A Fiction Week

This week has been filled with new book discoveries and It Started with Goodbye and One Paris Love are two of them. Both these books are published under Blink, a division of Harper Collins. Blink’s goal is to produce YA books that are clean without sacrificing gritty storylines and dynamic characters. They have several stand-alone novels as well as series that I am excited to dive into. 

It Started With Goodbye by Christina June

Family dynamics are tricky as it is, but when you find yourself in the wrong place with the wrong boyfriend for a best friend at the wrong time, tricky is not an accurate word. This is the situation Tatum finds herself in with her step-family. Tatum is sixteen when she is accused of a crime she didn’t commit and sentenced to summer of house arrest and community service. She serves her time under the watchful of her stepmother while her dad is away. She spends the limited free time that she has operating an underground graphic design business, which leads to the discovery of another secret operation in the room next door. Her stepsister has her own secret, which may open the door for the redemption of Tatum and her fractured family.

I love spunky outspoken characters and that is who Tatum is, she is an artistic soul who speaks her mind. She does not hold back and that was the hook that kept me reading. Clean fiction is hard to come by and it is even harder to find books that are clean and have compelling storylines. This book is both of those things. If you know a young person or your just young at heart like me, this story will pull at your heart strings and make you look at the hard to love people around you with new perspective.

Great story with a lot of heart.

One Paris Love by Denise Grover Swank

A summer in Paris would make any girl swoon with delight, but not Sophie. After her father walked out on them a year ago with no explanation, she finds herself along with her brother on the way to attend his wedding and meet their new step-sister, who has agreed to show them around the city. Sounds like a sweet deal, until step-sister turns out to be worse than the textbook definition. Sophie’s summer is miserable and is made worse by being away from her beloved piano. Auditions are on the line and she is rooming with her worst nightmare, but Sophie cannot escape the charm of Paris. There are two new boys fighting for her affection and wild adventures under the tower lights, Sophie’s summer is a wild adventure.

Sophie’s story is charming. It is beautiful picture of perseverance when everyone dislikes you, and fighting for your dream when the one you love doesn’t support you. I read this book in one night, I could not put it down. Seeing Sophie transform from timid to a strong young woman who knows her worth and the value of what she has to offer the world is what all of us should grow in ourselves and encourage in those around us. I hope you will grab this book for any young woman in your life, it would make a great vacation read, especially if you find yourself stuck at home when you really want to be in Paris; the imagery in this book is breathtaking. This book is uplifting and warmed my heart, I hope it will touch yours too.

- Hannah