Teen Tuesday

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols (MTV Books hardcover, 10 July 2012).

Leah Jones has lived her life moving from one trailer park to another, as her mother moves from one guy to another. 

At the age of fourteen, living in Heaven Beach, South Carolina she decides that, because trailer parks are almost always next to airports, she will take advantage of it.  She walks to the small airport near her house and gets a job.

Careful not to let her mother know so that her hard-earned money won't be taken to buy beer or gamble, she saves her money diligently.  When she has enough, she asks Mr. Hall, who runs a business that tows banners and gives flying lessons, to take her up for a ride.  She's hooked, and negotiates a discounted rate to take flying lessons from him.  She begins to think of him as a father figure, except during school vacations when his three sons, who've been living with their mother, come to stay with him.

By the time she's 18, she's an accomplished pilot, and Mr. Hall offers her a job flying banner planes when she graduates.  Then his oldest son, a fighter pilot, is killed in combat, and Mr. Hall has a fatal heart attack just a couple of months later.  The younger sons, twins the same age as Leah,move to Heaven Beach, intending to take over the business. 

They're not identical, but they're both very attractive.  In fact, Leah has had a crush on Grayson since she first saw him.  Grayson is the one  who seems to be in charge, which surprises Leah, since he always seemed more brash and reckless.  When he tells her he plans to honor his father's promise to her, she's at first wary; what does he know about running a business?  She finally gives in, but only because he blackmails her into it, and the three of them, along with Leah's friend Molly try to make a go of it.

Their relationships are tumultuous (as those between teens are wont to be), and the secrets that they keep from each other almost ruin everything.

Somehow, I've never read a book by Jennifer Echols before, despite the fact that she's written several YA novels.  I am very impressed by her characters: though their intentions may be pure, they are all flawed in some way that makes them extremely human. 

One quibble:  the front cover is lovely, but to me it doesn't represent the essence of the story. 



FTC Full Disclosure:  I borrowed this book from my local library.

Ashes to Ashes

Valley of Ashes by Cornelia Read (Grand Central Publishing hardcover, 14 August 2012).

Attempting to be the perfect wife and mother, Madeline Dare follows her husband Dean to Boulder, Colorado, where he's landed a promising new job.  Dean and Madeline (or "Bunny", as he calls her) are now the parents of twin girls, India and Parrish. 

Although ridiculously happy at first, things become difficult  Dean's position involves a great deal of traveling, which makes Madeline a single parent a good deal of the time. As a result, she's constantly exhausted and the house is constantly a shambles.  Dean, who never used to be bothered by an untidy home, is suddenly very critical of Madeline's housekeeping. She  knows no one in Boulder except a few of Dean's co-workers, and her exhaustion and loneliness is wearing on her.

She's elated when she's offered a job reviewing restaurants for the local paper; even though it's not terribly exciting, it's a break from house and toddlers.  But when a series of arson fires break out in the area and Madeline becomes drawn into the investigation, she naturally becomes more involved than is safe.

Madeline Dare is an amazing character:  she's an intelligent and strong woman.  Until the move to Boulder, she was also fiercely independent, with a merciless, caustic wit.   Read writes Madeline in the first person, so it's always been easy for the reader to identify with her, especially women.
With the fourth book in the series, empathizing with Madeline is even easier.  Part of it is because we know her better, but Read's communication of what she's experiencing is absolutely masterful.

I read Valley of Ashes in its entirety on the long flight home from Montréal.  Consuming the whole book in one sitting certainly enhanced the sense of being in the story, since there was no real emerging from it until the end.  For almost five hours, I was Madeline Dare. 

If you've read the first three books in the series, you'll understand, and you should rush out and pick this up immediately.  If you haven't read the earlier books, it can stand alone.  Rush out and pick it up anyway.



FTC Full Disclosure: I purchased this book.