Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Christine Duval's Freshman Forty. My stop includes my review and a giveaway.
One lucky commenter will win ONE ecopy of Freshman Forty. To enter, leave a comment and tell me what you think of the synopsis for the book. This giveaway is open internationally and ends on July 6th. The winner will be chosen randomly.
This tour is presented by Xpresso Book Tours. To see a list of all the participating blogs and to follow along with the tour, click here.
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Freshman Forty by Christine Duval
Publication date: February 21st 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary
Synopsis:
When eighteen-year-old Laurel
Freshman year is hard enough. Most girls get through by forming close friendships, finding new boys and a phone call from mom or dad on Sunday. Laurel has to navigate all of it while hiding an unplanned pregnancy from a summer fling...
An imperfect heroine plagued by bad choices and haunted by the memory of her deceased mother and grandparents, readers are sure to identify with Laurel as she navigates teen pregnancy, in secret, in a remote college setting.
Freshman year is hard enough. Most girls get through by forming close friendships, finding new boys and a phone call from mom or dad on Sunday. Laurel has to navigate all of it while hiding an unplanned pregnancy from a summer fling...
An imperfect heroine plagued by bad choices and haunted by the memory of her deceased mother and grandparents, readers are sure to identify with Laurel as she navigates teen pregnancy, in secret, in a remote college setting.
Awards:
-Freshman Forty took won an Honorable Mention at the New York Book Festival
-Won an Honorable Mention under General Fiction for the Beach Book Festival.
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My Review
Hmm, what do I want to say about Freshman Forty. It is sweet and poignant. It's frustrating and inspiring. It was an emotional roller coaster, not unlike being pregnant! ;) But in the end, it gave me a happy glow.
Laurel has just begun her freshman year of college. And she's found herself in quite a predicament. One I'm grateful to never have faced. I believe she handles it in a realistic way - in a way that many other 18 year olds might...she hides it. She doesn't tell her dad, she doesn't tell the dad. But she's coping the best way she can.
Although I'd like to think that I'd have handled things differently...I'd have gone to my parents or I would have told the baby's father, I really admire Laurel's strength. She made a life altering decision ON HER OWN. She did what she had to, what she could do. Laurel is not perfect. She makes mistakes, has made mistakes. But she takes ownership of those mistakes in her own way. I think she's pretty gutsy for trying to take care of herself. Even if she might be mistaken about her ability to do so.
I do appreciate the fact that Laurel was fortunate in her circumstances, as not all young women facing an unplanned pregnancy have the options Laurel had. I believe Laurel was well aware of this fact as well. She was very fortunate in finding a few friends who were aware of her situation and were very supportive. I enjoyed the friendships Laurel was able to build, with people she eventually felt comfortable enough with to share her problems with. I was also proud of Laurel and her dad for finding their way back to one another. And some of those revelations they each had...I shed more than a few tears.
I would hope that anyone reading Freshman Forty would take away a few lessons. The value of open communication being one. It's a message for both parents and young people. Freshman Forty is an extremely poignant tale that's engaging and well written. It's definitely worth reading.
Laurel has just begun her freshman year of college. And she's found herself in quite a predicament. One I'm grateful to never have faced. I believe she handles it in a realistic way - in a way that many other 18 year olds might...she hides it. She doesn't tell her dad, she doesn't tell the dad. But she's coping the best way she can.
Although I'd like to think that I'd have handled things differently...I'd have gone to my parents or I would have told the baby's father, I really admire Laurel's strength. She made a life altering decision ON HER OWN. She did what she had to, what she could do. Laurel is not perfect. She makes mistakes, has made mistakes. But she takes ownership of those mistakes in her own way. I think she's pretty gutsy for trying to take care of herself. Even if she might be mistaken about her ability to do so.
I do appreciate the fact that Laurel was fortunate in her circumstances, as not all young women facing an unplanned pregnancy have the options Laurel had. I believe Laurel was well aware of this fact as well. She was very fortunate in finding a few friends who were aware of her situation and were very supportive. I enjoyed the friendships Laurel was able to build, with people she eventually felt comfortable enough with to share her problems with. I was also proud of Laurel and her dad for finding their way back to one another. And some of those revelations they each had...I shed more than a few tears.
I would hope that anyone reading Freshman Forty would take away a few lessons. The value of open communication being one. It's a message for both parents and young people. Freshman Forty is an extremely poignant tale that's engaging and well written. It's definitely worth reading.
**I received an ecopy of this book, as part of the tour, in exchange for my honest review.
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About Christine
Christine Duval has been writing creatively since the fourth grade when she penned her first short story entitled "London Terror," about the murder of a cat in London. She grew up on the North Shore of Long Island and lived in Italy twice as a teenager: once when she was sixteen in Bologna and in a small town on the Adriatic Sea called Porto San Giorgio; then in Florence when she was nineteen. Her parents wondered if she'd ever come back.
College was spent in the Finger Lakes: the inspiration for Colman, Milton, and Kashong Lake in Freshman Forty. It really is cold, wet and grey there - OFTEN! But when the sun comes out, boy is it pretty.
Life eventually took her to New York's Upper West Side, the place she'll always consider home. Though for now she resides in New Jersey with her family and a very spoiled love bird who can't decide if he's a boy or she's a girl.
UPDATE: Freshman Forty was originally self-published, but Christine just signed a deal to have it re-released by a publishing house this fall! Follow Christine on Twitter for updates @Christineduval1 or on her Goodreads author page.
This looks REALLY good! I cannot wait to read it :-)
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by, Sarah.
DeleteWhat an interesting story! I had a cousin & friend who both hid their pregnancies as long as they could, so I am sympathetic to Laurel's decisions.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you liked this, Brandee. Great review!
It is really interesting, Andrea. I hope you'll like it if you read it. Thanks, Andrea!
DeleteOpen communication is so important. Glad to see there's such a great message in this one. While it's not my kind of read - simply because it's missing anything furry, fangy, post-apocalyptic, or hocus-pocusy - it looks like an excellent book for anyone that enjoys New Adult. Fantastic review! Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know this one isn't your thing, Jaclyn. :) My next few reads are of the paranormal bent, so maybe you'll find something you can add to your TBR. ;) Thanks so much for taking the time to comment.
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