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Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Book Review:Finding Me (Finding Me #1) by Dawn Brazil

Finding Me (Finding Me #1)
by Dawn Brazil
March 3rd 2016
by Booktrope Editions 
Sixteen-year-old Chloe Carmichael’s perfect world is in chaos.

It’s not because she has a vision of her boyfriend murdered and then he’s found dead exactly as foreseen. It’s not because she suddenly has the ability to move objects when she’s upset. It’s kinda cool to close a door without touching it. And it’s most definitely not her overbearing mother who only cares about appearances. Chloe has already grown quite accustomed to her family’s distance.

So what has Chloe cringing in fear?

It’s having to become another person for a new group of people. She knows she’s not perfect, but apparently she was in another life. In that other life, she was known as Amanda. Amanda was perfect. Chloe, not so much. Her new friends won’t allow her to forget.

Chloe struggles with a love that exposes the soul. It’s a love that defies reason. It’s a love that speaks to her heart and demands attention.

It’s the stench of impending death that hovers over her every move.

It’s that final threat as she tries to acclimate to a life of super human proportions.

It’s the enemy she can’t see and doesn’t remember.

And most importantly, it’s never discovering who she really is that truly frightens her.

I agreed to review this first novel by Dawn Brazil because I rather like delving into the minds of the young adult readers. Although it always amazes me how difficult it must be to construct a novel that current teenagers will relate to when you are past that period in your life. Do you dumb it down? Do you have to have an eclectic memory? Do you ask for advise? How can you keep your own life experiences from seeping into the storyline? That is the conundrum. I give kudos to authors who take on this task for I feel it must be harder to write something with which you can't directly relate. Then add the paranormal twist and it must be doubly difficult. 

I liked the snippet of information I received about the storyline and characters but was surprised to find that the introduction to the book was the most organized part of the story.

In my opinion the first third of the book was choppy and wordy. It reminded me of a paper written by a 16 year old in an English Composition class. I could tell there was a story there but it was taking forever to get there.

The middle third of the book got a little more exiting and the writing flowed in a much better pace and with greater structure. I questioned myself about there possibly being another author.

The last third of the book really went back to something I had trouble relating to and thinking "this doesn't make any sense". Perhaps it was just me being long past the teen years but I felt conflicting stories, conversations and confusing scenes. It felt like a dream (or nightmare) where you wake up and nothing you remember makes sense. There seemed to be quite a few "I'll explain later" conversations in the book and even halfway through I was still confused about what was going on with the "paranormals".

The story had all the right components: cute girl, cute guy, loyal friends, romance, suspense, high school drama and parental strife. I feel like the story might have benefited from a little more editing and character development. The hook was good but a faster plot development would have went a long way to making this an easier read.

I know this is a re-release and that prompted me to seek out any previous reviews (of which I found 12) and found only one other similar to mine. The others seemed to give glowing accolades (3-4 stars) for this book which leads me to this conclusion: I just might be totally wrong, it might have been too soon to read this after some of the other books I have been reading or I am not totally unjustified in my review and am trying to help the author out with my comments. I hope it's a little of all three because I think this author is on the right track with good instincts but may need a little help with the "derailing" of some parts of the writing.

Please go ahead and try this story if you are a YA fan. I would love to be wrong in my assessment and I AM only one opinion.

I give this story 1 1/2 "special" sheep




Jeanie G

About the Author:
I currently live in the lone star state of Texas (Katy, - close to Houston – specifically). I’m married to a neurotic workaholic, if you don’t know him and a sweet gentle man, if you do. I have three obnoxiously beautiful children and I was a Victoria Secret model. Of course, I’m kidding, my kids aren’t that beautiful.

I grew up in the motor city, Detroit. After I graduated from high school, I enlisted in the Navy. I enjoyed my tour of duty. I encourage young people who want to pursue military life to do so. Years later, you may need spinal surgery to correct back ailments from sleeping on the too-small cots but that’s a small price to pay for the camaraderie one experiences.

After my naval years, I decided the motor city wouldn’t do for my taste. So, with friends from the military, I moved to Texas. I met my husband and we decided we were paying too much taxes, so we had three children. Children don’t come with a handbook but that’s okay. When they’re young, they’re adorable. It’s when they reach the dreaded and most-feared teenage years that you realize your terrible error in judgment. “What could I have been thinking,” you ask yourself. I haven’t received an answer to that travailing question but my teenage daughter says she knows. Of course she does!

As a child, growing up in the inner city, I always dreamed of crusading for the rights of the “little-man” in the courtroom. Yes, I wanted to be a lawyer. Life, however, does not always play out according to our plans and I opted for a degree as a Paralegal. And I enjoyed the profession with one exception: working with attorneys. That was a deal breaker. Therefore, I’ve reverted to my other passion, writing. Writing has been the catalyst for many of my decisions. It was the reason I received a degree in English. And it is the reason I stay up into the wee hours of the night...crafting stories.
 
Feel free to send me a message any time!

2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for posting this release launch for Dawn and posting your book review for Finding Me.

    Best regards,

    Lauren Jones
    Book Manager
    Booktrope Publishing
    lauren.jones@booktrope.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lauren, thanks for all your help in getting the copy to me. I am always thrilled to be introduced to new authors. (New to me anyway!)

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