THE DARKEST LIE by Pintip Dunn - Early Review Tour and Giveaway

THE DARKEST LIE

by Pintip Dunn

Publication Date: June 28, 2016

Published by Kensington Publishing

Pages: 256

Source: JenniferHalliganPR/Publisher

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Synopsis

“The mother I knew would never do those things.

But maybe I never knew her after all.”

Clothes, jokes, coded messages…Cecilia Brooks and her mom shared everything. At least, CeCe thought they did. Six months ago, her mom killed herself after accusations of having sex with a student, and CeCe’s been the subject of whispers and taunts ever since. Now, at the start of her high school senior year, between dealing with her grieving, distracted father, and the social nightmare that has become her life, CeCe just wants to fly under the radar. Instead, she’s volunteering at the school’s crisis hotline—the same place her mother worked.

As she counsels troubled strangers, CeCe’s lingering suspicions about her mom’s death surface. With the help of Sam, a new student and newspaper intern, she starts to piece together fragmented clues that point to a twisted secret at the heart of her community. Soon, finding the truth isn’t just a matter of restoring her mother’s reputation, it’s about saving lives—including CeCe’s own…

My Thoughts

Even before I knew what THE DARKEST LIE was about I wanted to read it because of the gorgeous cover. The shades of blue of blue and the girl looking out over the lake captured my attention and I had to know what she was thinking about and what she went through. 

THE DARKEST LIE combines the thrills of a mystery with the realities of young adult contemporary which make for a heart-pounding, heart-stopping, and sometimes, heartbreaking read. I read it almost straight through because from the get-go, this book had a hold of me, making me reading it furiously until the very end. When a book takes control of me like that, nothing else matters.

I love that THE DARKEST LIE has the Veronica Mars vibe to it. It's serious and smart, with wit and romance and danger. It takes a look at the many relationships changed, broken, and destroyed because of the scandal. The mystery surrounding CeCe's mother's death was multi-layered with the truth blurred in with gossip leaving the town in an uproar and devastation all around, and we get to know how CeCe dealt with the aftermath of all of it.

Favorite Quotes

"My mother was chaos and passion, devastation and joy. Dad used to say you could reach deep into her eyes and pull out a song." (page 2) - CeCe thinking of her mother how she remembered her and not how she is currently presented to her in the casket at her funeral

"I'm not going to kiss you," he says in a strained voice." After the night you've had, I don't want you to mistake a kiss for anything that other that what it is. But I want you to know, just because I don't kiss you doesn't mean I'm not thinking about it. Doesn't mean I'm not going to dream about it. Doesn't mean I won't want to do it, next time we're togother." - Sam to CeCe after an emotional day and devastating discovery. This is one of my favorite scenes in the book. I fell in love with Sam's character when he first appeared on this scene and this made me love him even more.

"Walking around this school is like wading into a pit of alligators. I never know which body part they're going to chew up and spit out." (page 146) - CeCe describing her high school (or any high school for that matter). Nailed it.


Immediately after finished THE DARKEST LIE, I wished that I had someone to discuss it with. This is exactly the type of book that I would want to read with my book club. I'm sure that when other people finish reading THE DARKEST LIE, they will feel the same way.  They will recommended it to their friends. This book has too interesting to keep it to themselves. It's an overall fantastic read. It's one that I will definitely keep on my shelf for future rereading. 

I loved it!

Disclaimer:  I received this ARC from the publisher as part of an early review tour in exchange for my honest review.  I was not compensated in any way other than the ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Pintip Dunn graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. She also published an article in the YALE LAW JOURNAL, entitled, “How Judges Overrule: Speech Act Theory and the Doctrine of Stare Decisis,”

Pintip is represented by literary agent Beth Miller of Writers House. She is a 2012 RWA Golden Heart® finalist and a 2014 double-finalist. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Washington Romance Writers, YARWA, and The Golden Network.

She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. You can learn more about Pintip and her books at www.pintipdunn.com.

Author Links: 

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TOUR SCHEDULE 

May 1st - Avid Reader Musings

May 2nd - Reader Girls

May 3rd - Alice Reeds

May 4th - Miss Riki

May 5th - YA Book Madness

May 6th - Wandering Bark Books

May 9th - The Bookdragon

May 10th - Library of a Book Witch

May 11th - Journeys from Ayrden

May 12th - The Cursed Empire

May 13th - The Bibliophile Confessions

May 16th - All For Love of the Word

May 17th - With Love for Books

May 18th - Bridget's Book Bungalow

May 19th - Bookish Escapes

May 20th - Reading Transforms

May 23rd - Lilians Book Stuff

May 24th - Actin' Up with Books

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#MELT Blog Tour: The Books along my Literary Path by Selene Castrovilla

I received an early review copy of MELT back in June and shared my thoughts about this powerful novel.

