"To find out what a story's really about,' the Librarian said,

'you don't ask the writer. You ask the reader."


- SNOW & ROSE by Emily Winfield Martin


Saturday, May 26, 2012

A Buzz-Worthy Review: Blue Sky Days by Marie Landry

by Marie Landry 
Release Date: January 5, 2012
Format: eBook, 207 pages 
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance 

SUMMARY 
(from Goodreads) 

"A year after graduating from high school, nineteen-year-old Emma Ward feels lost. She has spent most of her life trying to please her frigid, miserable mother - studying hard, getting good grades, avoiding the whole teenage rebellion thing - and now she feels she has no identity beyond that. Because she spent so many years working hard and planning every moment of her life, she doesn't have any friends, has never had a boyfriend, and basically doesn't know who she is or what she really wants from life. Working two part-time jobs to save money for college hasn't helped her make decisions about her future, so she decides it's time for a change. She leaves home to live with her free-spirited, slightly eccentric Aunt Daisy in a small town that makes Emma feel like she's stepped back in time.

When Emma meets Nicholas Shaw, everything changes - he's unlike anyone she's ever met before, the kind of man she didn't even know existed in the 21st century. Carefree and spirited like Daisy, Nicholas teaches Emma to appreciate life, the beauty around her, and to just let go and live. Between Daisy and Nicholas, Emma feels like she belongs somewhere for the first time in her life, and realizes that you don't always need a plan - sometimes life steers you where you're meant to be.

Life is wonderful, an endless string of blue sky days, until Nicholas is diagnosed with cancer, and life changes once again for Emma in ways she never thought possible. Now it's time for her to help Nicholas the way he's helped her. Emma will have to use her new-found strength, and discover along the way if love really is enough to get you through."

MY REVIEW

Oh, Marie Landry, how you made me cry... in a good way!

Blue Sky Days starts with Emma, a 19 year old girl who has reached a point in her life where she has had enough of her controlling mother and doesn't know what to do with her life. Although she excelled in school, she has no idea as to who she is and what she wants to do with the rest of her life.
She then decides that she needs to get away from her mother and experience what life would have been like if she had a loving and supporting mother and was aloud to have friends. No, Emma is not running away from home, this girl really needed to get out on her own away from her miserable mother. And yes, she has a Dad, who was the typical kind of Dad that was in denial and just didn't know what to do with a teen daughter.

Emma decides to move to a small town to live with her Aunt Daisy, her mother's much younger sister. Daisy is sweet, caring, and the complete opposite of Emma's mother - she is how a mother should be.
As Emma is settling into her new surroundings and finally able to relax, she meets Nicholas.
Oh sweet Nicholas, all boys should be like you!
At first, Nicholas seems like he's too good to be true, especially to Emma. But there are some people that are just naturally good-hearted people, and Nicholas and his father are those people. And of course you can't help but smile and you watch Nicholas and Emma's relationship bloom.

Daisy and Nicholas help Emma let go of her fears and experience life's little things, like walking in the rain and going on picnics. Things are starting to feel right and look hopeful for Emma.
And just when life for everyone is at its highest peak, Nicholas gets sick and is diagnosed with cancer.
Emma's life is put to the test again - will she be able to trust her instincts? Will her love for Nicholas be able to save him?

Oh my, did I cry! I felt like I was sitting right there next to them through everything, my heart ached for everyone. I'm getting teary eyed just typing this...

Although, there were a few moments of repetitiveness from Emma. It was understandable. At 19, and not being able to experience your teen years like most teens do, you are entitled to dwell, feel sad and left out.  I still don't understand why that her mother was so domineering and mean, it was never explained... But, the good part is, her determination to move on and live in the moment always won - and that is what I loved about Emma so much.

This is one book that I will never forget. I can't help but compare this story to something that Nicholas Sparks or Richard Paul Evans would right - stories that tug at your heartstrings! 
Grab a box of tissues, your going to love Emma and Nicholas' story!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marie Landry has always been a daydreamer. She has created imaginary worlds for as long as she can remember, so it only seemed natural that she would become a writer. With a passion for words that started in early childhood, Marie has written a varied range of works, and has been freelance writing since 2009. She resides in Ontario, Canada, and most days you can find her writing, reading, blogging about writing and reading, listening to U2, or having grand adventures with her two precious nephews.



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