I'm really excited to be sharing an excerpt from the newest LGBTQ+ anthology being released this month. I support this book, because ALL PROCEEDS from the sale will be donated to The Trevor Project.
Derek Murphy, YA author and founder of the YA Author Alliance, is running a giveaway this month, 10 signed books by bestselling authors and a $200 giftcard.
Wishful Wednesday is my own little version of "Waiting On Wednesday". Every week, I'll pick an upcoming book that I'm anticipating the release for and showcase it here on the blog. This week, that book is going to be I Was Hereby the beautifully talented Gayle Forman.
Okay, I cannot even with this book, because it's Gayle Forman and nobody does contemporary like she does. And, because this looks like it's definitely going to have a hand in giving me ALL THE FEELS.
Cody and Meg were inseparable. Two peas in a pod. Until . . . they weren’t anymore.
When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.
I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.
To PreOrder a copy of I Was Here by Gayle Forman visit Amazon & Barnes&Noble!
Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist whose articles have appeared in such publications as Jane, Seventeen, Glamour, Elle, and The New York Times Magazine, to name just a few. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter. She has written If I Stay, Where She Went, Just One Day, Just One Year, Just One Night, and will be soon be releasing I Was Here.
Skye wants to meet the boy who will change her life forever. Seth feels their instant connection the second he sees her. When Seth starts talking to Skye at the last beach party of the summer, it’s obvious to both of them that this is something real. But when Seth leaves for college before they exchange contact info, Skye wonders if he felt the same way she did—and if she will ever see him again. Even if they find their way back to each other, can they make a long-distance relationship work despite trust issues, ex drama, and some serious background differences?
Teen favorite Susane Colasanti returns to the alternating-voice style of her beloved debut When It Happens in this Serendipity-inspired story about summer, soul mates, and the moments that change our lives forever.
All I Need is a perfect carefree whimsical romance for a great summer read! Susane Colasanti's character are wonderfully real and easy to connect with emotionally. This is a wonderfully written and compelling novel, that will make you laugh one minute and cry the next. It's such a heart-warming book filled with a fantastic cast of characters that you'll really enjoy. The romance is sweet and charming at its best and brilliantly showcases all of the ups and downs of a long-distance romance and the toll it can take on a couple.
Skye and Seth are easy to fall in love with. They each come with problems and complications of their own, but they also bring out the best in one another, too. Susane Colasanti write's this charming little love story, in such a way that is incredibly realistic and refreshing. I enjoyed the emotional way she was able to bring her characters to life. One of the best elements that makes this book so appealing, is the way she writes about love, loss, and the complexities of long-distance romance. It's a fun novel that showcases the sweet vulnerable aspects of young love, that any contemporary fan will enjoy. All I Need is a book that you will read in one sitting and come away from with a smile on your face.
Susane Consalati has penned a sweet, charming romance that is the perfect summer read for any fan of young adult contemporary. All I Need is filled with sweet memorable and heart warming characters, that are wonderfully deep, complex, and intriguing. You won't want to miss out on their story.
Susane Colasanti is the bestselling author of When It Happens, Take Me There, Waiting for You, Something Like Fate, So Much Closer, and Keep Holding On. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from New York University. Before becoming a full-time author in 2007, Susane was a high school science teacher for ten years. As a teenage Jersey girl, she felt like her true home was across the water in New York City. She now lives in downtown Manhattan.
Susane's seventh teen novel, All I Need, will be released on May 21, 2013.
Keep Holding On by Susanne Colasanti Publisher: Viking Juvenile Expected Publication: May 31, 2012 Pages: 224 Age Demographic: Young Adult amazon|b&n
A romantic and empowering book about bullying.
Noelle's life is all about survival. Even her best friend doesn't know how much she gets bullied, or the ways her mom neglects her. Noelle's kept so much about her life a secret for so long that when her longtime crush Julian Porter starts paying attention to her, she's terrified. Surely it's safer to stay hidden than to risk the pain of a broken heart. But when the antagonism of her classmates takes a dramatic turn, Noelle realizes it's time to stand up for herself--and for the love that keeps her holding on.
