Roomie survival

Today, I'm sharing a story about a roommate for the "Win one for you and your reader" Sweepstakes!

Little, Brown Books presents...

The countdown to college has begun.

When Elizabeth receives her freshman-year roommate assignment at the beginning of summer, she shoots off an email to coordinate the basics: TV, microwave, mini-fridge. She can't wait to escape her New Jersey beach town, and her mom, and start life over in California.


The first note to Lauren in San Francisco comes as a surprise; she had requested a single. But if Lauren's learned anything from being the oldest of six, it's that you can't always get what you want, especially when what you want is privacy.


Soon the girls are emailing back and forth, sharing secrets even though they've never met. With family relationships and childhood friendships strained by change, it suddenly seems that the only people Elizabeth and Lauren can rely on are the complicated new boys in their lives...and each other.


With humor and heart, Sara Zarr, National Book Award finalist for Story of a Girl, and Tara Altebrando, acclaimed author of The Pursuit of Happiness, join forces for a novel about that time after high school, when everything feels like it's ending just as it's beginning.

The authors are on tour!

• January 12, 2014 – New York, NY: McNally Jackson [venue link]
• January 15, 2014 – Salt Lake City, UT: The King's English [venue link]
• January 16, 2014 – Provo, UT: Provo Library [venue link]
• February 4, 2014 – San Francisco, CA: Books Inc, Opera Plaza [venue link] 
• February 5, 2015 – Petaluma, CA: Copperfield's Books [venue link]

My roommate story:

Yeah, okay mine is not gonna be funny.  Well, you may think it's funny but I still have nightmares about it.  The roommate that drove me crazy was actually my BRAND NEW Hubby's BFF.  They were sharing a condo when we got married.  My husbands condo, mind you.  Yeah, well I thought I was marrying one guy and got two.  It was way too much for a new bride to take, I assure you.  From him following me around the kitchen while I made breakfast hoping for some before he left for work to his weird hours to his mess.  Then there was the smirking looks I got all the time.  WTH? He was always giving me that cat who ate the mouse look?? Yeah, okay we had just come out of the bedroom together but I JUST GOT MARRIED.  I'm allowed.  You, on the other hand, should move out.  Yeah, I'm still not over it.  So, I'm sure you're laughing but I'm glaring. Well, it may be a little funny - the sad little look on his face when he didn't get breakfast before he had to leave for work.

Giveaway:

The publisher has a copy of the book for me to giveaway.  US only.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

My post entries me and one of my readers to win a Roomie survival kit/gift pack including earplugs, home spa essentials, a signed copy of the book, a special note from the authors, and other fun things--all packed in a shower caddy! Wish me luck.

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown ~ Review

Available today! 

Source:  Received from publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Book Description:

Ashleigh's boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to leave for college, and Ashleigh is worried that he'll forget about her while he's away. So at a legendary end-of-summer pool party, Ashleigh's friends suggest she text him a picture of herself -- sans swimsuit -- to take with him. Before she can talk herself out of it, Ashleigh strides off to the bathroom, snaps a photo in the full-length mirror, and hits "send."

But when Kaleb and Ashleigh go through a bad breakup, Kaleb takes revenge by forwarding the text to his baseball team. Soon the photo has gone viral, attracting the attention of the school board, the local police, and the media. As her friends and family try to distance themselves from the scandal, Ashleigh feels completely alone -- until she meets Mack while serving her court-ordered community service. Not only does Mack offer a fresh chance at friendship, but he's the one person in town who received the text of Ashleigh's photo -- and didn't look.

Acclaimed author Jennifer Brown brings readers a gripping novel about honesty and betrayal, redemption and friendship, attraction and integrity, as Ashleigh finds that while a picture may be worth a thousand words . . . it doesn't always tell the whole story.

 My Thoughts:

 

4 stars - This story, this picture is so much more than a thousand words

This is not my normal read, not even close.  I wanted to read this book because I teach middle school students a unit on Internet Safety and it includes sexting.  I wish I could have them read this book.  That would be enough to convince them to never do it.  It would be enough to convince them it's possible to pick up the pieces after everything has fallen apart.  This story, this picture is so much more than a thousand words.

I liked Ashleigh.  She was your typical good student/athlete kind of girl.  Great boyfriend and great friends with no real issues.  The only problem was that her boyfriend was leaving for college and she was afraid of losing him.  Her choice to take and then send him a nude picture to keep his interest dramatically effected her life.  It effected Kaleb's life so much too.  You see, he was eighteen when he decided to pass that picture on in a fit of rage.  Now he's facing adult charges of child pornography.  Neither of these two meant to cause the problems that they did, they didn't think.  That's what I really want my students to understand.  The moment you hit send, you lose all control over what you sent.  Anything can and does happen to it once it hits cyberspace.  I explain this.  I show videos of people this happened to.  We look at real life case studies.  We make presentations about them.  But it just doesn't seem to hit home.  How do I know it doesn't hit home?  All you have to do is visit You tube to know they are not listening to me.  I think they would listen to Ashleigh.

This book is split between before and after the incident.  We see the events unfolding in one chapter and the consequences  in the next.  Knitting both sides together, this book is a powerful story of just how painful this kind of mistake can be.  It can show just how much you might have to pay for a moments mistake.  But it also shows how it's possible to survive such an event and move on with your life.

I shall not speak of Kaleb.  He made me so angry that I struggled to have sympathy for him, though I know he got much more than he deserved.   I will, however, speak of Ashleigh and Mack.  Ashleigh is strong but not enough to survive this when even her friends abandon her.  What I loved was that the quiet boy from community service had so much to teach her.  She learned without him speaking a lot.  He was her strength and stood by her.  His life and his pain was bitter but he stood by Ashleigh.  This isn't a new love interest for her, no this is a great friend.  Mack helps her discover the strength that was in her all along.  He is the friend she needs to over come the pain that others thoughtless dump on her for a moments mistake.  I loved Mack.

This is must read for any teen.  I wish I had the power to assign it as required reading at every middle school and high school in the nation, in the world.  I would.  Teens need to understand this.  This story does a powerful job of teaching.

If you are a teen, or know one, then pick this one up and check it out.

 

Jennifer Brown | Goodreads | Twitter | Amazon | B&N