I am so happy to be one of the blogs to be kicking off
DEAR CASSIE's blog tour through Rockstar Book Tours!
See below for more details and the blog tour schedule...
by Lisa Burstein
Release date: March 5th, 2013
Published by: Entangled Teen
Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary
Format read: eARC
SUMMARY
What if the last place you should fall in love is the first place that you do?
You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.
You’d be wrong.
There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.
What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?
But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.
And yet I can’t help but wonder…what if?
You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.
You’d be wrong.
There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.
What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?
But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.
And yet I can’t help but wonder…what if?
MY REVIEW
Lisa Burstein has done it again - DEAR CASSIE is full of raw emotion and unique characters. Cassie's story picks up after the 'prom arrest' in PRETTY AMY...
Cassie is tough, snarky and seems completely sure of herself. It seemed like nothing could shake this girl. Nothing. And then her and her friends, Amy and Lila, where arrested on prom night. And now she is working at a pizzeria, trying to keep out of trouble until she is shipped off to do her 30 days in rehab at a wilderness camp instead of jail. She's ready for it. Nervous, but anxious to get it done and over with... but before she goes, she meets Adam... secretly starts seeing him... and falls in love.
There are some serious consequences to falling in love; especially with the wrong person.
Cassie arrives at rehab broken but ready to keep the attitude going and to tough things out. She's got her armor on and no one will be able to penetrate it. No one will ever know her dark secret or what she feels and goes through on a daily basis. But under all that toughness, there is a very scared and lonely girl; her bad-girl-I-don't-give-a-shit attitude isn't fooling anyone. And Cassie soon realizes that she is starting to unravel and doesn't know how much she can hold it together until everyone finds out the truth that she's been so desperate to hide.
When Cassie first arrives at camp, she meets Ben, who instantly takes a liking to her and reaches out to her. Ben's story is rare, and he is a good guy. He doesn't care what Cassie's past is about. Ben is willing to accept her, all of her, including her flaws and past. But Cassie has sworn off boys. They're not trustworthy, no one is. She can barely look herself in the eye; and if Ben ever found out the truth about her, he would never want to have anything to do with her. So why waste her time with the emotional roller-coaster of trying to have any type of relationship with him.
And then there are Cassie's roommates: Nez, the pathological liar. Troyer, the mute.
Nez was who Cassie used to be - the person who would take charge of the situation, who would answer back with smart-ass witty remarks. They obviously didn't get along, they were too much alike.
It was hard to understand Troyer at first. She didn't speak and although she did sometimes write things down, it wasn't enough to get a good reading on her, at first. Little by little, Cassie grew patient with her and they did develop a sort of friendship. One that helps Cassie immensely. One that she will never forget.
Lisa Burstein's writing is captivating - you can taste Cassie's angst and worries. You can also feel the grimness and smell the dirt of the camp. It is definitely one that I would never want to vacation at, let alone, send anyone in for rehab. Lisa tackles some tough issues that unfortunately some teens are faced with nowadays, self-harming and pregnancy. And Cassie's casual use of the f-word was to be expected and laughed at. It fit her personality so well, I couldn't imagine her any other way.
Overall, DEAR CASSIE is about forgiveness to oneself. You don't have to forget what has happened, but to learn and grow from it. It's also about letting your walls down, taking chances and finding a way to do better, to liking yourself. Because if you don't don't, no one else will be able to either.
You can see my review of PRETTY AMY here!!!
There are some serious consequences to falling in love; especially with the wrong person.
Cassie arrives at rehab broken but ready to keep the attitude going and to tough things out. She's got her armor on and no one will be able to penetrate it. No one will ever know her dark secret or what she feels and goes through on a daily basis. But under all that toughness, there is a very scared and lonely girl; her bad-girl-I-don't-give-a-shit attitude isn't fooling anyone. And Cassie soon realizes that she is starting to unravel and doesn't know how much she can hold it together until everyone finds out the truth that she's been so desperate to hide.
