It Started With Goodbye
Author: Christina June
Book Description:
Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client). When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way.
Buy Links:
Praise for IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE
"You won't be able to put this book down. This heartfelt read totally sucked me in. A (Prince) Charming read." -- Miranda Kenneally, author of Catching Jordan
"Honest, fun,and entirely compelling, this is a story about how being in the wrong place at the wrong time can lead to a whole lot of right. Tatum is a character you'll relate to, cheer for, and want to befriend." -- Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of Firsts
"Tatum's complex and realistic relationships with her friends, family and the potential love interest will have you savoring every chapter while heavily anticipating the next. It Started With Goodbye is an adorable and clever contemporary that will enthrall you with its fairytale-esque charm." -- Ami Allen-Vath, author of Liars and Losers Like Us
"I loved this fun, contemporary take on the Cinderella tale that explores what it takes to be yourself while finding your place in life, love,and your family. June's characters are vividly drawn, complex people that you'll want to root for, and Tatum's story will strike a chord for anyone who's felt like they were misunderstood." -- Lisa Maxwell, author of Unhooked, Sweet Unrest and Gathering Deep
"A sweet and satisfying portrait of family, friendship, and discovering your own path. Tatum's journey from fear and disappointment to honesty and freedom to be herself is one that will resonate with many readers." -- Ashley Herring Blake, author of Suffer Love
"You won't be able to put this book down. This heartfelt read totally sucked me in. A (Prince) Charming read." -- Miranda Kenneally, author of Catching Jordan
"Honest, fun,and entirely compelling, this is a story about how being in the wrong place at the wrong time can lead to a whole lot of right. Tatum is a character you'll relate to, cheer for, and want to befriend." -- Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of Firsts
"Tatum's complex and realistic relationships with her friends, family and the potential love interest will have you savoring every chapter while heavily anticipating the next. It Started With Goodbye is an adorable and clever contemporary that will enthrall you with its fairytale-esque charm." -- Ami Allen-Vath, author of Liars and Losers Like Us
"I loved this fun, contemporary take on the Cinderella tale that explores what it takes to be yourself while finding your place in life, love,and your family. June's characters are vividly drawn, complex people that you'll want to root for, and Tatum's story will strike a chord for anyone who's felt like they were misunderstood." -- Lisa Maxwell, author of Unhooked, Sweet Unrest and Gathering Deep
"A sweet and satisfying portrait of family, friendship, and discovering your own path. Tatum's journey from fear and disappointment to honesty and freedom to be herself is one that will resonate with many readers." -- Ashley Herring Blake, author of Suffer Love
"A fresh, charming debut, brimming with friendship, family, and love." -- Marci Lyn Curtis, author of The One Thing
EXCERPT
Intent on listening to some quiet music to relax me as I drifted off to sleep again, I put my laptop on the bed next to me, slid in between the cool sheets, and pressed play on “Chaconne” as my head hit the pillow.
The first strains of the cello were hesitant and timid, like it was afraid to show itself due to a small case of stage fright. I waited patiently for it to become louder, like a parent waits for a scared child to gain confidence, coaxing him out of his shell. As the volume picked up, so did the emotion, and suddenly I was awash in a sea of sounds. If those first few notes were trickles, there was now a raging ocean of crashing waves, washing over my head one after another. I’d been half expecting something that was just a deeper violin, but this cello had a mind of its own. The sound was rich and saturated with molasses and electricity. It was like a human voice, a melancholy song of longing, pleading with the listener to ease his frustration. People say there’s a fine line between pleasure and pain, and that was exactly the message this cello was sending out. Even though the sadness was undeniable, there was also an underlying sensuality, a slow-burning passion reaching out, begging for the listener to hear the want, the need.
As I lay there listening, I knew there was no hope of me relaxing. The tears that had magically disappeared at the words on the screen came back with a vengeance as the notes filled the air and invaded my head. Scalding my skin, they dripped down my cheeks silently. I cried for the girl whose voice remained unheard, who did her best to be good but didn’t always get it right. I cried for the girl constantly trying to forge a connection, to find someone who took her at face value and didn’t ask her to be something she wasn’t. I cried for the doors that had closed and cried for the ones that might never open. I cried out of want, out of thirst for something nameless, my heart beating itself into a frenzy, my body completely boneless beneath the sheets, now heated and damp.
