When
Brie's stepfather moves the family for what he calls a new beginning, it's not
the new beginning the beautiful, yet guarded, senior would have hoped for. Brie
is instantly targeted by jealous girls at her new school, and the only
available seat on her bus is next to the school’s star wide receiver, Jake, who
for some reason, finds her offensive. After a humiliating article and picture
of Brie is posted in the online school journal, a demon she thought she'd
overcome resurfaces, and her life unravels. A newly
compassionate Jake has finally taken an interest in her, but can Brie learn to
trust her heart, or will she miss out on the best thing that ever happened to
her?
Jake
has his own secrets and has built his own walls, but eventually his curiosity
about the new girl gets the best of him. Unfortunately, now there is competition:
the captain of her cross country team. Jake's romantic histories with the girl
next door and the school's queen bee, adds tension to a simmering tempest when
all he wants is Brie. Is he strong enough to help the one he loves weave sense
into her crumbling new reality while overcoming his own tainted past?
CARLY'S REVIEW:
I read through this book rather quickly as it caught my interest and then held on to it. I enjoy young adult fiction and this book does not disappoint. The book centers around Brie, the new girl in town. She is beautiful which makes her a target right away with the "mean girls." Their jealousy and desire to hurt in order to make them feel better about themselves is something I think every teenage girl can relate to. It doesn't help that Brie has attracted the attention of popular Jake, a football player and band member of Sublime Karma.
Jake has his own battles he is dealing with and now he has competition in Ryan, the captain of the cross-country team, for Brie's affections. It's refreshing to see how Jake supports Brie and her battles. He shows that even though he is popular, he doesn't have to be mean or intimidate in order to be liked. He is genuine.
The book also deals with cutting. This is something that a lot of teens are struggling with. I never understood the concept because self inflicted pain just seemed strange to me. I mentioned this to a teen girl a few years ago and that is when I discovered she was a cutter. She explained that with all the things she had gone through and had no control over, that cutting was something she could control. She could control how deep she cut or how many times. The sting of the blade reminded her she was alive and could still feel things. She said it was a release of everything she kept pent up inside. It's sad. Just sad.
My only issue with this book is that there is a lot going on in it. I got pulled out of the story a couple of times just checking to make sure I was getting everything. All in all, this is a good read. I would rate it at 4 stars.
EXCERPT FROM SUBLIME KARMA:
The bus snaked its way
through the country roads and then to the lavish development that backed up to
the woods behind his house. Upperclassmen from this neighborhood had their own
cars. This bus collected the underclassmen: those few who weren’t chauffeured,
as minions of the privileged.
Jake leaned back in
his seat and folded his arms across his chest, not looking at the kids coming
down the aisle. None dared to ask if they could sit in the empty space next to
him. They’d sit three to a seat rather than make that request. Just the way he
wanted it.
The over-filled bus
pulled to a stop midway down Belmont Circle. New stop? Jake looked out his
window at the estate with a circular drive. Huh. It finally sold. He watched as
a single figure headed toward the bus. What, so now they get door-to-door
service? He rolled his eyes.
Seconds later, she
stood in the aisle waiting. From his seat, his eyes skimmed up passed her faded
jeans and plain, loose sweater, and his breath caught in his throat. Her long
blond hair was pulled to the side in a loose braid. Her face? Ethereal. But
then, his flustered gaze became an annoyed glare.
Her bleak gray eyes
seemed to look right through him before they darted to the space next to him.
Did she even register his indignation? She must have. Yet, she stood there in
the aisle twisting the loose adjustment strap on her backpack tightly around
her fingers.
“May I sit here?” her
meek voice broke the silence that had fallen around them.
Noticing the hush of
conversation, Jake’s eyes skimmed the crowded bus. There was no doubt he and
this new girl had an audience. Not something he relished.
His eyes swept back to
her. He could tell she was nervous. He heard it in her quavering voice and saw
it in the way she avoided his eyes. He could just say no. But, as long as she
was standing, the bus wouldn’t budge. Becca looked at him from her seat across
the aisle then whipped her phone out and started her eager texting. He narrowed
his eyes at her, and then with a smirk, he stood.
“Really?” he bit out
at her under his breath, leaning close so only she could hear. He grabbed his
backpack from the seat and football bag off the wheel well and then moved his
six-foot-one frame into the aisle. With a jerk of his head, he directed her to
the space by the window.
She slipped by him
with lithesome poise, maneuvering in the small space without so much as
brushing against him. He watched her settle into the seat with perfect posture,
even though her feet were raised up on the wheel well. Her vacant eyes never
returned to his. So, why was his heart suddenly beating faster? Was it because
of his rudeness and the fact that she ignored it? Could it be remorse? She
didn’t seem to have that presumptuous, stuck-up attitude that so annoyed him.
She looked almost . . . empty.
ABOUT PEYTON GARVER:
As a child, Peyton called places like Livorno,
Italy; Orléans, France; and Augsburg, Germany home. She has since settled in
Maryland, where she earned her degree in education at Towson State University,
married her sweetheart of two years, and became an instant mother to three
spirited young boys before adding another son to the brood. And, with their
yellow lab George, it's no stretch to say she's outnumbered.
When not writing, Peyton is a full time teacher.
Inspired by the individual spirits, heartaches, and triumphs of her students,
Peyton has developed characters who resemble real world teens dealing with real
issues: relationships, jealousy, bullying, and depression. Her newest novel,
Sublime Karma, is a contemporary story filled with emotion, depth, wit, and
suspense. Sublime Karma will be published in the fall of 2016 by Soulmate
Publishing.
When asked if she actually involves her students in
her stories, Peyton answered that her stories are completely fictional, but
then admitted to an activity in which she does involve them. "One quirky,
fun thing I like to do with students who have read my book is develop a dream
cast for my characters. That all started when a group of girls were arguing
over which actor they thought best fit the character Four in Veronica Roth's
novel Divergent. They then turned their efforts to my manuscript. I've since added those dream casts to my
website."
When she's not teaching or writing, Peyton enjoys
traveling. The Caribbean Islands have become a favorite vacation getaway for
Peyton and her husband. "Nothing is better than sitting on a beach, in
front of the crystal clear sea, enveloped in the warmth of the tropical sun
with a frosty piña colada and a good book that I just can't put down."
LINKS:
Buy Link: http://amzn.to/2lJTsZi
Author
Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/peyton_garver
Website: http://www.peytongarver.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peyton.garver.7
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