Published July 18th 2017 by Kylie Scott
Young Adult Contemporary
eArc provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
Being young is all about the experiences: the first time you skip school, the first time you fall in love…the first time someone holds a gun to your head.
After being held hostage during a robbery at the local convenience store, seventeen year old Edie finds her attitude about life shattered. Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers.
While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.
An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.
Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.
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TRUST by Kylie Scott (Official Book Trailer) from FILM 14 on Vimeo.
Excerpt:
“You were going to give it up to Duncan Dickerson?” he sneered. “Are you serious?”
I halted, staring at him. This was not good. “How do you know about that?”
“Anders overheard you and Hang talking.”
“Bastard.”
“Well?” he demanded, acting all authoritarian. Idiot.
“To be fair, I didn’t know his last name was Dickerson,” I said. “That’s unfortunate. Though, I wasn’t actually planning on marrying him, so . . .”
“Not funny.”
I shrugged.
“You barely know the guy.”
“Um, yeah. None of your concern. We’re not talking about this.” How mortifying! My face burned bright. People should just gather around and cook s’mores. “I appreciate that we’re friends. You mean a lot to me. But this is going to have to fall under definitely none of your damn business, so go away please.”
“We’re talking about it.” He advanced a step.
“No we are not.” And I retreated.
“You were going to let a complete stranger touch you.” Advance.
Retreat. “People do it all the time. You do it all the time.”
“But you don’t,” he said, taking the final step, backing me up against the side of his car and getting all in my face. “Edie, this is your first time we’re talking about. Isn’t it?”
“Yes, and it’s going to be messy and painful and probably horribly embarrassing and I just want it over and done with.” I tried to meet his eyes but failed, settling for a spot on his right shoulder. “You’re not a girl; you wouldn’t understand. Also, last time I checked, you’re not the gatekeeper of my hymen, John Cole. So back the fuck off.”
He said nothing.
Deep, calming breaths. “Look, someday I’ll meet someone I really like and we’ll have a deep and meaningful relationship and go at it like bunnies. But I don’t want to be the dumb virgin in that scenario.”
He slowly shook his head.
“Also, I do not want to die a virgin.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Hey, you and I both know death can occur at any time.”
“This is crazy.”
“I’m seeing a therapist!” I told his shoulder. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m a little bit messed up these days. It’s hard for me to trust people. That’s not going to change anytime soon.”
He screwed up his face at me. “Wha—”
“I’m just trying to be practical.”
“Well, you’re being ridiculous. None of this makes sense.”
“It does to me.”
Again, he said nothing.
In fact, he said nothing for so long that I finally looked him in the eye. The anger had left him, replaced by an emotion I didn’t recognize. Worst of all, he still smelled like summer. A little sweat and the open night air, everything I loved. Liked. I meant liked.
“What?” I said, finally.
He let loose a breath. “I’ll do it.”
I was really anticipating reading Trust, but I was hesitant when I began because I really didn't know what to expect. I've read this author's previous books, but this was her first YA. I should NOT have feared reading this because it turned out to be quite enjoyable! It did take me a little while to really get into the story, but I think that was just me and not the book. I went on to read the last 70% in one sitting because it was SO good!
Edie and John share common ground over a traumatic, almost fatal, event. They form a bond that keeps drawing them back to each other. Edie and John were unsure about showing their feelings for each other, especially in public. But as they continued to spend time together and grow closer, they began to care less about what others thought of them. They both had to sort out their emotional and mental well being as they worked at getting over what happened to them. As friendship turned to love, the author didn't gloss over the sexy times. (Nothing graphic since it IS YA, but not unexpected for me since I've read this author's adult books.) Respect and responsibility are definite musts, so I was glad to see it taken seriously.
I liked that Edie's mother was involved in her life. Nothing puts me off YA more than invisible parents. Edie found a great friend in Hang, and Anders was really starting to grow on me! Can Hang and Anders get their own book, please?
I haven't been reading much YA recently, so I'm really glad I had the chance to read Trust. This was definitely an emotional read with likable characters and really great writing. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
4 Stars
Kylie is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013 & 2014, by the Australian Romance Writer’s Association and her books have been translated into eleven different languages. She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet. You can learn more about Kylie from http://www.kylie-scott.com/FACEBOOK | TWITTER | FACEBOOK FAN GROUP | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS | NEWSLETTER
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