Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Trust by Kylie Scott ~ Review & Excerpt




Source: Received an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Being young is all about the experiences: the first time you skip school, the first time you fall in love…the first time someone holds a gun to your head.

After being held hostage during a robbery at the local convenience store, seventeen year old Edie finds her attitude about life shattered. Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers. While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.

An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.

Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.









I adore this author so I was super excited to read this YA story that sounds like it would be emotional. Emotional it was and so much more.

Here's the things that you need to know about this book.  Edie is a plus sized girl, a good girl and a follow the rules girl.  John is a bad boy, a boy that doesn't go back for seconds, a drug dealer, a boy with a history.  They experience something horrific together.  And things change, a lot.  And while it's clear they are experiencing feeling for each other - each has to deal with things in their own way.  And it took a path that was hard as they learned to trust and figure out who they are in this new post trauma world.

I love Edie.  She's always been a good girl.  She follows the rules and gets good grades.  She reads a lot.  She's had a best friend since very young.  Her private school is paid for by her Grandmother but she really doesn't belong in the rich world.  She's plus sized and bullied for it.  Then the impossible happens.  (And it happens in the first chapter - no spoiler here - it's in the blurb).  It changes her.  

John - well I ended up loving him.  He's a bad boy who never goes back for seconds, well not much anyway.  He's quiet.  He deals in weed.  He doesn't care much about school.  He has a reputation there.  All the girls want him.  All the teachers have given up on him.  But when the impossible happens, he fights.  He changes too, though differently than Edie.  

Together they end up friends.  Friends who understand each other because of what they shared.  And while Edie has a crush right away, John seems unaffected by her.  Yeah, right.  Don't let him fool you.  And that was what took me so long to fall for him.  He did need to get his head on straight but some of things he did redeemed himself so wonderfully.  Sweet.  And he stood up for Edie.  Protected her.  Refused to let her put herself down.  Yeah, I fell hard for him.

The story itself is one of survival and acceptance, of moving on and growing up, and of falling in the real kind of love.  There are bully's that need to be punched and real life slapping you in the face.  It's gritty and yet has moments of humor.  It sucked me in from the first page and I pretty much read it straight through.  It's full of firsts, including the messy one that can be embarrassing.  It's got anger, friendship and forgiveness (not of the jerk that had the gun pointed at them - no his behind is in jail where it belongs).  It's real and poignant.  

Expertly crafted, the writing weaves a story of two people who would never have met otherwise but because they are in the same place at the same time one fateful night their worlds change.  Together they find a future.  The way this book ends speaks to the skill of this author.  The story doesn't follow a normal romance path, no it follows a path that binds these two and is perfection.  I loved it. 

If you love a good YA read, then this one is the one for you.

                                          




EXCERPT
“You were going to give it up to Duncan Dickerson?” he sneered. “Are you serious?”
I halted, staring at him. This was not good. “How do you know about that?”
“Anders overheard you and Hang talking.”
“Bastard.”
“Well?” he demanded, acting all authoritarian. Idiot.
“To be fair, I didn’t know his last name was Dickerson,” I said. “That’s unfortunate. Though, I wasn’t actually planning on marrying him, so . . .”
“Not funny.”
I shrugged.
“You barely know the guy.”
“Um, yeah. None of your concern. We’re not talking about this.” How mortifying! My face burned bright. People should just gather around and cook s’mores. “I appreciate that we’re friends. You mean a lot to me. But this is going to have to fall under definitely none of your damn business, so go away please.”
“We’re talking about it.” He advanced a step.
“No we are not.” And I retreated.
“You were going to let a complete stranger touch you.” Advance.
Retreat. “People do it all the time. You do it all the time.”
“But you don’t,” he said, taking the final step, backing me up against the side of his car and getting all in my face. “Edie, this is your first time we’re talking about. Isn’t it?”
“Yes, and it’s going to be messy and painful and probably horribly embarrassing and I just want it over and done with.” I tried to meet his eyes but failed, settling for a spot on his right shoulder. “You’re not a girl; you wouldn’t understand. Also, last time I checked, you’re not the gatekeeper of my hymen, John Cole. So back the fuck off.”
He said nothing.
Deep, calming breaths. “Look, someday I’ll meet someone I really like and we’ll have a deep and meaningful relationship and go at it like bunnies. But I don’t want to be the dumb virgin in that scenario.”
He slowly shook his head.
“Also, I do not want to die a virgin.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Hey, you and I both know death can occur at any time.”
“This is crazy.”
“I’m seeing a therapist!” I told his shoulder. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m a little bit messed up these days. It’s hard for me to trust people. That’s not going to change anytime soon.”
He screwed up his face at me. “Wha—”
“I’m just trying to be practical.”
“Well, you’re being ridiculous. None of this makes sense.”
“It does to me.”
Again, he said nothing.
In fact, he said nothing for so long that I finally looked him in the eye. The anger had left him, replaced by an emotion I didn’t recognize. Worst of all, he still smelled like summer. A little sweat and the open night air, everything I loved. Liked. I meant liked.
“What?” I said, finally.
He let loose a breath. “I’ll do it.”









ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kylie is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013 & 2014, by the Australian Romance Writer’s Association and her books have been translated into eleven different languages. She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet. You can learn more about Kylie from http://www.kylie-scott.com/
Links:
















1 comment:

  1. I'm so picky with my YA contemporary but this one sounds really good. Great review!

    ReplyDelete