About the Book:
Cleo Neilson's best friend is moving away and she wants to make Lola's last night in town special. For Cleo, that means going to the big Christian concert in the city, but her mom won't allow her to go. She says that area of the city is too dangerous for two unchaperoned teenage girls.
Convinced her mom is just being an overprotective "helicopter" mom, she sneaks out of the house. After all, her mom has to let her grow up sometime, right?
Cleo now faces the chilling consequences of her actions and a secret that it is eating her up inside. As Cleo fights through her grief and guilt, she learns about faith in God and forgiveness through him.
About the Author:
Melody Carlson has written more than a hundred books for all age groups, but she particularly enjoys writing for teens. Perhaps this is because her own teen years remain so vivid in her memory. After claiming to be an atheist at the ripe old age of twelve, she later surrendered her heart to Jesus and has been following him ever since. Her hope and prayer for all her readers is that each one would be touched by God in a special way through her stories. For more information, please visit Melody's website at www.melodycarlson.com.
My Review:
Shattered is most definitely for the YA audience. Cleo is a 17 year old who longs to spread her wings, yet her "helicopter Mother" holds on so tightly that she fears she will never break free. Cleo and her best friend, Lola, want to go to a concert in the city to celebrate Lola's last night before she moves away. Lola has won the tickets and the girls have done everything they can think of to convince Cleo's mom to let them go.
The girls make plans to go despite what Cleo's Mother has told them. While Cleo worries about the "what-ifs" she is quite relieved when they make it through the evening without any serious trouble. But when she awakes the next morning, life as Cleo knows it will never be the same. The guilt consumes her and the choices she makes about how to deal with her grief and guilt are unfortunately so common to so many these days.
Shattered is a story that shares what devastation guilt can be when you allow it to eat away at you day and night. I would say this story-line needed a bit more substance. Without "spoiling" for you, I would just say that knowing a bit more about Cleo's family and her Mother would have helped this story flow better.
This book deals with death, guilt, pain, and addiction. Cleo makes some very bad choices and pays a very high price for them. It broke my heart that she felt so alone and truly had no one to talk to, or so she thought. Turning to pills to numb the pain was how she felt she could deal with life.
Shattered will make you "think" and hopefully cause you to reflect on the choices you make everyday! I would rate this 3♥ ♥ ♥'s out of 5
I was given a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. Thank you Glass Road Publications
Happy Reading
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