PRE BOOK BIRTHDAY BUZZ: As Far As the Stars by Virginia MacGregor

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're shining the PRE BOOK BIRTHDAY SPOTLIGHT on a title COMING SOON to a bookstore shelf near you via Harper 360!  It's a Young Adult novel that deals with LIFE, LOVE, FAMILY, and TRAGEDY.  There's never a good time to lose someone you love, or even potentially lose them, but when there are so many WHAT IFs left to answer, so many unknowns to ponder, it can make it THAT much harder to come to terms with. What you're about to embark on is a journey, not about miles, or even about the places, but about the people...those that are with us, and those we CARRY with us, all our days.  Ready or not, here comes today's book of choice...

As Far As the Stars

by

Virginia MacGregor

9780008274504

HarperCollins

About the book...

Christopher is the sort of guy that no one notices, yet when Air catches sight of him making intricate paper birds in the airport, she can’t look away.

But their worlds are about to collide in ways they never expected. Someone they love is on Flight 0217 from London Heathrow. And it’s missing.

Convinced that her brother was on a different flight, Air drives them hundreds of miles across the country, on a trip that will change their lives forever.

But how do you tell the person you’re falling for that you might just be the reason their life has fallen apart?

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At first read, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it.  I was intrigued...and curious...but I wasn't certain exactly where we were going with everything.  I mean, it's a fairly lengthy book...the ARC was 430 pages...and to already be in the supposed thick of things, I was having a hard time fathoming just what we'd be "doing" for the rest of the story.  Were we covering up the big OH NO of it all until acceptance set in, or was there really a chance for things to be not so heartbreaking?  So, I read on...

It took me until I was finished to really form an opinion on this one.  I had to see if my suspicions were true, if the journey was worth the page count...and while truthfully it still felt a bit drawn out, it WAS good. It felt real...or as real as something like this can be experienced from the outside. Tragedy strikes...it doesn't care who you are, or the promises you've made, nor how the lives of those left behind will change, because they WILL change inevitably.  The bigger piece is how we adjust to those changes...how we choose to carry on, and how we take that piece of those no longer here with us through our days.  Christopher and Air form a bond that can't be broken, though it is tested time and time again, and while they'd much rather have those that are currently lost in their arms, the connection they've made will help them pull through the darkness into the light...and as far as the stars.

A beautiful story filled with tragedy AND light fit for Young Adult audiences in their teens and beyond.

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About the author...

Virginia Macgregor is currently Head of Creative Writing at Wellington College. Her debut novel WHAT MILO SAW was published by Sphere in hardback in July 2014 to rave reviews. Sphere have just signed a deal for two further adult novels from Virginia, to be published in 2017 and 2018.

SITE  |  TWITTER

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Special thanks to Meredith at HarperCollins Publishers for the ARC for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is set to celebrate its BOOK BIRTHDAY May 21st, 2019 (as of this post) via Harper 360, so mark your calendar or pre order your copy today!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!



Broken by Elizabeth Pulford

Why hello again!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers…the site that’s not afraid to try something new in a genre well loved; after all, how else are you going to find your next favorite read?

Today, we’re taking a stroll into the land of Young Adult books with an interesting contribution to the literary scene.  It’s a work of fiction and yet the events that transpire could realistically happen presenting us with a unique look at what happens, or might happen, behind the closed eyes of one with us but only just.  Confused?  Don’t be.  The book takes care of writing the perspectives beautifully and makes sure you (the reader) are up to speed on what’s happening so there will be no cries of being lost heard here.  Ready to make the acquaintance of today’s book of choice?  Coming at you in 3…2…1…

Broken

By

Elizabeth Pulford

Illustrated by

Angus Gomes

9780762450046

Running Press Teens

This is a story about familial love, lives lost both physically and in essence, and finding oneself again through the muck of life.  It’s told through an interesting perspective, that of 15 going on 16 year old Zara…who happens to be in a coma; she just doesn’t know it.  In truth, there’s a lot she doesn’t know quite yet, some of which is being withheld from her (to protect her of course), other things she has to discover the truth of on her own.

Told through both recollections of times gone by (harrowing as well as happy) and current events as they unfold, you get to know the many sides of young Zara.  From the strong willed teenager stubbornly seeking her own path to the dutiful kid sister playing her brother like a well loved guitar to get what she wants, the loved though perhaps overlooked at times daughter spinning circles with her pink sparkly scarf to the young lady laying broken before us into more pieces than can be imagined yet still fighting her way back from the brink.  It’s a hard journey filled with empty valleys of guilt, dreams shattered by sorrow and loss beyond compare, but with the support system she has in place and her own inner strength, I’d place my money on Zara.

In conclusion, a story that will appeal to both the avid and reluctant reader as it blurs the line between Young Adult Fiction and the artistry of the Graphic Novel with a well sharpened pencil.  The characters are believable even when they err on the side of the fantastical.  The events are complex yet still easy to follow.  The eventual outcome stays partially hidden like the face of Hoodman in the comics her brother Jem favorited, or for that matter, Jem himself, letting readers wander through the landscape of Zara’s mind as she seeks a path back to herself in more ways than one.  Despite the fact that some of the reviews I’m seen rated this one lower on their star scales, my own (if I used them) would reach much higher.  I not only enjoyed the read but was happily surprised by it as well and I think you will be too if you give it a chance.  Just sayin’.  ^_^

ARC for review courtesy of Seta at Running Press Teens.  (THANKS!)  For more information regarding this title as well as their full catalog, be sure to stop by their official site.  This title celebrated its book birthday a few weeks back via Running Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf near you.

Until next time...happy reading!