"I loved the stylistic writing used to distinguish Joey and Dorothy's perspectives . . .  The styles shift and change as their perspectives and situations change and this was completely organic to the story."

"Melt is a moving book that I couldn't stop reading until the very end. And when I did finish those last pages, all I could think was - Wow, that happened."

Today I am hosting Selene Castrovilla as part of the MELT blog tour. I've asked her to share the books that made her fall in love with reading.

Welcome Selene!!!

The Books along my Literary Path

by Selene Castrovilla

I’ve always been drawn to darkness in literature.

When I was in grade school my aunt shared Agatha Christie mysteries with me. So much blood! I loved the psychology behind the murders. What would drive someone to take another life? I always found the crime-solving process to be revealing about humanity, and Christie was a master of this genre. 

Many years later, when I brainstormed ideas to write Saved by the Music, I tried to make it a mystery. It was the obvious go-to for me, especially because my relationship with my aunt was a major part of the story, and she and I shared so many moments discussing mysteries.  But I realized it was the darkness of humanity and the tension of life that I wanted to explore, from a coming of age perspective. An actual mystery was beside the point to me. (And out of my element! I was literally clueless.)

On my own, I also read The Hardy Boys mysteries. Definitely not as deep and dark as Agatha Christie. They were my “junk food” reading. I think I learned about story arc from these, because they were pretty simplistic to follow – and yet they did the job. They were no great works of literature, but like M&M’s I couldn’t read just one.  I read them all – and even searched for the older ones which were no longer available in bookstores. I have a bunch of them still - saved from Hurricane Sandy because I carried the truck containing them to my second floor.

Perhaps The Hardy Boys used up all my tolerance for series – or perhaps I learned that a formula only goes so far, generally stopping short at literature. I don’t care for series – with a few exceptions. Harry Potter was not a formula – it was a story that came to J.K. Rowling in its entirety. Though I don’t care for fantasy, I still read three and a half of the Potter books before I stopped (the most fantasy I’ve ever read.) I admire these books, their characterization and their story arcs (as well as the overall arc) greatly. The other series I love is A Series of Unfortunate Events. Hysterical!

I enjoyed the passion of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, even though I found the plot a bit convoluted. I think I learned about tortured love affairs through Cathy and Heathcliff.

“It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him: and that, not because he's handsome, Nelly, but because he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire.”
― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

And Heathcliff himself is fascinating. It’s hard to understand how someone so filled with love and devotion could also be so atrocious. Maybe Heathcliff’s love for Cathy is so intense that it takes every ounce of the humanity inside him¸ leaving none for anyone else – even Cathy’s own daughter, and his own son. 

But the question I pondered above all was whether Heathcliff is pure evil. I think not. He’s pretty close, though.

        Is there such a thing as “pure evil?” Are “bad” people “born” or are they “raised?”

The thing about literature is that is raises questions, and it expects the reader to come up with his own answers. I think readers aren’t doing their part as much, and that makes me so sad. It’s the deterioration of society, because books are what make us think!

I had a writing teacher at The New School who told us, “TV says ‘Go to sleep! Books say, ‘Wake up!’” So true. 

Incidentally, his name is Stephen Wright, and he’s a brilliant novelist whose descriptions are stunning. 

A book that brought me to new emotional depths is As I Lay Dying. Told in multiple points of view, it describes a woman dying, and the subsequent disposal of her body.

One of her sons is particularly distraught as he listens to his brother sawing and sawing beneath his mother’s window – building her coffin while she’s still alive. I can still feel his anguish, so many years after I read the book. 

(I apologize – I couldn’t find that quote on-line to share with you. Thinking of it makes me want to read As I Lay Dying again!)

Here’s a different quote I found, which I think is quite provocative:

“In a strange room you must empty yourself for sleep. And before you are emptied for sleep, what are you. And when you are emptied for sleep, what are you. And when you are emptied for sleep you are not. And when you are filled with sleep, you never were. I don't know what I am. I don't know if I am or not.”
― William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying

This book taught me about raw, base humanity. And it opened my eyes to the possibilities of writing in more than one voice.

And finally, I must include my god: William Shakespeare. In eleventh grade Mrs. Israel, my English teacher, assigned us to memorize this soliloquy from Macbeth:

“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
 Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
 To the last syllable of recorded time;
 And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
 The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
 Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
 That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
 And then is heard no more. It is a tale
 Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
 Signifying nothing.”

I could go on and on about what this passage – and the entire play – means to me. Suffice to say that Shakespeare set the stage for studying humanity and emotions – and the rest of us are following his lead as best as we can. 

If you are only going to read one more book ever – read Macbeth. It shaped me as a reader and as a writer, and affected me forever.

