The WordSmithe
I love a good book! Young Adult, New Adult, Adult and nearly any genre. If it’s well-written, I’ll read it. And, I love to talk about what I’ve written.
I have a WIP–a new adult dystopian novel. I’m also exploring short fiction.
Find my reviews here, on Wordpress, on Tumblr, on Facebook (The Word Smithe), Goodreads.com, and Amazon.
If you’re an author and you’d like me to review your book, just drop me a line. I’ll be happy to read an ARC. I always give an honest review. And, even if I didn’t particularly go crazy for your story, I will stay positive. I believe something redeeming can be found in nearly every book.
Never Give Up Hope!
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Sudden Hope hooked me as soon as I picked it up. Ever read a book where you can’t put it down because you’re worried about the main character? Yes? No? Well, if you open this book, I guarantee that will be your response. I read this story in three hours!
This was another successful story about bullying. I applaud Lanzarotta for taking on a worthwhile topic. She wrote well-developed characters and let us have a glimpse inside the world of high schoolers who had been bullied for most of their school years.
Lanzarotta crafted some awesome inspirational quotes in Sudden Hope. Here are just a few of my favorites:
- (page 18) “Words have power, and sometimes, they stay with you for life. It’s up to you to allow those words to define who you become. Do you allow those words to motivate you or do you let them destroy you?” [Skylar]
- (page 57) “To some of those girls, school will be the highlight of their lives. People like you…people who are beautiful inside and out…those are the ones who will shine in whatever they decide to do.” [Alec]
- (page 57) “‘to the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world’. You’re one of the lucky ones. You’re the world to far more people than you think.” [Alec]
There were also some great tender moment quotes too:
- (page 216) “Because you make me want to live. You make me want to grow old with you. You give me hope, and that scares me more than anything else.” [Alec]
- (page 253) “I once heard that if you fall in love with someone because of their eyes, you’ll love them forever, because a person’s eyes are the one thing that will never change.” [Alec]
I loved the characters of Alec, Skylar, and Kyle. I suspected what was going on with Alec when I first started reading Sudden Hope. I felt bad for him since his response to a life-altering situation was to stop enjoying his life. No one should force that upon themselves. Thankfully there was Skylar. She was an amazing girl who had yet to discover her strength. And, thanks to great guys like Alec and Kyle she found that strength and embraced it fully. She gave as much to them as they gave to her. Kyle was the perfect best friend and the perfect potential boyfriend. He cared about his friends and doing the right things in life (even if he needed someone to steer in the right direction).
I felt so bad for the characters of Michael and Kristi. Their stories were tragic since they couldn’t see hope on the horizon. Any life devoid of hope is doomed without someone to help them. Unfortunately, there are kids everyday who live similar lives without anyone intervening on their behalf. Thank you Daniele Lanzarotta for pointing a spotlight on them. Maybe those who read Sudden Hope will be inspired to help another kid in need.
I highly recommend this story to all high school students and even their parents!
