Hey guys!! Today's book is another different one. Different cover, different story line, different characters...just, different...but not in a bad way. :)
*About The Author*
Diana Sharples lives in north Georgia with her husband and teenage daughter, along with a house full of pets. She started writing stories when quite young and finished her first novel at age thirteen. Life intruded and bills had to be paid, but in the late 80s she returned to school and earned a degree in communication design/illustration from the Atlanta College of Art. She pursued a career in science fiction/fantasy illustration and won numerous awards for her work, which appeared on a magazine cover in Great Britain and in the pages of a gaming manual. She worked for a number of years on a never-ending elvish soap-opera-novel, receiving feedback and mentoring from several published authors in the speculative fiction genre. However, she changed career tracks in 2001, after accepting Christ as her Savior.
Writing and occasionally creating artwork for the Lord has proved to be more personally gratifying than all of her previous efforts. Looking forward into the world her daughter would soon enter, in 2005 Diana began writing contemporary fiction for teens. She founded a successful critique group for other young adult and middle grade writers, and her novels were finalists and winning entries in several competitions. Her first published novel, RunningLean, will be available from Zondervan Books in 2013.
Combining her love of illustration with her writing, Diana is creating a series of Manga-style videos for Youtube, based on her novella, When Pigs Fly.
In addition to writing and creating art, Diana loves riding her Harley-Davidson motorcycle around the mountains of north Georgia and beyond. She volunteers with her church youth program, doing crazy stuff like dancing onstage wearing 80s garb and a purple-streaked Duran Duran-style hairdo, and chaperoning 45 teenagers through the New York subway system on an urban mission trip.
*Book Description*
Calvin can feel the weight creeping in...pushing down on his heart, making it heavy and hard to breathe. The pressure threatens to crush it every time he thinks of his beloved brother killed in action while serving in Afghanistan. He thinks he can handle it...yet every time he sees the folded up flag he doesn't know whether he wants to punch something or cry. The one person he thinks he can count on is his quirky girlfriend Stacey. Only she's been acting weird lately...
Calvin can feel the weight creeping in...pushing down on his heart, making it heavy and hard to breathe. The pressure threatens to crush it every time he thinks of his beloved brother killed in action while serving in Afghanistan. He thinks he can handle it...yet every time he sees the folded up flag he doesn't know whether he wants to punch something or cry. The one person he thinks he can count on is his quirky girlfriend Stacey. Only she's been acting weird lately...
Stacey knows Calvin is going to find out. Soon. Just not yet. She can't handle his disappointment, his lecture, his...lies. Lies. That's what they've been. Every compliment ever bestowed upon her by her boyfriend, mom, friends. All evil lies meant to build her up when she knows the truth. She isn't worth it, she's ugly, and she can be better, as long as she fixes this one big flaw she has...
In the midst of tears, tragedies, bullying, and severe issues no teen should have to deal with, yet many do, Calvin and Stacey find their relationship tested farther then they ever thought possible. Will will they withstand the trials in time for the triumphs? Or will it be too late?
*What I liked*
I love that Diana didn't write this as a non-fiction. As a fiction lover, teen, and girl, I can honestly say I connect so much better to a fiction. This book was no different. The author created characters that were believable and a story line that we can relate to.
*What I didn't like*
Yikes. This book was HEAVY. As a teen girl myself (15) and being what I would consider not an ideal weight, I really can see how Stacey would feel pressured. Though I personally would never go that path, I'm sure many others would say the same and end up anorexic so I understand those who have gone through it better then before. Though personally I think the bullying and other issues made the book more eye opening for me and therefore more worth reading, others may find it too heavy.
*My Rating*
I give Running Lean...
4 stars!
*Why my rating is what it is*
My rating is four stars because this book is real. For some it may be too real, hence the missing star to make it fantastic but for me it was great. Add in the fact that this is the first published book by Diana Sharples, not only do you have a great book, but a truly "new" author! Please read her book and help her out. You can't just read the review...you have to give it a try. You never know what gold you'll find! :)
* I recieved this book from Zondervan and Bookfun.org in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own and I was not compensated in any other way.
*Where to buy it*
I think I'm being challenged. Since joining bookfun.org, I've read so many "different" books I can't keep track of them all! Now I'm challenging you!
Blessings,
Nicki
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