by T.C. Booth
Release Date: July 21st 2015
Clean Reads
Summary from Goodreads:
A freak accident left Starla Emerson with a deformed hand, low self-esteem, and a need to fade into the background. However, she finds it impossible to be invisible at her new high school where she is pushed front and center by a behind the scenes internet bully.
She joins forces with newfound friends to launch a counter attack in order to expose the cyber bully, aka grizzlygirl2015. Part of the plan involves the school’s bad boy Chase McFall. Star feels more for this golden eyed boy than she should as the plan progresses. The plan backfires and lands Star in a mountain of trouble.
Will she have the courage to be honest about her part in the plan and her true feelings for Chase? Or will she be left heartbroken? Once the truth is out…there’s no turning back.
Excerpt 1: I left one
shelf bare for my memory boxes. I stacked the shoe-sized cardboard boxes so
their labels showed. Freshman Year, Sophomore Year, Junior Year. The first two
boxes were filled with memories that I collected to keep safe. My Junior Year
box felt empty. I removed its lid and took out the orchard ticket stub, the
pictures of the guys wrestling in the dark, and a dried purple rose. Jared
handed me the rose at school the morning of Sweetest Day. I could only guess
what might fill my box the rest of the year. Will I even make any new friends?
How would people react when they saw my hand? They’d probably think I’m the
creepy new girl and be grossed out by my claw. I took a deep breath and put the
box back.
A piece of paper stuck out from between the pages of
one of my books. I tugged it free and unfolded it. It was a note Jared wrote to
me about two months after we started going out.
Star,
Please
don’t be mad at me for the whole TBH thing. I just didn’t know what to say to
Jan. I shouldn’t have said anything. I like you a lot! You are my girl. I don’t
want anyone else.
Love, Jared
A sigh escaped me. I never got the whole TBH—to be
honest—thing. You opened yourself up for drama if you posted a picture with the
letters TBH online. A girl named Jan did that and Jared took the bait. He had
to honestly say something about her, so he commented under the picture that she
was cute. My phone blew up with text messages telling me about it. I cried and
sent Jared a text telling him I wanted to break up. I felt so stupid. The
entire student body of Cedar High knew Jared told another girl she was cute. He
slipped me the note during Algebra class the next day. I forgave him.
Excerpt 2:
Inside the stall, I heard giggles
and saw three pairs of feet under the door wearing designer boots. “She is so
freaking weird.” I heard one of them say.
“I know, right? I heard she kissed
that gross Shane Baker with blue lipstick on. I don’t care if it was a
challenge, that’s nasty,” a second voice said.
“Who’s that girl she’s been hanging
out with?” asked the third voice. I tensed.
“She’s a new girl,” the first voice
said. “I hate to break the news to you, Haley. I think Chase likes her. Have
you seen the way he looks at her?” My heart flip-flopped.
“Uh-uh. There’s no way,” Haley said.
“Have you seen her hand? It’s disgusting.”
Tears sprang into my eyes. I
squeezed my eyes shut and pushed them back. My heart thumped against my chest.
My blood boiled, flowing hot and angry. I was ticked! I flung the stall door
open. Three startled faces gaped at me. I stepped up to the sink and washed my
hands, purposely shook the water off of them so my right hand was visible, and
made eye contact with lemon-head, who I now knew was Haley.
The three girls watched me
wide-eyed and silent. I strolled out of the bathroom with my head held high.
Excerpt 3
Still fueled from the anger
coursing in my veins, I marched up to Maggie. “May I borrow your blue
lipstick?”
Maggie creased her eyebrows.
“Okay.” She reached in her purse and handed me a black tube. I twisted it until
a blue waxy tip appeared. I smeared a thick coat of blue over my lips and
puckered. I looked at Rayne. “You challenged me to do this, okay?”
Rayne glanced at Maggie. She
shrugged. Jake arched an eyebrow.
“Ooo-kay,” Rayne said.
I spun on my heel. My heart thudded
loud in my ears as I marched toward the group of skateboarders and BMX guys
that stood in a circle. I scanned over the faces of the circle until I found my
target. After I sucked in a breath, I pushed my way past the curious faces of the
boys, until I was face to face with Chase. The group fell silent. Chase tilted
his head and quirked his eyebrow. I took another deep breath then placed my
hands on Chase’s broad shoulders, rose on my tiptoes, and placed a blue kiss on
his cheek. The boys erupted with laughter and whistles.
“Tell your girlfriend where that
came from.” I tapped the blue mark left on his cheek. The shock on his face
left, replaced with a half-twisted smile. That infuriating grin of his was
back. I shouldered my way through the boys. Heads turned, tracking my
movements. My friends gawked at me like I’d grown three heads. I slipped onto
the seat at the table so my back was to Chase.
“Whoa, Emerson. You just rocked the
challenge above all challenges, even though you didn’t really get challenged,”
Rayne said. “That didn’t make any sense, did it?” He lifted one dark eyebrow.
Jake shook his head, still
wide-eyed. “Not at all.”
Too Be
Honest Playlist
Steal My Girl by One Direction
Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey
Heroes by Alesso and Tove Lo
Fight Song by Rachel Platten
About the Author
TC Booth was born and raised in a small town in Northeast Ohio where she currently teaches. She lives with her husband and four children ranging in ages from 13-23. Her pets include one dog named Sammy, and two cats- Sheldon and Sasha. They all match in color-orange and white. True story.
Author Links:
No comments:
Post a Comment