Knee Deep by Jolene Perry (Book Review)

Title: Knee Deep
Author: Jolene Perry
Publisher: Tribute Books


About the Book: You’re a girl, he says, and are probably seeing things that aren’t there.

Shawn is the guy Ronnie Bird promised her life to at the age of fourteen. He's her soul mate. He's more uptight every day, but it's not his fault. His family life is stressful, and she's adding to it. She just needs to be more understanding, and he'll start to be the boy she fell in love with. She won’t give up on someone she’s loved for so long.

Luke is her best friend, and the guy she hangs with to watch girlie movies in her large blanketopias. He's the guy she can confide in before she even goes to her girlfriends, and the guy who she's playing opposite in Romeo and Juliet. Now her chest flutters every time he gets too close. This is new. Is Ronnie falling for him? Or is Juliet? The lines are getting blurry, but leaving one guy for another is not something that a girl like Ronnie does.

Shawn’s outbursts are starting to give her bruises, and Luke’s heart breaks as Ronnie remains torn. While her thoughts and feelings swirl around the lines between friendship and forever, she’s about to lose them both.

My thoughts:  For me, this book started out slow, but I was quickly immersed in Ronnie's story.  I think that every young girl thinks her first love will be her only love, and the author does a great job of capturing those feelings for the reader. But there is more than just first love going on here. Shawn has started to change and Ronnie is convinced that if she just gives him more time, he will be the boy she fell in love with again - regardless of the consequences. 

And then there is Luke.  Who remembers all those feelings you get when the boy of your dreams walks in the room?  Ronnie begins to have those feelings for Luke, but she convinces herself that these are not her feelings, but those of Juliet for her Romeo - the characters the two of them are playing in the school play.  She is sure that once the play is over she will be able to let those feelings go and that the problems Shawn is having will have begun to ease by then and that relationship will get back on track.  

Jolene Perry does a great job of dealing with the sensitive issue of abusive relationships and how women, especially teens, can make exceptions to excuse the behavior in the one they love - and who loves them.  I have already told my daughter that I want her to read this book - because I want her to see how no abuse is okay, and there is no reason good enough to make it okay.   

~I received a complimentary ecopy of this book from Tribute Books in exchange for my unbiased review.~

About the author: Jolene grew up in Wasilla, Alaska. She graduated from Southern Utah University with a degree in political science and French, which she used to teach math to middle schoolers.

After living in Washington, Utah and Las Vegas, she now resides in Alaska with her husband, and two children. Aside from writing, Jolene sews, plays the guitar, sings when forced, and spends as much time outside as possible.

She is also the author of Night Sky and The Next Door Boys.

You can find out more about the book and connect with the author at the following locations: 

Knee Deep web site:
http://knee-deep-book.blogspot.com/  
Knee Deep Twitter hashtag:
#KneeDeep
Knee Deep GoodReads page:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12987551-knee-deep
Jolene Perry's Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002038196677

Jolene Perry's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/JoleneBPerry

Jolene Perry's Website:
http://www.jolenebperry.com/

Jolene Perry's Blog:
http://www.jolenesbeenwriting.blogspot.com/

Jolene Perry's GoodReads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4944599.Jolene_B_Perry

Tribute Books website:
http://www.tribute-books.com

Tribute Books Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176

Tribute Books Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks

Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186

Knee Deep

Publisher/Publication Date: Tribute Books, May 2012

ISBN: 9780983741886

ISBN: 9781476060316

240 pages

Night Sky by Jolene Perry (Book Review)

Title: Night Sky
Author: Jolene Perry
Publisher: Tribute Books


About the book: Girl I’ve loved, girl I’m falling for. Now that they’re both in view, the problem is clear.

After losing Sarah, the friend he’s loved, to some other guy, Jameson meets Sky. Her Native American roots, fluid movements, and need for brutal honesty become addictive fast. This is good. Jameson needs distraction – his dad leaves for another woman, his mom’s walking around like a zombie, and Sarah’s new boyfriend can’t keep his hands off of her.

As he spends time with Sky and learns about her village, her totems, and her friends with drums - she's way more than distraction. Jameson's falling for her fast.

But Sky’s need for honesty somehow doesn’t extend to her life story – and Jameson just may need more than his new girl to keep him distracted from the disaster of his senior year.

About the author: Jolene grew up in Wasilla, Alaska. She graduated from Southern Utah University with a degree in political science and French, which she used to teach math to middle schoolers.

After living in Washington, Utah and Las Vegas, she now resides in Alaska with her husband, and two children. Aside from writing, Jolene sews, plays the guitar, sings when forced, and spends as much time outside as possible.

She is also the author of The Next Door Boys and the upcoming Knee Deep.

You can connect with Jolene on Facebook, Twitter, her website, her blog, and on Goodreads.

My thoughts:  This was a very gentle coming-of-age story for Jameson, or Jay, as most of his friends called him.  Now I don't mean gentle in the way that means there was no conflict.  I don't think you can really have a  coming-of-age story without conflict, and some of the things that Jay deals with are some pretty weighty issues.  I mean gentle in that it flowed smoothly from the beginning of the story.  I became invested in the characters pretty quickly, and liked the interaction between Jay and Sky.

What really made Night Sky interesting for me though, was that it was a romance, from a guy's perspective. Jameson was actually able to be sensitive and have real feelings without being too sappy. I liked the way that he stepped up for his mom when she was hurting, and recognized that she might need some extra help with his dad gone. He also tried to be loyal to his friend Sarah, even when she and her new boyfriend Eric were practically in his face a lot. 

And then there was Sky.  She is a neighbor's granddaughter from Alaska, whom Jay meets quite by chance.  She is a freshman at the local college, but hits it off almost immediately with Jameson.  The only things she asks of him is for complete honesty.  The problem with complete honesty is that it means you have to be completely honest with yourself as well.  

I enjoyed this book.  It wasn't a heavy read even though it dealt with some heavy subjects. I think the focus though was on how we get through the bad stuff and come out on the other end, which gave it a very positive spin. 

~I received a complimentary ecopy of this book from Tribute Books in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Night Sky

Publisher/Publication Date: Tribute Books, March 2012

ISBN: 9780983741862
ISBN: 9781466052338

247 pages

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Kindle

Nook

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