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Monday, April 28, 2014

Summer on the Short Bus

Lucky me recently got the opportunity to read Bethany Crandell's debut novel, Summer on the Short Bus in exchange for a review. Now, being a writer and all, I understand the hard work that goes into writing a book. The pages are like your children...or your pet if you don't have children...and you want others to love and accept them as much as you do. Because of that, when I review a book I don't like to trash it even if it isn't my favorite. I can always find something in a book that I enjoy. And anyone can tear down a book if they try, right? We see it happen all the time.

Given that, finding praise for Summer on a Short Bus was not a problem in the least. If I was starring this baby, I'd easily give it five!

Here's a little bit about the book:

Spoiled, Versace-clad Cricket Montgomery has seventeen years of pampering under her belt. So when her father decides to ship her off to a summer camp for disabled teens to help her learn some accountability, Cricket resigns herself to three weeks of handicapped hell.

Her sentence takes a bearable turn as she discovers the humor and likeability of the campers and grows close to fellow counselors. Now, if she can just convince a certain Zac Efron look-alike with amazing blue eyes that she finally realizes there's life after Gucci, this summer could turn out to be the best she's ever had.

Summer on the Short Bus is a very non-P.C., contemporary YA with a lot of attitude, tons of laughs, and a little life lesson along the way.


My thoughts:
From beginning to end, this book is the kind of read that had me squirming in my chair, not because it's bad, but because it digs deep, beyond the surface insecurities of a person and gets to what scares us all to the core....what we don't understand. Bethany is able to put it all out on the table, the good and the bad of being different and through it all, find the common ground that makes us all the same. The book touched my heart (yes, I did shed tears), and it hit my funny bone in a laugh out loud kind of way. This book is some kind of special. I highly suggest it, and thank Bethany for writing it in the process!

Want to find out more about Bethany and where to buy Summer on the Short Bus? Go HERE

Have you read, Summer on the Short Bus? If so, what did you think?


15 comments:

  1. Congrats, Bethany! That's a great topic to address in a YA book.

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  2. Thanks, Nick! I had no idea how over-looked disabled kids were in YA until after I wrote this. Hopefully we'll see some more wheelchairs in YA in the future :)

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  3. Congrats, Bethany! Do you know of author KD Rausin? She also has a novel called Mystic that she based on her disabled daughter who is a wheel chair after a car accident when she was 10 . . . you guys should cross promote or something :-)

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  4. Wow, this book sounds fantastic! It's definitely the mark of a good writer who can dig into *who* a character is and reveal things they learn throughout the course of a story.

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  5. Thank you so much for share such a wonderful post and i like the way of writing and presenting.I refer many websites for my writing.I am waiting for your next post.

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