Review: IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE by Christina June

IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE

by Christina June

Publication Date: May 9, 2017

Published by Blink/HarperCollins

Pages: 304

Source: Publisher | Purchased

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Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client). When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way.

My Thoughts

IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE is a wonderful summer read. It's charming and heartwarming and funny. It was a fast, enjoyable read, and left me with a giant smile on my face.


Before starting IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE, I didn't realize how much I would have in common with Tatum. I once found myself in a similar situation of being an unknowing participant) and could completely understand her feelings of injustice, but also shame. I often felt that Tatum was given a raw deal, so I was happy to cheer for her when something went her way.

What I liked:

•  Abby - She was a good friend to Tatum and came into her life at just the right time - when she needed a friend, someone who hand her back, the most. One of my favorite lines “You’re good people, Tatum,” she said.
• The wise "feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother" Blanche. She offered insight, perspective, and love to Tatum. She made the unbearable moments more bearable.
• The online friendship/flirtation with SK. It was fun to read their cute back and forth emails and also witness their vulnerability. Their connection was sweet.
• Seeing the growth of the family and all of the amazing things that can happen when they finally take the time to have the difficult conversations and try to understand each other

AND JUST LOOK THIS COVER! I LOVE IT. It is so pretty and it is what drew me to the book in the first place.

Favorite Quotes:

It was Abby’s turn to grasp my shoulder in solidarity. “We should start a club.” 
“The loser club?” 
“How about the Missed Opportunities Club?”
-I love the camaraderie between Tatum and Abby.

“Nothing is immovable, Tatum. Everything is negotiable.” 
I smirked and nodded at the TV. “Did you learn that from The Golden Girls?” 
She smiled back. “It might have been The Facts of Life.” 
-The connection to The Golden Girls was a nice touch (I love that show) and then to mention The Facts of Life (another favorite from back in the day) made it even better.

IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE is a fun summer read. If you like stories about blended families, friendships, and want a happily ever after, then this book may be for you!

Disclaimer:  I received an ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.  I was not compensated in any way other than the ARC provided. I've also purchased a finished copy for my personal library. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

BANISHED by Kimberley Griffiths Little - Excerpt and Giveaway

Banished
by Kimberley Griffiths Little
(Forbidden #2)
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication date: February 2nd 2016
Genres: Historical, Romance, Young Adult












She thought she’d lost everything . . .

After spending months traveling the harsh, unforgiving Mesopotamian desert, Jayden reunites with a broken, injured Kadesh. Although everyone was convinced the violent and unpredictable Horeb, Jayden’s betrothed, killed the handsome prince, Jayden knew in her heart that her love was alive and safe. But their reunion is short-lived, as they learn Horeb is on their trail and determined to take back the girl he has claimed. Soon, the two star-crossed lovers are on the run toward Sariba, Kadesh’s homeland, where, as heir to the Kingdom, he plans to make Jayden his princess.

But the trek to Sariba is fraught with heartache and danger. After narrowly escaping being stoned to death for a crime she didn’t commit, and learning that her sister has disappeared, Jayden’s only solace is her love for Kadesh. But even he is keeping secrets from her . . . secrets that will change everything.

This gorgeous and enchanting sequel to Forbidden, is full of love, danger, and heated passion that will leave readers breathless.

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Sequel to:

Booklist Review:

“This sequel to Forbidden (2014) picks up with desert girl Jayden, distraught that the young man she loves, Kadesh, might have died. But, of course, he hasn’t. Scarred and missing an eye, yes, but he’s escaped the clutches of Horeb, Jayden’s malicious betrothed. Traveling bravely through the desert, Jayden finds him. But that perilous trip is only the first of the dangers to come. Gathering an army, Kadesh is determined to return to his faraway home, where the valuable frankincense grows, and introduce Jayden as his future bride. First, however, they must face betrayal, danger, and a waiting evil. Jayden achieves almost superhero status here, moving from adventure to adventure—not even a near-death stoning can stop her. Little’s descriptions of the landscape are evocative in both desolation and in beauty. Just as good is her pacing, which gets the blood pumping for both characters and readers. Far more than a bridge book, this will heighten anticipation for a no-doubt exciting conclusion."

EXCERPT:

A dirty, callused hand slapped down over my mouth and the stale breath of a man hissed in my ear. “Don’t move or I’ll slit your pretty, little neck.”
I clawed at the stranger’s cloak, trying to push him off, but he was too heavy. A moment later, I realized my ankles were tied together. I couldn’t run, couldn’t even move. Shrieks gurgled in my throat as if I was drowning, his hand cutting off my air.
Only one day into my journey to find Kadesh and I was already dead.
The sharp tip of a blade pressed against my neck, and I whimpered.
“Give me the frankincense of the stranger we killed.” The man’s foul breath dragged across my face. He was referring to Kadesh, the boy I loved, who’d been murdered by Horeb, the prince of my tribe.
With myself as a witness, I’d watched Horeb plunge his sword into Kadesh and then order his soldiers to drag his body off.
Shock flooded me when I realized who my attacker was. I wrenched his fingers away from my mouth and with a raw voice, said, “Gad? What are you doing lurking about the cliffs of Mari?”
This man was a childhood friend of Horeb’s and one of my own tribesmen. His body pressed against mine, and I writhed in disgust.
There was only one reason Gad was in the foothills of Mari, far from the oasis of Tadmur where my tribe camped for the summer. He was a member of Horeb’s army.
Horeb, my betrothed. The man who’d attacked and scarred me. Blackmailed me for the murder of his father to hide the fact that he’d killed his own father so he could steal the tribal crown.

