Expected publication: November 20, 2013
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
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Synopsis
When seventeen-year-old
Sia wakes up on a park bench, she has no idea who or where she is. Yet after a
week of being homeless, she’s reunited with her family. At school, she’s
powerful and popular. At home, she’s wealthy beyond her dreams. But she quickly
realizes her perfect life is a lie. Her family is falling apart and her friends
are snobby, cruel and plastic. Worse yet, she discovers she was the cruelest
one. Mortified by her past, she embarks on a journey of redemption and falls
for Kyle, the “geek” she once tormented. Yet all the time she wonders if, when
her memories return, she’ll become the bully she was before…and if she’ll lose
Kyle.
Excerpt
While I wait for my
driver, I sit on a step outside the school. I watch the kids go by. No one
stops to say hello to me, and I'm starting to understand why. Then I see Kyle
trudging out of the school, shaking his thick brown hair back from his brow. I
decide to go talk to him. But he changes direction when he sees me approaching.
“Wait! Kyle? Is that your
name? Kyle?”
He stops, but doesn't turn
around.
Undaunted, I run up from
behind. “Listen, I just wanted to apologize for Duke in the cafeteria today.”
“Why? Can’t he take care
of that himself?”
“I guess he can, but I
don’t think manners are his strong point.”
Kyle squints at me, trying
to read my expression, so I keep my eyes wide open. If he's looking for
dishonesty or cruelty, I'm determined he won't find any there.
“I don’t get it,” he says
skeptically. “Why would you apologize to me?”
I shrug. “Because it was
wrong of him to be like that.”
“If you're gonna apologize
on behalf of Duke, you should apologize to Ben, not me.”
“Um…okay, I will.”
After a moment of quiet,
Kyle says, “Okay. Thanks.” He sniffs and looks at the ground, obviously
uncomfortable. “As long as we’re apologizing, I guess I owe you one, too.” He
runs his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry about yelling at you at the soup
kitchen. That was you, right?”
I nod.
“So I guess it was my
yelling that made you run into the street, wasn’t it?”
I nod again.
“Well, I’m really sorry.
About all that. I had no idea.”
“Of course you didn't.
Don’t worry about it.” I look down the street, past Kyle, but I can't see John
and the car yet. I glance down at my nails, still torn and ratty from living
homeless. “What were you doing there, anyway?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I volunteer
there sometimes.”
“Oh.”
“My parents own a bakery
nearby. I work there almost every afternoon. When we have day-old bread and
stuff, I take it over to them.”
“You…Oh!” I suddenly
recall the slice of bread I'd enjoyed just before Kyle yelled at me that day.
Soft, homemade, and unforgetable. It brings a smile to my face. “Well, I know
from personal experience that they really appreciate that. It’s very generous
of you and your family.”
“It’s the least we can
do.” He hesitates. “So you’d been eating there?”
“Yup. All week. With my
friend Carol.”
“Carol? That older lady? I
know her. She’s sweet. Helps a lot of the kids out. I guess she’s kind of a
teacher for lost souls, huh?”
“You could say that,” I
agree, remembering my wise friend fondly.
A dark car pulls up to the
curb.
I smile with apology. “Sorry,
but I have to go. That’s John, here to pick me up. So are we okay?”
“We?”
“Yeah. You and me.”
After a second, he returns
my smile and holds out a hand. “Sure.”
I step closer so I can
shake it, and while I'm there I purposefully inhale the smell Amber had so
detested. She's right. He smells like bread. Banana bread, I think. And
cinnamon. Not unpleasant at all.
Author Bio
Josh Grayson was born in
Mexico, raised in Massachusetts, and now lives in Martinsville, Virginia. It
was his move to the South that stirred his imagination and gave him the courage
to start writing. During his free time, Josh enjoys reading, jogging, swimming,
and watching YouTube videos.
Josh currently works as a
medical driver, shuttling people all over Virginia and North Carolina. He has
also worked as a machinist, film sales rep, administrative assistant, and
telemarketer (he apologizes if he called you).
Sia is his debut YA novel.
Social Media Links
https://twitter.com/josh_
http://instagram.com/
I wasn't sure about this book from the description, but the excerpt won me over. I'll have to check it out!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction