Welcome to the LETTERS TO NOWHERE blog tour! I am so excited to share with you guys what I thought about this awesome new contemporary from Julie Cross!
Summary (from Goodreads):
Set in the tough world of Elite Gymnastics...
I've gotten used to the dead parents face. I've gotten used to living with my gymnastics coach. I've even adjusted to sharing a bathroom with his way-too-hot son. Dealing with boys is not something that's made it onto my list of experiences as of yet. But here I am, doing it. And something about Jordan--being around him, talking to him, thinking about him--makes me feel like I can finally breathe again. That's something I haven't been able to do lately. He knows what it feels like to be me right now. He knows what it's like to wonder--what now? I think about it constantly. I need answers. I need to know how to get through this. In the gym, if you're struggling, you train harder, you do drills and conditioning. How do I work hard at moving on? At being on my own? And what happens if I might be...maybe...probably falling for Jordan? I mean we live together now. That can't happen, can it? But kissing him...well, let's just say it's not an easy activity to forget.
I've gotten used to the dead parents face. I've gotten used to living with my gymnastics coach. I've even adjusted to sharing a bathroom with his way-too-hot son. Dealing with boys is not something that's made it onto my list of experiences as of yet. But here I am, doing it. And something about Jordan--being around him, talking to him, thinking about him--makes me feel like I can finally breathe again. That's something I haven't been able to do lately. He knows what it feels like to be me right now. He knows what it's like to wonder--what now? I think about it constantly. I need answers. I need to know how to get through this. In the gym, if you're struggling, you train harder, you do drills and conditioning. How do I work hard at moving on? At being on my own? And what happens if I might be...maybe...probably falling for Jordan? I mean we live together now. That can't happen, can it? But kissing him...well, let's just say it's not an easy activity to forget.
Review:
Julie Cross made a fan of me a few years ago with her debut, Tempest, and I can say I am most assuredly still a fan now that I’ve read Letters to Nowhere.
One of the biggest pulls for me was the world of gymnastics that was hinted about in the synopsis. I realized I would never be an elite gymnast when I was five feet tall in 4th grade. It was a hard blow, but I dealt with it.
I loved that Karen was immersed in this world. I also never felt totally out of place because sports-themed books run the risk of either bogging you down with jargon or leaving you wondering how the game is played. Cross does a fantastic job of explaining the sport without overwhelming the reader.
I loved the relationship between Karen and Jordan—who wouldn’t? Cross writes them with a chemistry is blazes off the pages. However, Jordan pulls Karen out of her downward spiral … and I have to admit, this is where I got a little disheartened (but only a little). I’m just not a fan of someone emotionally saving someone else. I think Cross was careful not to let it cross over into total need and dependency, but at times I felt like Karen clung to Jordan like a savior. Like he was the only thing keeping her afloat.
That being said, I loved Jordan so darn much I didn’t really care about that while I was reading.
This book is about the resiliency of the human spirit in times of agony. And event that should have brought Karen to her knees became the catalyst for her success. Cross doesn’t sugar-coat grief, but this book also isn’t all dark and gloom. I think it’s an accurate depiction of what happens when the unthinkable happens and you’re left to pick up the pieces.
Definitely check this one out!
Rating: B+
About Julie Cross:
Julie Cross is the International Bestselling author of the Tempest series, a young adult science fiction trilogy which includes Tempest, Vortex, and the final installment, Timestorm (St. Martin's Press). She's also the
author of Letters to Nowhere (8/13), a mature young adult romance set in the world of elite gymnastics, as well as several forthcoming young adult and new adult novels with publishers like Entangled, Sourcebooks, HarperCollins, and St. Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne Books.
Julie lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three children. She's a former gymnast, longtime gymnastics fan, coach, and former Gymnastics Program Director with the YMCA. She's a lover of books, devouring several novels a week, especially in the young adult and new adult genres. Outside of her reading and writing credibility's, Julie Cross is a committed--but not talented--long distance runner, creator of imaginary beach vacations, Midwest bipolar weather survivor, expired CPR certification card holder, as well as a ponytail and gym shoe addict. You can find her online via twitter, her personal website, email, facebook, Goodreads, or co-moderating the YAwriters section of reddit.
Giveaway:
There are two tour-wide giveaways.
--GRAND PRIZE PACKAGE GIVEAWAY to ONE Winner.
--An eBook of LETTERS TO NOWHERE to FIVE Winners.
The Grand Prize giveaway is open internationally, however international winners can only select five of the books listed due to shipping costs.
GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY
AUTOGRAPHED FINISHED COPIES of...
