Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Mature Young Adult Contemporary
Release Date: August 1st 2013
Buy Links:
Amazon ♥ Barnes&Noble
Book Description:
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.
Executed with impressive precision, Letters To Nowhere is my new favourite YA contemporary novel. Not only did it inspire me as an individual to treasure every moment - it also left me raw from all the emotions I experienced while reading this book. The story takes place after Karen’s parents are killed in a car accident leaving Karen, a young talented gymnast, an orphan.
What makes this tale so special is Karen’s coping mechanism. When faced with what is likely a life time of questions, she writes letters to her deceased parents - and sometimes quick letters to those around her that are never posted. My heart bled for her throughout the entire book, as I’m sure others will also if you’ve ever lost someone.
Julie Cross, author of Letters To Nowhere, really illustrates her skills as a gifted writer by introducing well rounded and distinctive characters that you will instantly love, or instantly hate. Guiding the reader through a delicate choreography of emotions, Julie Cross gave a solid in depth look inside the gymnastic world, as well as a personal look into the mind, body and soul of an athlete. Upon completing the novel I instantly felt a loss for Karen and could easily envision what the future held for all the characters. It is, without a doubt, the kind of book that stays with you for a while.
Letters To Nowhere is so well written that I immediately pressed my fiancĂ© to read the book, and he too enjoyed the book thoroughly. Without having any prior knowledge of gymnastics, I can guarantee by the end that you’ll be watching the Olympics next time with a better understanding of what these athletes go through.
If you enjoy reading books that are well written, interesting, and full of characters that you can’t help but instantly bond with, than this book is for you.
I gave Letters To Nowhere 5 out of 5 hearts.
Author Bio:
I live in central Illinois with my wonderful
husband and three kids currently between the ages of 7 and 12 (the kids not the
husband). My writing journey began in May, 2009 with a short story in a
notebook.
Within a
year, I had written seven (some good some God-awful) young adult novels. Not
being a college graduate and having spent the previous fifteen years teaching
gymnastics and working as a YMCA Program Director for Recreational Gymnastics,
professional writing wasn't in my plans. Not even close. But ever since the day
I started that short story, I haven't been able to stop. It was love at first
sight.
After
about a year of writing, I had a three book deal with St. Martin's Press, and a
film option with Summit Entertainment. Crazy, right? I know. It wasn't until
August of 2011 that I quit working full time in order to be at home with my
kids more and of course, write more. My young adult time travel debut novel,
Tempest, released on January 17, 2012. The rest of my personal story remains
unwritten.
Thank you so much! Amazing review and I'm so excited to hear gymnastics is bleeding into my readers. My evil plan is working :)
ReplyDeleteNicky fantastic review! I totally agree with you, I did gymnastic as a child but certainly not to this level so I didn't even know the words used LOL but like you said, Julie doesn't make you feel like an outsider even though you don't know anything about gymnastic.
ReplyDelete