Keep Holding On is an emotionally empowering book of survival. Susane Consalati pens a powerfully realistic portrayal of bullying and child neglect and the after affects of it. Her characters are refreshing in the sense that they aren't clichéd. She writes them in such a way that they are likable and sympathetic to readers who cheer some of them on or ache with others. Though the subject matter and issues dealt with may seem a bit on the heavy side, the writing seems to come out on the lighter end. It is easily a book that readers can become absorbed in.
It's beautifully and poignantly written. Noelle is tormented relentlessly in school by numerous bullies, as well as being neglected in her home life by her own mother. She goes through most of the book keeping her head down, feeling as if it's better to stay quiet and as hidden as she possibly can, rather than to draw any more unwanted or unwarranted attention to herself. It isn't until a tragic incident happens, that she decides it's times to stand up for herself as well as others who have gone through something similar. It was nice to see her finally start to realize that she is good enough to be with her long time crush Julian and that she can be loved for who she is.
Julian was a really sweet, kind, and caring guy so full of charm that made him incredibly likable. It was sweet, to see how he understood Noelle better than she believed he could. It was heart wrenching to see Noelle push him away as many times as she did during the book, but it was also sweet to see that she finally realized that he did actually care about her despite the fact that there were a few differences between them. When they finally did end up together, their romance was just as sweet and charming as Julian was throughout the whole book. I really liked how he was able to help instill some confidence into Noelle, that she lacked before she finally realized that she could deserve someone as nice and sweet as Julian is.
Sherae and Simon were also such amazingly fabulous characters to get to know. Together, these two were wonderful friends to Noelle, helping her in their own ways that she doesn't even realize until later. Sherae is probably one of the best supporting characters I've seen written in young adult contemporary lately, because she was such a supportive best friend, didn't care about the monetary differences between her and Noelle, and did everything that she could do for her when she could. Simon was equally as fabulous as Sherae was in his own ways. He had his own style and originality and just seemed to never really care what other's thought of him or the things he did. One of the things that I personally enjoyed about him was how he was able to open up Noelle's eyes and give her a little more insight to embracing who she is and not letting other's get away with holding her down.
Keep Holding On is a book that I think everyone (not just young adults) would benefit from reading. It tackles neglect and the affects of bullying in such a powerful way, keeping it light enough that readers can connect easily with the characters emotionally and still benefit from the message. Susane Consalati gives readers her own personal insight into her life and things she's dealt with as a young adult, which makes it even more powerful and emotional. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy the wonderful writing styles of Lauren Barnholdt, Sarah Dessen, Jennifer Echols or Elizabeth Scott.
Want to purchase Susane Consalati's Books?
You can do so by visiting my Amazon Store and adding them to your shopping cart. While you're there, feel free to look around, you might find something else you want. This is something new that I'm trying out, so thank you so much for helping me out and for supporting me and my blog. I hope you enjoyed the review and the books, if you've already read them. If you haven't, then I definitely suggest you pick up a copy for yourself or even for someone else, if you think they'll like them.
Susane Colasanti is the author of When It Happens, Take Me There, Waiting for You, Something Like Fate, and So Much Closer. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from New York University. Before becoming a full-time author, Susane was a high school science teacher for almost ten years. As a teenage Jersey girl, she felt like her true home was across the water in New York City. She now lives in the West Village.
Susane's sixth book, Keep Holding On, will be released on May 31, 2012. You can visit Susane'sblog for the latest news.
Author information taken from her .
{ This ARC was provided by ATW ARC Tours, in exchange for an honest review which I have provided. No money exchanged hands, I review books for fun because I love to read. I am not interested in monetary gain. Any piece of this ARC that was or wasn't quoted, is not part of the finished product and should not be perceived as such. Instead, you should compare and check it against a finished copy once it is released.}
If you are an author or a publisher and you would like for me to consider reading and reviewing your book, please review my policy and email me and I will get back to you.
Keep Holding On
ABOUT SUSANE CONSALATI