- All 3 of Simone Elkeles' HOW TO RUIN series
- TEETH by Hannah Moskowitz
- GONE GONE GONE by Hannah Moskowitz
- LET THE SKY FALL by Shannon Messenger
- BITTERSWEET by Sara Zarr
ARCs of OCTOBER 2013 YA RELEASES
- UNBREAKABLE by Kami Garcia
- ANYWHERE BUT HERE by
- BANG by Lisa McMann
- REALITY BOY by A.S. King
- NEVER FADE by Alexandra Bracken
- SIX MONTHS LATER by Natalie D. Richards
ARCs of NOV 2013 - FEB 2014 YA RELEASES
- ALIENATED by Melissa Landers (Feb 2014)
- ROOMIES by Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando (Dec 2013)
- AFTER EDEN by Helen Douglas (Nov 2013)
OTHER BOOK PRIZES
- Personalized signed copies of TEMPEST + VORTEX (a foreign edition if available can be swapped for the U.S. edition)
- E-copy of LETTERS TO NOWHERE by Julie Cross (if print is available at time of shipping, a print copy will be sent, too)
WINNER'S CHOICE (ONE of Following BIG prizes)
- Basic US Kindle (valued at $69.00 USD) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007HCCNJU/ref=sa_menu_kdptq
OR
- $50 US Amazon Gift card
OR
- $50 US Barnes and Noble gift card
a Rafflecopter giveaway
*As some prizes may not be redeemable by international participants, alternative suggestions are welcome but not guaranteed.
Blog Tour:
Sept. 3rd - The Book Cellar
- Review & Guest Post
Sept. 3rd - Reading
In Twilight - Guest Post
Sept. 4th - A
Backwards Story - Review
Sept. 4th - The
Irish Banana - Review
Sept. 5th - Bittersweet
Enchantment - Interview
Sept. 5th - Book
Breather - Review
Sept. 5th - Never Too
Fond of Books - Review
Sept. 6th - Curling Up With A Good Book - Guest Post
Sept. 6th - Oops!
I Read A Book Again - Review
Sept. 9th - Page Turners
- Review & Guest Post
Sept. 9th - Gobs
and Gobs of Books - Interview
Sept. 10th - Crawling
Over The Pages - Guest Post
Sept. 10th - Musings From An Addicted Reader - Review
Sept. 10th - Sweet Southern
Home - Guest Post
Sept. 11th - Mom With
A Kindle - Interview
Sept. 11th - Reading
with ABC - Review
Sept. 12th - Gone with the
Words - Review & Guest Post
Sept. 12th - About to Read
- Review
Sept. 12th - Blackplume
- Interview
Sept. 13th - Every Free
Chance Book Reviews - Guest Post
Sept. 13th - Literary
Meanderings - Review
it sound cute and i can relate to missing parents ( at least one)
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds so fantastic and unique! I love you review for it!! The relationship between the two main characters sounds fantastic! Although I have to agree that I hate it when one character HAS to be the others savior!!! It's kind of annoying!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, great review! I am definitely looking forward to reading this book!!!
Who says tall girls can't do gymnastics? Sheesh. (Of course, we can't, really. It is sad...except I'm so not athletic so it's probably a good thing that's off the table for me.)
ReplyDeleteI do love a good love story and the heat seems right up my alley in this one. I want to meet Jordan!
I love the fact that this is about gymnastics, something I love to watch and read about. I've never read anything by Julie Cross, but based on your review, I'm looking forward to jumping in! Thanks for a spectacular giveaway:)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the lovely review! I'm loving all these blog tour stops! And there have been some tall gymnasts like Svetlana Khorkina but then again she's only 5' 5" so I guess when we start thinking one inch above average height is "tall" then that's proof is a short girl's sport. At least at an elite level. The gym where I coached for years, we had a girl who was 5' 9" and a level 10. She went on to compete in college.
ReplyDeleteI love forbidden romance and characters who are really committed to something--like gymnastics.
ReplyDeleteFirst time on your site, thanks for the reviews.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading this one now for the tour too and glad you liked it :)
ReplyDeleteI always found gymnastics really interesting so it sounds really good.
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ReplyDeleteYAY! I'm just excited to read another book by Julie Cross!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat interests me is the dynamic of Karen living with her gymnastics coach and a his son who she is falling for.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in seeing how the relationship between Karen and Jordan will develop. Seems like a bit of a delicate situation!
ReplyDeleteThe characters sound interesting to me.
ReplyDeleterounder9834 @yahoo.com
I can relate to the characters so id love to read this
ReplyDeleteAmanda Sakovitz on rafflecopter
I love reading modern fiction!
ReplyDeleteI want to read about elite gymnastics.
ReplyDeleteI'm so looking forward to reading this book! I've always been a fan of gymnastics and I feel like I can relate to the characters. Also, I think the cover is lovely.
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