Books I've Read: The Whistleblower

 

NetGalley was kind enough to let me read this one, so thanks!

New Adult never really became the thing it as supposed to be which is kind of a shame because there is definitely space for books that go beyond YA, but aren't quite adult yet.  This is one of those books and feels especially relevant in the current climate of #metoo and the war on women's rights.

Laurel is a college student studying journalism and working on her school paper.  When she stumbles across a shocking and juicy story about the college's revered football coach, she knows she has to tell the story.

But as she digs deeper into what becomes an increasingly complex and terrifying pattern of fraud and sexual abuse going back years, the repercussions of exposing such an heroic public figure become clear.  Not just in her professional life, but in her personal life too.

Especially since one of her primary sources is the team's star quarterback, Bodie, and she just can't seem to stop running into him.  During the course of the investigation, Laurel realises that it's not just her career on the line, but Bodie's too.

And with her feelings for Bodie changing and growing, Laurel needs to decide how far she's willing to go to uncover the truth.

I enjoyed this one.  There was romance, but not as much as there tends to be in books professing to be New Adult.  For a while there I decided NA was basically YA with more graphic sex.  While Lauren's relationship with Bodie was important to the story, it wasn't the main focus of the book which was firmly centered on the investigation and the repercussions facing both Lauren and her editor if the story was made public.

I imagine there are stories like this everywhere, and the bravery it takes to expose someone as powerful and influential as a successful coach is immense.  I liked that Laurel was a fairly chaotic person in most of her life, and that she had doubts and fears about what she was doing.  Her relationship with Bodie grew naturally, and he genuinely seemed like a good guy, unlike so many sportsmen who get treated like gods because they have the ability to throw a ball or run fast or both.

So I'd recommend this one.  It does deal with sexual abuse and harassment, so if you find these things triggering, maybe give it a miss...

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

When Laurel Cates uncovers a shocking story about Garland’s football coach, it takes all of her courage to publish the story in the school’s paper. And when it reverberates around the country, the ramifications are both personal and professional. But nowhere are the repercussions stronger than in Laurel’s everyday life as she can’t seem to avoid Bodie St. James, the star quarterback, whose own career now hangs on the brink as a result of her article…

Weekly Goals 11-10-22

 I know.  I'm a day late with this post.  Somehow yesterday got away from me!

Not much in the way of goals this week.  We're a week out from the Jazz Festival, so work is pretty crazy.  And because I'll be working nights and the weekend next week, I want to relax as much as possible this week.  I'm fighting off some kind of bug, and I want to get 100% better before I head into the full on week of the festival.

Of course this is always the time I get inspired to write something and a new book idea has crawled into my brain.  I'm not 100% sure if this is a book I'll write just for myself, or if it might end up being something more, but it's something I would like to experiment with - it's a re-telling of a book I really loved as a kid from the POV of one of the other characters.  So we'll see if that idea still appeals to me in a couple of weeks when I have time to think more about it.

And that's me this week.  What are your goals?

Celebrate the Small Things 7-10-22

 

It's the end of the week, so it's time to Celebrate the Small things...

What am I celebrating this week?

It's the weekend!  And I don't have a whole lot to do!

The weather has been dreadful all week so I'm hoping the sun might make an appearance this weekend.  I've been fighting off a cold (successfully, I might add), but feel like some sun and warmth would do me the world of good.  Do you ever feel that way after a long, dreary winter?

Been super busy at work with the Jazz Festival only 2 weeks away, so nothing much else has had a chance to get brainspace - learning new systems and a new world at the same time is more challenging than I thought it would be - so I haven't had a chance to even look at my writing.  Good thing my book is out with readers at the moment and I don't need to!

Looking forward to doing some resting over the weekend.  I'm looking forward to doing some reading, if nothing else.

What are you celebrating this week?

IWSG - October

 It's the first Wednesday in October so it's time for the Insecure Writers Support Group!

The awesome co-hosts for the October 5 posting of the IWSG are Tonja Drecker, Victoria Marie Lees, Mary Aalgaard, and Sandra Cox!


This month's question:

What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

My genre of choice is YA contemporary and the best thing about it is how diverse it is as a genre.  There are no limits to the stories that can be told in this space, from sweet, fluffy romance to dark and dirty stories about abuse and addiction.  The characters can come from any culture, and sexual orientation and their problems can be as small or as large as a writer is willing to imagine.

And the books can be written in any style the writer wishes to write - first person present tense, third person past tense or even second person!  They can be books in verse or told through letters or even text messages!  