When the song ended, I couldn’t move. My face was slick, tears clinging to my eyelashes as I stared at the ceiling, seeing nothing. I willed my breathing to slow until I was calm and sated. It felt like I’d just run a marathon, the exhaustion was so overwhelming. I closed my eyes and marveled at how magical it was that I could feel all of that, an eruption of emotion, from a song. And if the song could communicate all of that sadness and yearning, what did it say about the musician breathing life into that song? What had SK been thinking that allowed him to play with such fervor?
The sorrow fled as quickly as it had arrived, moving over for a meddling curiosity. I sat up and opened my email once more.
That completely wrecked me. Bravo.
T
Intent on listening to some quiet music to relax me as I drifted off to sleep again, I put my laptop on the bed next to me, slid in between the cool sheets, and pressed play on “Chaconne” as my head hit the pillow.
The first strains of the cello were hesitant and timid, like it was afraid to show itself due to a small case of stage fright. I waited patiently for it to become louder, like a parent waits for a scared child to gain confidence, coaxing him out of his shell. As the volume picked up, so did the emotion, and suddenly I was awash in a sea of sounds. If those first few notes were trickles, there was now a raging ocean of crashing waves, washing over my head one after another. I’d been half expecting something that was just a deeper violin, but this cello had a mind of its own. The sound was rich and saturated with molasses and electricity. It was like a human voice, a melancholy song of longing, pleading with the listener to ease his frustration. People say there’s a fine line between pleasure and pain, and that was exactly the message this cello was sending out. Even though the sadness was undeniable, there was also an underlying sensuality, a slow-burning passion reaching out, begging for the listener to hear the want, the need.
As I lay there listening, I knew there was no hope of me relaxing. The tears that had magically disappeared at the words on the screen came back with a vengeance as the notes filled the air and invaded my head. Scalding my skin, they dripped down my cheeks silently. I cried for the girl whose voice remained unheard, who did her best to be good but didn’t always get it right. I cried for the girl constantly trying to forge a connection, to find someone who took her at face value and didn’t ask her to be something she wasn’t. I cried for the doors that had closed and cried for the ones that might never open. I cried out of want, out of thirst for something nameless, my heart beating itself into a frenzy, my body completely boneless beneath the sheets, now heated and damp.
When the song ended, I couldn’t move. My face was slick, tears clinging to my eyelashes as I stared at the ceiling, seeing nothing. I willed my breathing to slow until I was calm and sated. It felt like I’d just run a marathon, the exhaustion was so overwhelming. I closed my eyes and marveled at how magical it was that I could feel all of that, an eruption of emotion, from a song. And if the song could communicate all of that sadness and yearning, what did it say about the musician breathing life into that song? What had SK been thinking that allowed him to play with such fervor?
The sorrow fled as quickly as it had arrived, moving over for a meddling curiosity. I sat up and opened my email once more.
That completely wrecked me. Bravo.
T
About the Author
Christina June writes young adult contemporary fiction when she’s not writing college recommendation letters during her day job as a school counselor. She loves the little moments in life that help someone discover who they’re meant to become – whether it’s her students or her characters.
Christina is a voracious reader, loves to travel, eats too many cupcakes, and hopes to one day be bicoastal – the east coast of the US and the east coast of Scotland. She lives just outside Washington DC with her husband and daughter.
Her debut novel, IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE, will be published by Blink/HarperCollins on May 9, 2017.
Christina is a voracious reader, loves to travel, eats too many cupcakes, and hopes to one day be bicoastal – the east coast of the US and the east coast of Scotland. She lives just outside Washington DC with her husband and daughter.
Her debut novel, IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE, will be published by Blink/HarperCollins on May 9, 2017.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
Blog Tour Organised by:
No comments:
Post a Comment