved #mustread highlights of the Summer whilst which of the series I’ll be continuing to enjoy as Summer folds into Autumn! I am readily hopeful I’ll be expanding past this challenge list into more titles not currently announced but which I already own and/or can borrow via my local library or streaming on audio via Everand (ie. the new Scribd).
As you can see, I might have been drawn away from reading these lovelies but my interest in reading them never wavered. One nice thing about Summer is giving ourselves a renewal of a chance to re-discover the authors and stories which leave an itching curiosity to read! I cannot wait to see where these literary adventures take me!
Thank you for listening to my journalled ramblings of how each of these books came across my bookshelf and a bit about why I wanted to read them. I’ll be exploring the impressions they imprinted on me as I read them – follow my Insta feeds and/or stay tuned to my blog for the posts which will be generating after each book is read.
Here’s to those of us re-focusing our reading lives!
Likewise, at the end of Summer I am going to take stock of which stories are calling to me to be read next and carry-on the journalled #WWWednesday posts to sort through which order those stories need to be read as Autumn begins. If you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments. Otherwise, I want to know your thoughts about the stories on this #MyYASummer list and/or if you’ve read them yourself!
Are you focusing on #KidsLit this Summer? Kindly let me know what your current reading + if you have a List of books you’re trying to read through before Summer ends and/or round the 30th of September!
This is a special edition of Jorie’s contribution to:
I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!
This weekly meme was originally hosted by Should Be Reading who became A Daily Rhythm. Lovingly restored and continued by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Each week you participate, your keen to answer the following questions:
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What are you currently reading!?
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What did you recently finish reading!?
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What do you think you’ll read next!?
After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!
Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday on all socials
Follow the host via Bookstagram!
{SOURCES: Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #MyYASummer Banner, #25PagePreview banner, #WWWednesday banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2024.
I’m socially bookish sharing my readerly life via #bookstagram:
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- #MyYASummer
- 2024 Backlogue Reviews
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