Genre: New Adult
Published: April 7th, 2014
Goodreads
Amazon
Book Two
Her father is gone. Her mother is in jail. And Rowan Slone has left her dysfunctional, violent past behind. With college looming on the horizon, she has a new job that she loves, and a safe place to call home. She is close to achieving everything she ever wanted-a sense of family, a sense of purpose, and a sense of self.
But there are cracks in Rowan’s life that threaten to send her future crumbling to the ground. When her relationship begins to suffer, her father returns and her long-held secret is discovered, Rowan must find the courage to fight for the most important thing yet-herself.
Rowan is slowly getting her life back together. Her boyfriend Mike has gone away to university and she rarely sees him anymore leaving her to cope with the mess that is her family life. In order to keep from falling back into old patterns she has distanced herself from her remaining family members as much as she can,not yet ready to forgive and forget the lies that were told and the blame/shame that was mercilessly thrown on top of a young girls shoulders.
Once again I think the author did a great job of describing Rowans emotions, she is depressed, she is lonely, frustrated and yet still determined to get out there and make something of herself and do whats right for her for once even if not everyone agrees or likes her decisions. When her father comes back to town and tells her he is dying of lung cancer Rowan is once again thrown in turmoil caught between the conflicting emotions of both loving and hating the man that has mentally and physically abused her. When Mike discovers her secrets carved out on her arm, its the beginning of the end and she needs to learn to stand on her own two feet. I really enjoyed the 2nd book almost more than the first. Emotions are messy and the author did a great job with Rowan and her conflicting emotions dealing with her family and her boyfriend. I liked how not everything has a happy ending but with determination and support of the right people Rowan was able to have a happy beginning. I think this would be a great YA book for teenagers to read, and I definitely urge you guys to get yourself a copy of both books and read them.
I gave this book a 4 out of 5 star rating
I was gifted a reviewers copy of A Life Forward in exchange for an honest unbiased review as part of the YA Reads A Life Forward Blog Tour.
Published June 21st, 2013
Published by Cerulean Publishing
Goodreads
Amazon
Book One
Seven years ago, an innocent act by Rowan Slone turned her life into a nightmare. Since the age of ten she’s lived with the burden of her baby brother’s death. Now she is seventeen and all she wants to do is graduate high school, go to college, and escape the loveless family she has endured all these years—the same family that holds her responsible for his death. But no one holds her responsible more than herself.
When long-time crush Mike Anderson invites her to the Prom, suddenly her future looks brighter. Rowan’s younger sister, Trina, however, is determined to ruin her new-found happiness, no matter the cost. And when Rowan discovers her mother’s long-held secret, she finds herself teetering on the edge of an abyss. Can Rowan find the strength to move toward the future or is she doomed to dwell in the past?
I am not even going to bother recapping the plot as it is pretty well laid out above. I have to say WOW the author does a phenomenal job with this story, capturing Rowan's feelings. She has been taking the blame for everything wrong that has ever happened in her family since the death of her infant brother. She has a mother that cannot or will not cope with her life hiding in her bedroom eating her way into an early grave. Rowan's father an ex military man, now prison guard is an angry bitter man who has been trapped into a loveless marriage and takes it out on his children. In the midst of living with a ticking time bomb, Rowan is determined to get good grades so she can get a full scholarship and get out. To say Rowan lives a life of fear would be an understatement, fear of her parents, fears of never being able to escape being responsible for the death of her baby brother, fear of cutting herself again to escape the pain that has become her life. Author Tracy Hewitt Meyer has done a beautiful job depicting the whirlwind of emotions this poor girl goes through; You are almost immediately pulled in to her story and ache for this child that is so emotionally scarred and damaged. The relationships between the characters is the most honest I have seen in a long time and it was a refreshing change to read a book that shows that not all has to be forgiven right away and that some scars run to deep to be forgotten at all.
I gave this book a 4 out of 5 star rating
I was gifted a reviewers copy of A Life Redefined in exchange for an honest unbiased review as part of the YA Reads A Life Forward Tour.
Tracy Hewitt Meyer is a multi-genre, multi-published author of new adult fiction as well as adult paranormal and contemporary romance. She has a B.A. in English and a Master of Social Work, both of which feed her true passion-a love of writing. Born and raised in the beautiful state of West Virginia, Tracy now lives in the mid-east with her family, a goldendoodle, and a bearded dragon.
Goodreads
Website