After the Storm by Marie
Landry
Expected Publication: April 2014
Synopsis
For most people, starting
senior year at a new high school would be a nightmare, but for Ella O’Dell it’s
the new beginning she desperately needs. Two months after her mother’s death,
she’s ready to leave behind the rebellious, unhappy person she became when she
found out her mom was dying.
When Ella meets River
Maracle and Sadie Fitzgerald, she begins to learn it’s okay to be herself, even
if that means being different. River and Sadie aren’t ashamed of their misfit
status—River grew up on a reservation, and his mother is the school counselor;
Sadie stands out with her funky homemade clothes, and is a master at ignoring
the whispered rumors that have plagued her since the beginning of high school.
Ella finds a kindred
spirit in Sadie, and something more in River. After almost a year of pretending
to be someone she’s not, she finally embraces life and allows herself to have
fun without constant guilt. But despite her budding happiness, something is off
with her new life. She doesn’t want to dwell on the past, but Angel Island is a
small place, and she soon realizes her demons are harder to outrun than she
thought.
Excerpt
~First Day of School~
I head off across the
lawn, sending a quick wave over my shoulder. Ezra’s car rumbles to life and the
sound of the engine slowly fades as they drive away.
Kids rush past me, their
voices ringing out as they catch up after a summer away, talk about upcoming
school activities, and show off their new clothes. I hear footsteps behind me,
and a second later a girl with glossy blond hair falls into step beside me.
“Was that Ezra Rhodes who
just dropped you off?”
And hello to you too.
“Yeah. He lives next door to me, and he’s my sister’s boyfriend.”
Her green eyes sweep over
me curiously, and my skin prickles. “So you’re Gabriella?”
Oh great. Thirty seconds in
and someone already knows who I am…was. So much for my reputation not following
me to school. I don’t remember seeing her on the beach this summer, but then I
wasn’t exactly sober much of the time. “Ella.”
“I’m Kyla. I didn’t get to
many of the parties on your side of the island this summer, but I heard about
them. You dated Chris, right?”
I stumble slightly at his
name, but recover quickly. “Yeah, but if you don’t mind I’d really rather not
talk about him.”
She wrinkles her nose. “I
don’t blame you. Guy’s a jerk. You’re so much better off without him.”
I knew he was a jerk from
the beginning but it didn’t stop me from going out with him. We fooled around
some, but when I wouldn’t have sex with him he tried to force himself on me.
Luckily I got away with nothing more than a ripped dress, but the whole
experience had shaken me pretty badly and was something I tried to avoid
thinking about. I know a lot of other girls aren’t as lucky as I was, but it
was the wake-up call I needed to stop my destructive behaviour.
I suppress a shudder. Kyla
and I have reached the front doors now and I’m anxious to find the office then
get to class.
Kyla reaches out and
blocks the handle of the door I’m reaching for. “I’m sorry. My friends tell me
I don’t make a very good first impression.” She laughs lightly and shrugs one
shoulder in a ‘what can you do?’ sort of way. “I’m not gonna lie, I heard some
stories about you this summer, but I’m not one to judge.”
She opens the door and
ushers me through before she keeps talking. “Anyway, I just wanted to say hey
so that you can start your day knowing at least one person here.”
“Well…thanks. I appreciate
it.”
She beams at me. “No
problem.” Someone calls her name from down the hall and she waves before
signaling for them to wait. “I’ll probably see you at lunch, ’kay? My friends
and I sit at one of the long tables by the window if you need someone to sit
with.” She gives me a little finger wave before hurrying to join a group of
five or six girls who begin to squeal and hug each other when Kyla joins them.
I give my head a quick
shake. Last year Kyla would have been exactly the type of girl I’d have wanted
to be friends with. I would have taken advantage of her popularity and tried to
get in with her group, even if I didn’t really like them. When Charlotte left
school to take care of Mom, I started hanging out with her two best friends
Alexis and Bianca, who welcomed me into their large group of friends at school.
From there I met the smaller group of kids who cared more about skipping class,
smoking, drinking, and other things. Everything went downhill from there, and I
know I can’t let that happen again. Not here, not now. Not ever again.
I head for the office and
get my schedule and a map from one of the secretaries. There’s a sticky note on
my timetable that says the school counselor wants to meet with me during my
free period later this morning. Great. Hopefully it’s nothing more than a ‘Welcome
to Angel Island Secondary School’ pep talk, but I highly doubt it. More likely
it’s an ‘I hear you let your life fall apart last year and that your mother
died at the beginning of summer…let’s talk about that’ deal.
Something to look forward
to.
Author Bio
Marie has always been a daydreamer;
since early childhood she's had a passion for words and a desire to create
imaginary worlds, so it only seemed natural for her to become a writer. She
resides in Ontario, Canada, and most days you can find her writing, reading,
blogging about writing and reading, listening to U2, watching copious amounts
of TV on DVD, or having grand adventures with her nephews and niece. She's a
hopeless romantic, an unapologetic eavesdropper (occupational hazard), an
equally unapologetic squeeing fangirl, and a lover of swoonworthy book and TV
characters. For more on Marie and her books please visit
http://sweetmarie-83.blogspot.ca. She also loves to chat with fellow book
lovers, so feel free to tweet her @SweetMarie any time!
Author Links
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/SweetMarie83
Sale
For the course of the
cover reveal, Waiting for the Storm will be 99 cents across all ebook
platforms.
Giveaway
Marie Landry is having an
international giveaway for a $10 Amazon gift card or PayPal cash.
Thanks so much for being part of the cover reveal, Monica, I really appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure I love your writing.
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