Reviewer: Sandy
I received a copy of this book for an honest opinion.
As the story opens up, Sandy is a well adjusted teen with two great friends, Cassie and Troy, friends from preschool days. Family life is good, school is good and Sandy is happy. One night while hanging out at Cassie’s house things gets out of hand and Cassie’s boyfriend Aaron gets physical with Sandy. Sandy is talking up a new sport and Aaron wants to show Sandy just what he knows. Aaron rapes Sandy. Sandy is thrown into a whirlwind of emotions and the immediate escape is alcohol. It’s a downward spiral, spinning Sandy further down into depression and hatred. Sandy tries to climb out but life gets to be too hard and despair seems to be the easier way out. Facing reality and finding out exactly who are Sandy’s real friends are just part of the challenges ahead for Sandy on the road to recovery. The power of poetry and Shakespeare are significant skills that Sandy’s possesses that can help Sandy move ahead if and when Sandy wants to take the steps.
Its 10:30 pm, I was just finishing up the Author’s Notes at the end of the novel regarding Maybe I Will and I was left speechless. Sure, I remembered that the book was about rape and its effect on a young teen but the other twist I had completely, I mean totally completely forgotten about that. So that is why I woke up my husband spilling out the entire book’s storyline to him while he was barely able to hold open his eyes the other night. This twist had to do with gender identity. The main character is Sandy and I guess since my name is also Sandy, I assumed this character was a girl but there is no reference to that in the whole book. The author clarifies that in the Author’s Notes which totally threw me for a loop and a shocker. As I was reading this book, the author uses the word “I” a lot referring to Sandy which really bothered me as I was reading. I wondered why there were no other pronouns used and I understand that now. I have to applaud the author for such great writing skills as she left the gender open for the reader. Looking back at the story now, it’s like you choose your own main character, is it a girl or a boy? For what is rape? For every state, rape is defined differently but a broad definition of rape is a form of unwanted sexual behavior that is imposed on someone. Rape is about power but gender identity, it is not immune to.
4 Stars
About the Book – About the Author – Prizes!!!
Welcome to Novel Publicity’s latest publishing house blog tour. Join us as two new titles from Luminis Books–we’re calling them the Luminis Duo–tour the blogosphere in a way that just can’t be ignored. And, hey, we’ve got prizes!
About the book: It’s not about sex.
It’s about how one secret act of violence changes everything–how best friends can desert you when you need them most, how nobody understands. It’s about the drinking and stealing and lying and wondering who you can trust. It’s about parents and teachers, police officers and counselors–all the people who are supposed to help you, but who may not even believe you.
It’s about how suddenly all of your hopes and dreams can vanish, and you can find yourself all alone, with nothing and no one. Your only choice is to end it all or to start over… and all you can think is Maybe I Will.
Author Laurie Gray presents a compelling picture of the realities of sexual assault in Maybe I Will, drawing on her years of experience as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, dealing with crimes against children. The twist in the story is that we never know for sure if the victim is a boy or a girl, and we realize that it doesn’t matter, because it’s not about sex.
Pick up your copy of this Young Adult (with mature themes) through Amazon US, Amazon UK, or Barnes & Noble.
About the author: Laurie Gray has worked as a high school teacher, a deputy prosecuting attorney, and the founder of Socratic Parenting LLC (www.SocraticParenting.com). In addition to writing, speaking and consulting, Laurie currently works as a bilingual child forensic interviewer at her local Child Advocacy Center and as an adjunct professor of criminal sciences at Indiana Tech. She has served on the faculty of the National Symposium for Child Abuse in Huntsville, Alabama, annually since 2009. Her debut novel Summer Sanctuary (Luminis Books/2010) received a Moon Beam Gold Medal for excellence in young adult fiction and was named a 2011 Indiana Best Book Finalist. Her third young adult novel Just Myrto (Luminis Books/2014) will carry readers back to ancient Greece to meet Socrates, Laurie’s favorite teacher of all times. Connect with Laurie on her website, Facebook, or GoodReads.
About the prizes: Who doesn’t love prizes? You could win either of two $25 Amazon gift cards, an autographed copy of Maybe I Will by Laurie Gray Aloha, Mozart by Waimea Williams, or an autographed copy of its tour mate, Aloha, Mozart by Waimea Williams. Here’s what you need to do…
- Enter the Rafflecopter contest
- Leave a comment on my blog.
That’s it! One random commenter during this tour will win a $25 gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win–the full list of participating bloggers can be found here. The other $25 gift card and the 3 autographed books will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form linked below or on the official Luminis Duo tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck!
Luminis Books was launched in January, 2010 by husband and wife team Tracy Richardson and Chris Katsaropoulos with a mission to publish thought-provoking literary fiction for children and adults. We publish what we love: Meaningful Books That Entertain. Our award-winning books engage and inform readers and explore a wide range of topics from love and relationships, teen sexual assault and homelessness to string theory, consciousness, and the Universal Energy Field. Luminis Books is a proudly independent publisher located in Carmel, IN. Learn more at www.luminisbooks.com.
Learn more about Maybe I Will‘s tour mate HERE.
I think you are the first “Sandy” to publish a review of Maybe I Will. Thank you for your kind words and for encouraging readers to really think about how they define rape and whether they might feel differently about my main character based upon their own assumptions about gender.
Author
Thanks for stopping by Laurie!
Great review, Sandy and CLP. I’m so glad you loved MAYBE I WILL, and that bloggers are getting so much out of it. Thank you for joining us on this tour, and please take a moment to cross-post to Amazon and GoodReads when you have the time. Also don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter and random commenter contests!
Em 🙂
Author
Thanks Emlyn, great to be involved!