Author Bio:
When I was a kid I read a book a day, scribbled stories, and dreamed about having my very own book on the library shelf. I grew up in San Francisco, but now live in an adobe house on the banks of the Rio Grande with my husband and sons. I think I've drunk so much Land of Enchantment water that some of that ancient magic got into my blood and now spurts out my pencil--I mean ergonomic keyboard. I adore anything old and musty with a secret story to tell.
I'm the author of 10 award-winning middle-grade and Young Adult novels with Scholastic and Harpercollins and I make way too many cookies when I'm writing - and I've got the best book trailers in the universe - for reals! Check them out here: www.kimberleygriffithslittle.com. Please find me on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Youtube.

Awards: Southwest Book Award, Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel, Whitney Award Finalist and Association of Mormon Letters of Art Award, Bank Street College Best Books of 2011, 2013, and 2015, a Crystal Kite Finalist, and New Mexico Book Award Finalist. 

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BETWEEN THE NOTES by Sharon Huss Roat - Guest Post and Giveaway

Between the Notes

by Sharon Huss Roat 

Release Date: 06/16/15

Harper Teen

382 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

When Ivy Emerson’s family loses their house—complete with her beloved piano—the fear of what’s to come seizes her like a bad case of stage fright. Only this isn’t one of her single, terrifying performances. It’s her life.

And it isn’t pretty.

Ivy is forced to move with her family out of their affluent neighborhood to Lakeside, also known as “the wrong side of the tracks.” Hiding the truth from her friends—and the cute new guy in school, who may have secrets of his own—seems like a good idea at first. But when a bad boy next door threatens to ruin everything, Ivy’s carefully crafted lies begin to unravel . . . and there is no way to stop them.

As things get to the breaking point, Ivy turns to her music, some unlikely new friends, and the trusting heart of her disabled little brother. She may be surprised that not everyone is who she thought they were . . . including herself.

Debut author Sharon Huss Roat crafts a charming and timely story of what happens when life as you know it flips completely upside down.

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Book Title Brain Dump: A Top Ten List of Rejected Titles for BETWEEN THE NOTES by Sharon Huss Roat

I learned recently that R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps books, starts writing ONLY after he is inspired by a great title. As someone who always struggles to find the perfect title, I’m more than a little jealous. Here’s a look at some of the titles I threw out there in the process of naming BETWEEN THE NOTES. Thankfully, none of them stuck.

1) IVY’S TOWER – This was original title, which I thought was a clever play on the term “Ivory Tower”—a nod to Ivy’s fall from affluence that also referred to the very skinny, tall, apartment house where her family moves. Alas, my publisher thought it sounded too young. I was asked to submit other ideas. Hence:

2) A GIRL, HER BEST FRIEND, TWO BOYS, AND A SONG - A longer version of this title might’ve included “A PIANO, HER DISABLED LITTLE BROTHER, A GIRL WITH A CLARINET, THAT DUSTY UKELELE, HER PARENTS, A BICYCLE…” Yeah. Listing everything and everyone in the book does not a title make.

3) IVY DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE - Nope. She moved. And the story is about what happens in the new place, not in the place she doesn’t live anymore. So, never mind.

4) HOW TO RUIN PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING - This is the title you come up when you’re pulling out your hair out trying to capture in a few words what the book is about and… you fail.

5) PULLING SECRETS FROM A SHELF - When you’re thinking about the part of the story where someone is leaving secret notes for Ivy on a shelf, and then the song “Pulling Mussels from a Shell” gets in your head, and isn’t this the most brilliant title ever? No? FINE.

6) MUCH ADO ABOUT GATSBY AND PONY BOY - There’s some Shakespeare in the story, and The Great Gatsby makes an appearance, as well as The Outsiders. So, OF COURSE the perfect title would somehow combine all of that. Right? WRONG.

7) DISCOMPOSING IVY - Work with me, here. Ivy composes music to calm herself, but has to leave her piano behind and she’s kind of falling apart. She’s… discomposing? Ew, that sounds like DECOMPOSING, doesn’t it? And this is not a zombie story. Nobody’s earlobes are rotting off.

8) OPUS DISASTEROUS - Music theme? Search musical terms and try to rhyme them with words that vaguely describe what your main character is facing, and… TA DA! *Slinks back into cave where horrible title-writers live.

9) UNTANGLING IVY - One of many titles I came up with that tried to capture Ivy’s struggle as if Ivy, the plant, was actually strangling her. (TWISTING IVY, TURNING IVY, THROWING IVY, anyone?)

10) BAD BOY NEXT DOOR - Refer to rejected title Number 2, except pick just one character. The  

hottest one, preferably. But, what about that other hot boy? BAD BOY NEXT DOOR AND THAT TOTALLY SWOONY OTHER GUY. Too long? Dang.

In the end, my friend and fellow HarperCollins author Hilary T. Smith (WILD AWAKE, A SENSE OF THE INFINITE) suggested “In Between the Notes.” I added it to the list, my editor shortened it to BETWEEN THE NOTES, and a title was born. (And lived!)

About the Author

Sharon Huss Roat lives in Delaware with her husband and two kids. When not writing books for young adults, you might find her reading (YA of course), planting vegetables in her backyard garden, or sewing costumes for a school musical. BETWEEN THE NOTES is her first novel.

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