Tag: Young Adult

First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week 72 | Gone Too Soon by Melody Carlson

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m sharing from Gone Too Soon by Melody Carlson:

First Line from Gone too Soon by Melody Carlson: I know it's wrong to steal—even worse to steal your sister's diary. But I just can't seem to stop myself.
What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Gone Too Soon

An icy road. A car crash.
A family changed forever.

Hannah Josephson had always been the “perfect” daughter. Kiera couldn’t live up to her before, and she certainly can’t now that her older sister has died in a car accident. But the image she carried resentfully of Hannah is challenged when she finds her dead sister’s diary and begins to read. Apparently Hannah’s final year wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought.

Caught in a pattern of blaming each other, the Josephson family is falling apart. Their father has left, their mother is mixing opiates and alcohol, little sister Maddie has been shipped off to spend the whole summer with their grandmother, and Kiera feels utterly alone with her grief and anger. A summer job helping at a park in a poor section of town provides a friend and a purpose.

But it’s Hannah’s diary that fills her thoughts. For the first time in years, she feels close to the sister she’s lost. But can the knowledge she gleans about her possibly help her patch back together the family that seems determined to implode?

Find Gone Too Soon online at:

Amazon US | Amazon AUGoodreads

Click the button to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

You can then click the link which will take you to the master page of all this week’s #FirstLineFriday posts.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

And don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week 53 | Liana’s Dance by Rosanne Hawke

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m sharing from Liana’s Dance by Australian author Rosanne Hawke, which has been on my to-read pile since it released last September:

First line from Liana's Dance by Rosanne Hawke: Ramadan had ended and the upper bazaar of Murree was busier than usual.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Liana’s Dance

Sixteen-year-old Liana Bedford lives in constant fear. Political tensions in Pakistan are rising and terrorist attacks are becoming an everyday norm. As a Pakistani-Australian, she could be the next target. When her school friends are taken hostage by terrorists, Liana’s world disappears overnight.

Alongside her new teacher, Mr Kimberley, she must journey through rural Pakistan in a bid to find them and bring them home. But Mr Kimberley has a secret, and to save him and her friends, Liana must overcome her fears. And dance for her life. An unforgettable story about one Pakistani-Australian’s will to survive.

You can find Liana’s Dance online at:

Amazon | Goodreads | Koorong

Click the button to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

You can then click the link which will take you to the master page of all this week’s #FirstLineFriday posts.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Introducing Intermission by Serena Chase (and a giveaway)

Today I’d like to introduce Serena Chase, and her new Young Adult novel, Intermission: 

We are starlight on snow. The reflection of something already beautiful—absorbed, reflected, and remade into something . . . more.

And this kiss . . .

This kiss is everything I’ve needed to say . . . and longed to hear.

Intermission by Serena ChaseSixteen-year-old Faith Prescott eagerly awaits the day she will exchange her small Iowa hometown for the bright lights of Broadway, but her success-driven parents want her to pursue a more practical career, labeling “artsy” people—including their daughter—as foolish dreamers worthy of little more than disdain.

When Faith meets nineteen-year-old Noah Spencer she discovers someone who understands her musical theatre dreams . . . because he shares them.

Faith’s mother despises everything about Noah—his age, his upbringing . . . even his religious beliefs—and she grasps at every opportunity to belittle his plans to study theatre and pursue a stage career. When those criticisms shift further toward hostility, resulting in unjust suspicions and baseless accusations, an increasingly fearful stage is set for Faith at home, where severe restrictions and harsh penalties are put in place to remove Noah Spencer from her life.

But Faith has never connected with anyone like she has with Noah, and no matter how tight a stranglehold her mother enforces to keep them apart, Faith will not give him up. Behind the curtain, Faith’s love for Noah continues to grow . . . as does her determination to hold on to her dreams—and him—no matter how high the cost.

Intermission is a heart-wrenching contemporary YA romance set against a backdrop of musical theatre and family drama. With coming-of-age themes that honestly explore gray areas of moral dilemmas, this novel traces the path of one talented teen girl as she crosses painful thresholds of first love, faith, and betrayal to take the necessary steps toward adulthood, independence, and the dreams that set her heart on fire.

I’ve just read Intermission, and I loved it. Click here to read my review at Australasian Christian Writers. 