I recommend all things Shakespeare! Twice, I’ve made pilgrimages to Stratford-upon-Avon, his birthplace, to pay my respects. (Thanks to my kids, who accompanied me without complaint!)

Thanks for having me on your blog, Joli!! I hope this has been of interest to you and your writers – and that it has illuminated something of the literary path that led me to write Melt.

Publication Date: November 6, 2014

Published by Last Syllable Books

Pages: 328

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About Selene Castrovilla  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Goodreads

Selene Castrovilla is an award-winning teen and children’s author who believes that through all trends, humanity remains at the core of literature. She is the author of Saved By the Music and The Girl Next Door, teen novels originally published by WestSide Books and now available digitally through ASD Publishing. Her third children’s book with Calkins Creek Books, Revolutionary Friends, was released in April. She is also a contributing author to UncommonYA. Selene holds an MFA in creative writing from New School University and a BA in English from New York University. She lives on Long Island with her two sons. Visit her website www.SeleneCastrovilla.com for book excerpts and more information!

 

Review: Melt by Selene Castrovilla

Melt

by Selene Castrovilla

Publication Date: November 6, 2014

Published by Last Syllable Books

Pages: 328

Source: JenHalliganPR

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from Goodreads

MELT is a brutal love story, set against the backdrop of The Wizard of Oz. Sixteen year old “good girl” Dorothy just blew into the small town of Highland Park – where the social headquarters is Munchkinland (Dunkin’ Donuts.) There, she meets Joey – a “bad boy” who tells no one about the catastrophic domestic violence he witnesses at home. Can these two lovers survive peer pressure, Joey’s reputation, and his alcoholism? And then there’s his family's secret – about to be unleashed.

Told in dual first person, Joey's words are scattered on the page - reflecting his broken state. Dorothy is the voice of reason - until something so shattering happens that she, too, may lose her grip. Can their love endure, or will it melt away?

MELT is based on true events. It is both a chilling tale of abuse, and a timeless romance. It will hit you like a punch in the face, and also seep through the cracks in your soul.

My Thoughts

There are times when I read a book that it is gripping and moving and so satisfying that I don't know what to say and I'm having that experience right now. I read Melt twice and reread several parts of it more than a few times and I'm still searching for the words to express why it is a must read. This is truly meant to be a compliment because it was that good.

What I liked most was that I was in the moment with the characters - in the room with them, by the river, at that same Dunkin' Donuts. The writing transported me to where Dorothy and Joey were. Through the good and the bad. I wasn't just reading a book, I was witness to this story and this was quite a different experience from many books that I read.

Joey and Dorothy's relationship is immediate, yet it isn't romanticized. They are instantly drawn to one another in a way that I could honestly believe. Sometimes you can feel a person's presence and you are convinced that this is someone that you need to know. That's how it was for Joey and Dorothy.

I loved the stylistic writing used to distinguish Joey and Dorothy's perspectives. Joey's voice is clipped, almost staccato as we learn the horrors that he has to deal with at home. It is like he needs to tell his story fast, to get it out, get it over with. Dorothy's perspective is more narrative, descriptive, she takes the time to tell what she's thinking. The styles shift and change as their perspectives and situations change and this was completely organic to the story. 

Here are some notable quotes that stuck with me: 

"I couldn't help him. I could hold him, hold space for him -- but I couldn't save him. He had to find his own way through." (Dorothy, page 57)

"In the dark you know things can't get worse so you can finally rest some." (Joey, pages 95-96)

"Apparently an open mind closes real fast when your sixteen year old daughter's involved." (Dorothy, page 101)

"And the ironic thing is, I'd love to talk to them. I'd love to tell them how things have been, to get their advice on everything that's been happening, good and bad. It's all been so new, so much . . ." (Dorothy, page 103)

Melt is a moving book that I couldn't stop reading until the very end. And when I did finish those last pages, all I could think was - Wow, that happened. And it was powerful. 

I hope this book makes it in the hands of many readers.

Disclaimer:  I received this e-ARC from JenHalliganPR in exchange for my honest review.  I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARC provided. Quotes were taken from the e-ARC and are subject to change in the final copy. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

About Selene Castrovilla

Selene Castrovilla is an award-winning teen and children’s author who believes that through all trends, humanity remains at the core of literature. She is the author of Saved By the Music and The Girl Next Door, teen novels originally published by WestSide Books and now available digitally through ASD Publishing. Her third children’s book with Calkins Creek Books, Revolutionary Friends, was released in April. She is also a contributing author to UncommonYA. Selene holds an MFA in creative writing from New School University and a BA in English from New York University. She lives on Long Island with her two sons. Visit her website www.SeleneCastrovilla.com for book excerpts and more information!

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