I like the way characters in this age group are doing things for the first time and that they are still trying to figure out who they are and what they want in life.  Often this changes through the course the book as the character learns things about the world and themselves.  I don't often see such big character arcs in adult novels I read because adults tend to be more settled into their beliefs about themselves and their world.

What is the best thing about your favorite genre?

Weekly Goals 3-10-22

 I can't quite believe it's already the first week of October.  This year seems to have flown by!  

With only a couple of weeks before the Jazz Festival, I'm going to be super busy at work until the end of the month, so I don't think I'll have much time or energy to write, unfortunately.  

I had a novel entered into a contest that was supposed to be informing the winner in September, and since I was not informed, I'm assuming I didn't win.  So over the next few weeks I'm going to start submitting it to other publishers.  Which means doing a bit of research into which publishers might be a good fit.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 30-9-22

 

It's the end of the week, so it's time to Celebrate the Small things...

What am I celebrating this week?

It's the weekend!  I thought it was going to be a quiet one, but somehow it has filled up and now it's looking like it's going to be quite busy.  My son and I are going to the orchestra tonight which is always a treat.  Even if the pieces they're playing tonight aren't ones that really excite me.

I've been crazy busy at work all week which is not too surprising since the jazz festival starts in 3 weeks.  It's going to be nuts until that's over, I think, so I'm not planning on getting anything much else done.

My computer's operating system has been updated and all the programmes that have slowly been disappearing because they're no longer supported are back!  Hopefully, anyway.  I haven't tried everything yet, so wish me luck...

What are you celebrating this week?

 

I somehow seem to keep picking up historical fiction at the library, which is weird because it's not really my go-to genre.  

This one is set against the backdrop of the fire that destroyed a large part of Chicago in 1871 and revolves around a messy love triangle (or love square, really since there are four central characters involved).

Emmeline is about to be married to a wealthy and eligible bachelor and is quickly becoming the talk of the town.  Not an old money family, Emmeline is new on the social scene thanks to her father's sudden rise in fortune and is therefore something of a curiosity around town.

Emmeline's best friend from the old neighborhood has come with Emmeline and her father to the other side of town and is now employed as Emmeline's maid.  Emmeline keeps forgetting that Fiona is now a servant and keeps slipping into treating her as the bosom buddy she's been most of their lives.

Back in the old neighborhood, the pair's other friend, Anders, has been left behind.  He's been in love with Emmeline as long as he can remember and had always assumed that they would marry when they were old enough.  So the discovery that she is betrothed to another is a shock to him, one that wounds him deeply.  Especially since he had to read the news in the paper.

Emmeline realizes she's treated Anders poorly and is determined to speak to him herself.  On the eve of her wedding she and Fiona sneak out to see him fight in a boxing match at the local tavern.  Unable to let his best friends see him lose, Anders wins the fight, invoking the fury of the gambling community which expected him to lose.

As Fiona and Emmeline struggle to hide him from these bad men, Emmeline realizes she still loves Anders and hatches an elaborate plan to escape her upcoming wedding and run away with Anders.  Fiona, who also harbours feelings for Anders is supposed to help the pair flee to New York, but everything changes as the summer nights heat up and buildings across the city start to burn.

I found Emmeline to be an incredibly selfish character, one of those people so used to being adored and getting her own way that she doesn't even recognize her privilege and takes it entirely for granted.  I felt for Fiona who had lived her whole life in Emmeline's shadow, and for Anders who is perhaps a little simple and quite willing to follow the lead of both his strong-willed female friends. 

The fire in Chicago is an event I knew about, but only in the vaguest of ways, so this book vividly brought the events leading to the fires and its devastating effect on the city to life.  I just wish the characters we followed through the fire were people I cared more about because other than poor, simple Andres, I really didn't like any of the main protagonists enough to care much if they survived or not.

But if you like historical fiction and enjoy reading about lives lived in another century, this one offers a perspective on the class system and its inequities even before the fire rips through the city.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

It’s 1871 and Emmeline Carter is poised to take Chicago’s high society by storm. Between her father’s sudden rise to wealth, and her recent engagement to Chicago’s most eligible bachelor, Emmeline has it all. But she can’t stop thinking about the life she left behind, including her childhood sweetheart, Anders Magnuson. Fiona Byrne, Emmeline’s childhood best friend, is delighted by her friend’s sudden rise to prominence, especially since it means Fiona is free to pursue Anders herself. But when Emmeline risks everything for one final fling with Anders, Fiona feels completely betrayed.

As the summer turns to fall, the city is at a tipping point: friendships are tested, hearts are broken, and the tiniest spark might set everything ablaze. Sweeping, soapy, and romantic, this is a story about an epic love triangle—one that will literally set the city ablaze, and change the lives of three childhood friends forever.