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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Review and Giveaway Losing Francesca by J.A. Huss

REVIEW

Losing Francesca is a book that I really enjoyed.

(I'm nervous every time I start to write something about a book. That's because, as GZM says, eventually, art can only be classified (we exclude the "professional" critics) in “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it”. Everyone seeks and admires something else in the books they read, in the movies they watch, in the paintings they see ... But I put these emotions aside and I get started on Losing Francesca.)

WARNING: This book contains no smut. It’s not smexy or hot. It’s sweet and filled with a longing so deep, your heart will ache and maybe even break. This book is about bare feet on the beach, the sound of crashing waves, first kisses, losing your faith and then, against all odds, finding it again. This book is about bad things that change people’s lives, a father’s love for his daughter, a brother’s love for his sister, a bad boy who finally figures out why he’s so broken, and a girl who grows up.”(J.A.Huss)

I think it's one of the best recommendations I found! The problem is that this Warning is the essence of what I wanted to write. Frustrating, isn’t it? What could I say more? Oh! I know! I think one of the assessment criteria of a book is or must be how it "catches" you. I read Losing Francesca in one breath! Yes, the book is kept within the "safe" bounders of a Young Adult, but the tension, mystery, Francesca’s uncertainties and her emotional fluctuations, the feelings of all that are involved made me finish the approximately 240 pages in a couple of hours. Good or bad characters (depending on the marks you’ll use) all have reasons for their actions related to Francesca. Brody’s feelings and especially his past, how he is recognized himself as ... (aha! Did you think that I’ll tell you?), are the dream of every girl from the beginning of time.

In terms of action, it is well run. The author gives you enough information for you to begin to try to discover by yourself the truth, but sometimes they only come from and depend on the characters memories and bring no guarantee that they are correct. The road to the final is tortuous, with enough U-turns to the starting point and detour routes. A delicate game of lights and shadows is the framework in which the characters play and suffer. Any joy brings sorrow, any memory can deceive. Any hope for a bright future suddenly will crumble.

Did I make you curious? If so, read the book as soon as you can. If I did not, I tell you bluntly: Read the book and you'll see that you’ll like it! Until then a few quotes:

"I want to breathe him in so bad, but I find I can't breathe at all. He's stolen the breath from me.
"Please do not walk away from me again. Please." And I want to tell him, That wasn't me! I never walked away, I never did anything! And I would never, ever, walk away from you. But I can't even make those words form in my mouth. Because maybe that girl was me. And maybe if I walked away once I'll do it again. That's pretty much what I do. That's pretty much all I do.”

I want to savor every moment, every first, and then when that first time is over, I want to wallow in the after-effects and enjoy the second time around just as much." "I think I could love you." "I think you already do."

... and despair—I finally got my chance to rescue Fiona Sullivan out in the woods and set things right. For both of us. And even though I can't know for sure that our time together is short, I can feel it. And it hurts to have her here, it hurts so bad to know that she is only temporary.

I am fading. Like a ripple from a skipping rock across the lake. I am dying. I will be dead by tomorrow, so I just lie down in the sand and wait for it.

Reality becomes blurred, secrets are revealed, and life will never be the same when the final questions are answered: Is she Francesca or Fiona? And where does she really belong?"
I received the book for review as part of Book Tour - Thank you!

ROMANIAN:
Losing Francesca e o carte care mi-a plăcut mult.

(Am emoții de fiecare dată când mă apuc să scriu câte ceva despre o carte. Asta pentru că, aşa cum zice GZM, în final, arta nu se poate clasifica (excludem criticii „profesionişti”) decât îmi place sau nu îmi place. Fiecare caută şi admiră altceva în cărțile pe care le citeşte, în filmele pe care le urmăreşte, picturile pe care le vede... Dar dau aceste emoții la o parte şi mă apuc de Losing Francesca.)

„WARNING: This book contains no smut. It’s not smexy or hot. It’s sweet and filled with a longing so deep, your heart will ache and maybe even break. This book is about bare feet on the beach, the sound of crashing waves, first kisses, losing your faith and then, against all odds, finding it again. This book is about bad things that change people’s lives, a father’s love for his daughter, a brother’s love for his sister, a bad boy who finally figures out why he’s so broken, and a girl who grows up.” (J.A.Huss)

Cred că e una dintre cele mai bune recomandări întâlnite! Problema este că această Atenționare reprezintă esența a ceea ce aş fi vrut eu să scriu. Frustrant, nu? Ce aş mai putea spune în plus? A! Ştiu! Cred că unul dintre criteriile de apreciere a unei cărți este sau trebuie să fie modul în care ea te „prinde”. Am citit Losing Francesca pe nerăsuflate. Da, se păstrează în limitele „sigure” ale unui Young Adult, dar tensiunea, misterele, nesiguranța şi oscilațiile sufleteşti ale Francescăi, sentimentelor tuturor celor implicați m-au făcut să termin cele aproximativ 240 de pagini în câteva ore. Buni sau răi (în funcție de reperele folosite) toți au motive pentru faptele lor privitoare la Francesca. Sentimentele şi mai ales istoria lui Brody, modul în care el se recunoaşte ca fiind... (aha! credeați că vă spun?) sunt visul oricărei fete de la început timpului.

În ceea ce priveşte acțiunea, ea este bine condusă. Ți se oferă destule informații încât să începi să încerci să descoperi singur adevărul, dar uneori acestea depind şi vin doar din amintirile personajelor şi nu prezintă nicio garanție că sunt corecte. Drumul către final este sinuos, cu destule întoarceri la punctul de plecare şi căi ocolitoare. Un joc delicat de lumini şi umbre reprezintă cadrul general în care se desfăşoară şi suferă personajele. Orice bucurie aduce suferință, orice amintire poate fi înşelătoare. Orice speranță pentru un viitor luminos se năruie pe neaşteptate.

V-am făcut curioşi? Dacă da, citiți cartea cât mai repede. Dacă nu, v-o spun pe şleau: Citiți cartea şi o să vedeți că o să vă placă! Până atunci câteva citate (vedeți mai sus).



About the author:
J. A. Huss likes to write new adult books that make you think and keep you guessing. Her favorite genre to read is space opera, but since practically no one reads those books, she writes new adult science fiction, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and books about Junco (who refuses to be saddled with a label).

She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really–Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master’s degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.


Author's Giveaway (PLEASE do not sign up. I want win it myself! Just JOKING, please, sign up.. ahhh this fair-play...)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour organized by Xpresso Book Tours 

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you for the review! And I love that your blog is Romanian! (I'm part Romanian too!) :)

Diana said...

I do! :)

Unknown said...

Yes I believe.I'm still searching him!

Sabryy said...

Well, I don't believe in soul mates.