When Cassie first arrives at camp, she meets Ben, who instantly takes a liking to her and reaches out to her. Ben's story is rare, and he is a good guy. He doesn't care what Cassie's past is about. Ben is willing to accept her, all of her, including her flaws and past. But Cassie has sworn off boys. They're not trustworthy, no one is. She can barely look herself in the eye; and if Ben ever found out the truth about her, he would never want to have anything to do with her. So why waste her time with the emotional roller-coaster of trying to have any type of relationship with him.
And then there are Cassie's roommates: Nez, the pathological liar. Troyer, the mute.
Nez was who Cassie used to be - the person who would take charge of the situation, who would answer back with smart-ass witty remarks. They obviously didn't get along, they were too much alike.
It was hard to understand Troyer at first. She didn't speak and although she did sometimes write things down, it wasn't enough to get a good reading on her, at first. Little by little, Cassie grew patient with her and they did develop a sort of friendship. One that helps Cassie immensely. One that she will never forget.
Lisa Burstein's writing is captivating - you can taste Cassie's angst and worries. You can also feel the grimness and smell the dirt of the camp. It is definitely one that I would never want to vacation at, let alone, send anyone in for rehab. Lisa tackles some tough issues that unfortunately some teens are faced with nowadays, self-harming and pregnancy. And Cassie's casual use of the f-word was to be expected and laughed at. It fit her personality so well, I couldn't imagine her any other way.
Overall, DEAR CASSIE is about forgiveness to oneself. You don't have to forget what has happened, but to learn and grow from it. It's also about letting your walls down, taking chances and finding a way to do better, to liking yourself. Because if you don't don't, no one else will be able to either.
You can see my review of PRETTY AMY here!!!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Lisa Burstein
Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Fiction from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University and is glad to finally have it be worth more than the paper it was printed on. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats. Pretty Amy is her first novel. She never went to her senior prom.
GIVEAWAY
Enter to win:
(1) Paperback copy of DEAR CASSIE (U.S. Only)
(1) eBook of DEAR CASSIE (International)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
A blog tour for:
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Rockstar Book Tours: DEAR CASSIE's Tour Schedule:
3/19/2013 Bumbles and
Fairy-Tales
3/19/2013 Writing My Own
Fairy Tale
3/20/2013 City of Books
3/20/2013 My Not So Real Life
3/21/2013 YaReads
3/21/2013 The Girl in a
Cafe
3/22/2013 Burning
Impossibly Bright
3/22/2013 Pinkindle Reads & Reviews
3/25/2013 A Bookish Escape
3/25/2013 TSK TSK What
to Read
3/26/2013 Reader Girls
3/26/2013 A Dream Within A
Dream
3/27/2013 Book Labyrinth
3/27/2013 A Soul Unsung
3/28/2013 Seeing Night Reviews
3/28/2013 BookCrush
3/29/2013 Imaginary Reads
3/29/2013 Making the Grade
4/1/2013 Nick's Book Blog
4/1/2013 Escaping...
One Book @ a Time
4/2/2013 Winged Reviews
4/2/2013 A Book and a Latte
I really want to read this. I had mixed emotions about Pretty Amy but I do want to continue to hear about the characters.
ReplyDeleteThis one looks good! But I haven't read Pretty Amy yet ... I've heard lots of good things about the series, though. Great review, Margie!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great and although I haven't read any of Lisa's books, I have been wanting to read them. :) Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI so want to read this book! Read Pretty Amy and loved it!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait! Thanks for the chance to win
ReplyDeleteI come from a long line of people who suffer from mental illness--OCD, ADD, Bi-Polar, Schizophrenic, Cutters, Depression, etc. I've seen how these illnesss and drugs and alcoholic can rip the rug out from under a person's feet and ruin lives. It's sad. I hope Dear Cassie has a happy ending!!!
ReplyDeletecc_clubbs[at]yahoo[dot]com
This really sounds like a book with great characters...I haven't read Pretty Amy...but this one sounds like a great read!
ReplyDelete