And there’s a giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Advance Praise for Intermission

“FINALLY someone has written a YA for all of us musical theater nerds! Intermission will pull you in like a big Broadway show with its swoony romance and a heroine you can root for. Serena Chase brings the theater world alive with this tale of first love, family drama, and a character who’s searching for her place in this world.”

Jenny B. Jones, award-winning author of I’ll Be Yours and the Katie Parker Production series

“This book sings! A masterfully written story that broke my heart one moment and had me cheering for the main character the next. If you’re looking for a stunning and emotional read, look no further than Serena Chase’s Intermission.”

Heather Burch, bestselling author of One Lavender Ribbon and the Halflings series

“A multifaceted coming-of-age love story that explores the depth of self-doubt, difficult family dynamics, and a faith built in the midst of heartache. Beautifully-crafted prose with a timely message.”

Nicole Deese, author of the Love in Lenox series and The Promise of Rayne

Intermission is a singularly captivating YA novel. It delivers a wistful holding of breath while exploring the emotions experienced in the gap between what happened before and the hoped-for promise of what might happen after. This book, as with all the very best coming-of-age stories, will resonate with readers of all ages as it encourages us to come out from behind the curtain, step into the spotlight, and have the courage to live without masks.”

Sandra Byrd, author of A Lady in Disguise, and the London Confidential series

Intermission is both heartbreakingly real and poignantly hopeful. Dipping her pen into issues of faith, friendship, and family, Chase had me holding my breath and experiencing the highs and lows as if I was personally involved in Faith and Noah’s lives. Brava!”

Jill Lynn, author of Falling for Texas

Intermission is a love story for the heart and the spirit. You’ll fall head over heels for Faith and Noah!”

Lorie Langdon, author of Gilt Hollow

Intermission by Serena Chase

About Serena Chase 

SERENA CHASE is the author of the critically-acclaimed Eyes of E’veria series and a regular contributor to USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog. A lifelong performer who sometimes speaks in show tunes, Serena lives in Iowa with her husband Dave, teen daughters Delaney and Ellerie, and a 100-pound white Goldendoodle named Albus, who is the biggest star of her Instagram account. Connect with Serena Chase by visiting her website and signing up for her newsletter, “like” her official Facebook page to stay up-to-date on new release news, and enjoy her sometimes poignant, but more often chuckle-inducing random observations of life on Twitter.

 

 

 

Book Review: The Heir by Lynne Stringer

Have you signed up for my Newsletter? If so, you’ll already have received my entirely biased list of 50 novels from my favourite Christian authors. If not, sign up on the right!

Today I’m reviewing The Heir, the debut novel from Australian author Lynne Stringer. The Heir is the first in her Verindon science fiction trilogy for young adults (and older adults). The must-read sequels are The Crown and The Regin.

The Heir by Lynne Stringer

Sarah is a normal American teenager.

Well, mostly normal.

She goes to a fancy private school where all the other kids are rich, her dad is an inventor who never quite seems to get it right, she’s being stalked at school by a creepy boy, and her English teacher is always picking her for class debates even though she hates them. Apart from that, she’s just a normal kid. She loves art, tries to survive high school and has a secret crush on Dan, her best friend’s kind-of boyfriend.

But things are not what they seem. When tragedy strikes and Sarah’s life changes overnight, things start to get even stranger. Melting tables, windows that don’t open, eyes in the bushes …

The story started slowly but there was a growing sense of foreboding and rising suspense. I soon realised this wasn’t the predictable Young Adult coming-of-age kind of story it started out as (but I’m not going to spoil the surprise by saying too much). Strange things started to happen and there were a few left-field comments from Sarah’s friends that made me think I was missing something. I was. So was Sarah. And when we got the big reveal it was both a huge surprise and not, because it answered all those niggles.

The Heir is told entirely in the first person, from Sarah’s point of view (which I know some readers don’t like). But she’s a strong character who can carry the story without being so perfect as to be annoying. She’s a realistic teen, with strong likes and dislikes, hopes and fears, a secret crush, and a secret history even she doesn’t know about…

I really enjoyed The Heir.

The Heir was well-plotted with good foreshadowing (but without making it obvious) and good characters. The ending was satisfying in the way it completed the current story, but left me wanting more.

An excellent debut novel. Recommended for those who like authors such as Kathy Tyers, or those who enjoy YA dystopian or science fiction.

Thanks to Wombat Books for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Lynne Stringer at her website, or in this interview, and you can read the introduction to The Heir below: