JULIE CROSS
Expected publication: August 4th 2013
Publisher: Julie Cross
You guys, YOU GUYS!! THIS IS OUT!!
I had the biggest pleasure of beta reading Letters to Nowhere when it was just a draft written in 14 days. Yes, Julie is that awesome! She wrote the book in 14 days! And it blown my mind so the final result is sure to be epic.
Karen is a gymnast that recently lost her parents in a car accident but in the middle of her pain she has to make a choice, go with her family and leave her dream and everything she's ever known or stay with her coach and keep fighting for what she always wanted.
Suddenly this homeschooled girl whose life was all about gymnastics is sharing a living space with her not-so-very-easy-to-talk coach and his seventeen year old son.
Jordan seems like your typical high school guy at first, he has good grades, he parties... he's normal. And he also has deep scars and a lot of pain. He's not the bad boy, he's the biggest sweetheart!
The way the relationship between Karen and Jordan evolves in the book is just perfect. They bond easily and fall slowly. They help each other in ways they didn't know it was possible. They are simply a perfect fit.
Julie can make her characters and story line become real while you are reading. Any sports is hard for a child who wants to be a professional when they get older and that it all there for you to see and feel. But I really love how in the middle of the competition Karen is not alone, her team mates are a tight group, who come through they she needs them.
Karen is a very strong character going through a hard time. I really loved that she was confident with herself and could admit and work with the fact that she really wasn't a people person. The confidence with her body, even though girls her age looked so different from her, was something I really enjoyed and liked about her.
And the Letters...
Oh God they are so raw and simple... with them you learn things Karen will never say out laud, things she can't make herself say.
She writes for her parents, for coach Bentley and Jordan. She writes for herself and it's where you most see her grieving. And at this too Julie completely nails it. It's so real, so well written and developed.
Letter To Nowhere breathes emotions, the kind that make your heart squeeze and your eyes get all teary. It will make you cry and rip your heart out just to put it back together. And is not all serious there's some super funny moments between the two of them and Karen's inexperience with people make a very entertaining reading. Jordan bring the swoon like no one else, his gestures are simple and come just in the right moment and the right way.
I'm the author of the YA sci-fi trilogy, the Tempest series (St. Martin's Press). I'm also the author of the YA contemporary novel, Letters To Nowhere.
But even more importantly than the above, I'm a fan of books and an avid reader/reviewer. Keep in mind, however, that a review is just one person's opinion, one perspective. My goal is to show as much bias in my reviews as possible because this makes it easier for you to decide if your perspective is similar to mine or different. Everyone's tastes are different. I like books with emotion and believability. I don't mind edgy and heavy themes. I also like humor and quirk. I like weird characters in odd situations.
I have low tolerance for insta-love, flowery sex scenes, or mushy declarations of feelings. Not a fan of possessive/controlling male characters who get the girl in the end. When I recommend books, I always ask about favorite current reads and cater to each person's taste.
I believe every book plays an important role whether I love it or hate, it's having an effect on society. It's changing, shaping, and molding the future of publishing. Regardless of my feelings about a book, I value the author's time and effort put into creating their work. I only rate books available for purchase (or soon-to-be available) and consider those books as published works and their creators as professionals in their field therefore I treat them as professionals, giving my honest opinion on the work itself and not the person producing it.
If I rate a book and don't provide any written review and you'd like to hear my thoughts, feel free to comment on the review and if I can, I'll explain my reasoning behind the rating. I don't mind authors commenting on any review I post - negative or positive. Also happy to email to discuss Juliecrossauthor (at) gmail (dot) com please alert me if I misled readers or given false information (accidentally of course) and I'll correct the situation as soon as possible.
Her family may be shattered, but her dreams aren't...
From the International Bestselling Author of the Tempest series
A Mature YA contemporary set in the tough world of Elite Gymnastics. Grief, love and pursuing dreams are at the forefront of this emotionally powerful coming-of-age story.
Seventeen year old Karen Campbell has just lost both her parents in a tragic car accident. Grief stricken and alone, her gymnastics coach opens his home to Karen, providing her a place to live while she continues to train, working toward a spot on the world championship team.
Coach Bentley’s only child, seventeen year old Jordan is good-looking and charming enough to scare away a girl like Karen—someone who has spent ten times more hours on balance beams and uneven bars than talking or even thinking about boys. But the two teens share a special connection almost immediately. It turns out Jordan has a tragic past of his own, grief buried for years.
As Karen’s gymnastics career soars, her nightmares and visions of the horrible accident grow in strength. She can only avoid facing her grief for so long before it begins to surface and ultimately spin out of control in a very dangerous way. Can discovering love and lust (simultaneously) help with the grieving process or will it only provide a temporary distraction while waiting for reality to hit full force.
AND check out the alternative cover ;) I like this one the best, what about you?
You guys, YOU GUYS!! THIS IS OUT!!
I had the biggest pleasure of beta reading Letters to Nowhere when it was just a draft written in 14 days. Yes, Julie is that awesome! She wrote the book in 14 days! And it blown my mind so the final result is sure to be epic.
Karen is a gymnast that recently lost her parents in a car accident but in the middle of her pain she has to make a choice, go with her family and leave her dream and everything she's ever known or stay with her coach and keep fighting for what she always wanted.
Suddenly this homeschooled girl whose life was all about gymnastics is sharing a living space with her not-so-very-easy-to-talk coach and his seventeen year old son.
Jordan seems like your typical high school guy at first, he has good grades, he parties... he's normal. And he also has deep scars and a lot of pain. He's not the bad boy, he's the biggest sweetheart!
The way the relationship between Karen and Jordan evolves in the book is just perfect. They bond easily and fall slowly. They help each other in ways they didn't know it was possible. They are simply a perfect fit.
Julie can make her characters and story line become real while you are reading. Any sports is hard for a child who wants to be a professional when they get older and that it all there for you to see and feel. But I really love how in the middle of the competition Karen is not alone, her team mates are a tight group, who come through they she needs them.
Karen is a very strong character going through a hard time. I really loved that she was confident with herself and could admit and work with the fact that she really wasn't a people person. The confidence with her body, even though girls her age looked so different from her, was something I really enjoyed and liked about her.
And the Letters...
Oh God they are so raw and simple... with them you learn things Karen will never say out laud, things she can't make herself say.
She writes for her parents, for coach Bentley and Jordan. She writes for herself and it's where you most see her grieving. And at this too Julie completely nails it. It's so real, so well written and developed.
Letter To Nowhere breathes emotions, the kind that make your heart squeeze and your eyes get all teary. It will make you cry and rip your heart out just to put it back together. And is not all serious there's some super funny moments between the two of them and Karen's inexperience with people make a very entertaining reading. Jordan bring the swoon like no one else, his gestures are simple and come just in the right moment and the right way.
ABOUT JULIE CROSS
I'm the author of the YA sci-fi trilogy, the Tempest series (St. Martin's Press). I'm also the author of the YA contemporary novel, Letters To Nowhere.
But even more importantly than the above, I'm a fan of books and an avid reader/reviewer. Keep in mind, however, that a review is just one person's opinion, one perspective. My goal is to show as much bias in my reviews as possible because this makes it easier for you to decide if your perspective is similar to mine or different. Everyone's tastes are different. I like books with emotion and believability. I don't mind edgy and heavy themes. I also like humor and quirk. I like weird characters in odd situations.
I have low tolerance for insta-love, flowery sex scenes, or mushy declarations of feelings. Not a fan of possessive/controlling male characters who get the girl in the end. When I recommend books, I always ask about favorite current reads and cater to each person's taste.
I believe every book plays an important role whether I love it or hate, it's having an effect on society. It's changing, shaping, and molding the future of publishing. Regardless of my feelings about a book, I value the author's time and effort put into creating their work. I only rate books available for purchase (or soon-to-be available) and consider those books as published works and their creators as professionals in their field therefore I treat them as professionals, giving my honest opinion on the work itself and not the person producing it.
If I rate a book and don't provide any written review and you'd like to hear my thoughts, feel free to comment on the review and if I can, I'll explain my reasoning behind the rating. I don't mind authors commenting on any review I post - negative or positive. Also happy to email to discuss Juliecrossauthor (at) gmail (dot) com please alert me if I misled readers or given false information (accidentally of course) and I'll correct the situation as soon as possible.
I love this review!!!! thank you so much :)
ReplyDelete@Julie Cross
ReplyDeleteI love the book! Thanks for stopping by