Memory Lane Monday is a weekly meme that Amber at Paradise of Pages and I, Kristalyn at The Sarcastic Palmtree, came up with. We have been wanting to re-read some of our favorites but feel overwhelmed by all the other new books coming out that our re-reads get put to the side. We have decided we don't want to put them aside anymore, so we will be taking turns putting up our reviews on our throughout the month. This does not mean we won't keep up with recent releases as well, it just means we will make more time for those we have read before as well.
Here's how Memory Lane Monday works:
Seventeen year old Katelyn Richards is a stronger person than anyone will ever know, and that is just the way she wants it. Behind her normal facade lies the reality of a broken home life. Thanks to her abusive mother, a string of deadbeat stepfathers, and an unsympathetic system, Katelyn has learned that the only one she can count on is herself. Her life’s mission has become to shield her nine year old brother, Kevin, and to give him the future that they both wish for. A life with no more abuse, no worries about where their next meal will come from, and no more wondering if they will have a roof over their heads.When her mother moves them again, this time to a small town in Montana, Katelyn’s resolve is shaken when she meets Max, a cute boy from her new school, who gets a glimpse into her real world. Max slowly manages to break through Katelyn’s wall of distrust, stirring up feelings she never saw coming. Now with her world more complicated than she ever intended, Katelyn struggles with the decision to follow her heart into the arms of the first boy she has ever loved. A decision that could risk the promise she made to protect Kevin, and to give them the ‘someday soon’ that is so close within their grasp.
If you would like to read my memory post of Wishing For Someday Soon you can here.
I had honestly forgotten how much I love this book! Tiffany King is a favorite author of mine and since I didn't have a blog the last time that I read this book, I'm excited to give it a review because it is one of my favorites of hers!
I got totally lost in the pages of this book. I loved every minute of it. I was so angry at Katelyn and Kevin's mom for how she treated them throughout. This woman was terrible and can rot in Hades as far as I'm concerned! Although I am not an abusive parent, I do have occasion to lost my cool and yell at my kids or drag them by the arm to their room, reading about the way Lucinda treated her children made my want to try and be a better mom. At one point it actually hit me that I have kids that are almost the same ages as the children in this book. Katelyn is 17 and my son is 16. Kevin is 9 and my daughter is also 9. It was with a broken heart that the realized if "I" was a different person, this could be my kids struggling through their lives. Instead of having a home where my son helps his little sister learn duets at the piano, or his 13 year old sister play songs on the guitar, they could be trying to figure out where their next meal was going to come from or whether or not they should disturb their mom or not for fear that they may get beat up because of it. It made my heart ache for Katelyn and Kevin and brought me so close to tears for their terrible life.
I loved Max. He was such a great guy. He was so good to both Katelyn and Kevin. He didn't care where Katelyn lived, how many times she had moved, how much money she had or didn't have, he just cared about her. He truly saw past what most people would shy away from. He never treated Kevin like a pesky younger brother. He included him whenever he was around. He had a heart of gold and you knew he cared for Katelyn no matter what happened.
The entire small town ended up taking care of these kids and helping them in quiet ways to try and make their lives more tolerable. Sometimes there isn't a lot you can do for people in bad situations, but it is the little things in life that really matter and it was the little things that really meant a lot to Katelyn and Kevin.
If you haven't read this book I would highly recommend it. I love Tiffany King's writing style. She knows how to bring a story to life and write characters you can fall in love with and relate to.
- Each week the co-hosts will trade off with recapping when it is a re-read or what they have heard so far about the book and the other co-host will put up their review.
- The participants can read anything that they remember reading in the past, or something that they have wanted to read that has been around for a while and just haven't gotten around to reading it yet for whatever reason.
- Participants can decide if they want to recap the book before reading it or just put up a review of what they read.
- Anyone can join in, just please link back to our blogs as well as add your name to the linky so we can hop around and see what everyone is reading.
- Please put our banner on your post as well, so we all look the same!
- We ask you kindly to follow BOTH of our blogs.
- Most importantly remember to just have fun! :)
We will be providing each week a linky that you will be able use to link your posts for us and everyone else to see as well. All we ask is for you to put up our banner as well as a link back to both hosts on your post.
I loved this book too. I'd read it again, and you know that's rare. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDelete