bookreview – Page 4 – Sincerely Karen Jo

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Hello lovelies and happy Wednesday! I have my review for Paul, Big, and Small by David Glen Robb for you today.

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abouthebook2

Published: October 1, 2019

Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary

Format: Hardcover 336 pages

purchaselinks

AMAZON – BARNES AND NOBLE – BOOK DEPOSITORY – INDIEBOUND – KOBO

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synopsis4

Paul Adams has always been short, but he’s an excellent rock climber. And his small size means he can hide from the bullies that prowl the halls of his high school.

Top on his list of “People to Avoid” are Conor, from his Language Arts class, Hunter, who hangs around the climbing gym, and Lily Small, who happens to be the tallest girl in school. But he might be able to be friends with a new kid from Hawaii who insists that everyone call him “Big.” He’s got a way of bringing everyone into his circle and finding the beauty in even the worst of situations.

When the three of them—Paul, Big, and Small—are assigned to the same group project, they form an unlikely friendship. And Paul realizes that maybe Lily isn’t so bad after all. He might even actually like her. And maybe even more than like her.
Paul and Lily team up for a rock-climbing competition, but when Lily is diagnosed with leukemia, Paul ends up with Conor on his team. And when Paul learns that Conor is dealing with bullies of his own—as well as some deep emotional pain—he realizes that the bullying in his school has got to stop.

Paul, Big, and Small is about the turbulent, emotional lives of young adults who are struggling with life’s challenges openly and sometimes in secret.

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mythoughts

Heartfelt, Gripping and Beautifully Touching

4halfhearts

A breathtaking and engaging read from start to finish, Paul, Big, and Small by David Glen Robb is a beautifully touching story about acceptance, compassion, friendship, and hope. It’s heartfelt, relatable, and gripping and I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. I smiled, I laughed, I cried, and felt so many wonderful emotions.

High school is not easy… even more when you’re a little different and unique. But, having friends who understand just what you’re feeling and going through definitely makes a difference. Paul Adams is an amazing rock-climber, but has been bullied for being short. Lily Small is the tallest girl in high school. And Big, the new kid from Hawaii, has a big heart and always finds the beauty in every situation. After being assigned to the same group project, Paul, Lily and Big realize that they have plenty in common, become really good friends, and ultimately learn important life lessons from each other.

I adore this book and enjoyed so many things about it. While the story is sad at times, there’s so much realness, honesty, and love in the narrative that I could not stop reading. David Glen Robb’s writing is sincere, riveting, and just so beautiful. I think he does a fantastic job capturing how it feels to experience and struggle with life’s many challenges as a teenager or young adult. From feeling alone and different, being bullied, dealing with insecurities and mental health issues, going through something devastating or life-changing, and everything else in between, I think readers can find a connection with parts of this story and/or the characters. And that’s what I truly love about this book. I was able to relate and see my younger self in the story in some way and also in some of the characters which made this novel more interesting and enjoyable. I also really like the rock climbing parts and thought that was really exciting. I like the conflict, the drama, and most importantly, the many thought-provoking and important themes about friendships and just life in general.

The characters are believable, realistic and charming. Paul, Big, and Lily are wonderful characters. Getting to know them was fun and a piece of my heart will always belong to them. I really like Paul and Lily and enjoyed many of their sweet and endearing moments together. Big is definitely my favorite and I will protect him with my heart and soul. I love that he always tries to see the goodness and beauty in everything. Big brought so much warmth and joy to the story and I love him for that. The friendship that develops between these three amazing characters is so precious.

David Glen Robb has created a wonderfully realistic and intriguing story that is incredibly meaningful, compelling and moving. Paul, Big, and Small made me feel so many emotions and I loved it all. Some parts are heart-wrenching and sad, but there are also so many happy moments that made me smile. The characters are relatable, loveable, and seem so real that you can’t help but care and root for them. I really enjoyed reading this novel and loved that I walked away with so much more than I expected. This is definitely a must read for anyone and I honestly can’t recommend it enough.

I received a physical ARC copy of this book from the publisher, Shadow Mountain Publishing, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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abouttheauthor

Author bio and photo taken from Goodreads

DAVIDGLENROBB

David Glen Robb lives in the Rocky Mountain West with his wife, two sons, and two dogs and is an avid rock climber who also coaches youth rock climbing teams. He taught high school English, art, and creative writing for eleven years before deciding to pursue writing full time.

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authorlinks

WEBSITE – GOODREADS – FACEBOOK – INSTAGRAM

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Thanks for stopping by sweeties. Hope you get the chance to know Paul, Big and Small.

Until next time, have a great day and happy reading!!

sincerelykjologo

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Hello lovelies and welcome to my Blog Tour Stop for Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger hosted by Wednesday Books. I knew this book would be heartbreaking and it is such a hard-hitting and emotional story, but it’s also really delightful, entertaining, and full of so much love. I hope you get to meet Naima and Dew and follow them as they both try to learn to say goodbye to the people they love.

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Full of tender, funny, and downright heartbreaking moments, Ganger’s second novel will have you cheering and crying all on the same page.

Don’t miss out on this YA powerhouse standalone!

Six Goodbyes We Never Said_FC

abouthebook2

Published: September 24, 2019

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary

Format: Hardcover, 320 pages

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purchaselinks

AMAZON – BARNES AND NOBLE – BOOKSAMILLION – INDIEBOUND – POWELLS

synopsis4

Two teens meet after tragedy and learn about love, loss, and letting go

Naima Rodriguez doesn’t want your patronizing sympathy as she grieves her father, her hero—a fallen Marine. She’ll hate you forever if you ask her to open up and remember him “as he was,” though that’s all her loving family wants her to do in order to manage her complex OCD and GAD. She’d rather everyone back the-eff off while she separates her Lucky Charms marshmallows into six, always six, Ziploc bags, while she avoids friends and people and living the life her father so desperately wanted for her.

Dew respectfully requests a little more time to process the sudden loss of his parents. It’s causing an avalanche of secret anxieties, so he counts on his trusty voice recorder to convey the things he can’t otherwise say aloud. He could really use a friend to navigate a life swimming with pain and loss and all the lovely moments in between. And then he meets Naima and everything’s changed—just not in the way he, or she, expects.

Candace Ganger’s Six Goodbyes We Never Saidis no love story. If you ask Naima, it’s not even a like story. But it is a story about love and fear and how sometimes you need a little help to be brave enough to say goodbye.

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mythoughts

A wonderfully meaningful and beautifully touching story about loss, grief, friendship, hope and love

4halfhearts

Candace Ganger has penned a beautifully touching story about loss, grief, friendship, hope, and love. This isn’t an easy or lighthearted read, but I enjoyed all the achingly feels.

Naima and Dew have both lost people they love. They have their own issues and struggles that affect their daily lives and the people around them. They’re hurting and they’re scared, but they want to be happy. What happens when two broken souls meet? Will they be able to help each other heal, let go, and finally say their goodbyes?

This story is absolutely lovely and so meaningful. Both POVs and storylines touched my heart in so many ways and by the end, I definitely had so many wonderful feels. There are plenty of raw, real, and emotionally painful parts that affected me, but there are also so many heartwarming and sweet moments sprinkled throughout the story. Some scenes even made me smile and laugh and yes… there’s a bit of swooning too. There’s just so much honesty, hope and love in this story that even if my heart hurt so much for Naima and Dew, I felt some joy too.

The characters are not always easy to like at all times, but they’re charming and intriguing with so much realness. Naima’s pain and anger is so palpable that sometimes I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Her part of the story is definitely the most difficult for me to read. Naima’s relationship with her father broke my heart a thousand times. I didn’t see my dad before he passed because he lived in the Philippines, so this really hit me so hard.

I adored Dew so much. He’s sweet, caring, funny, honest, kind, loving, and always tries sees the best in people. He is just pure light and goodness so it’s literally impossible not to fall for him. I enjoyed reading his part of the story and his friendship with Violet is so cute and endearing. I love his quirks so much. Dew absolutely stole a piece of my heart and soul and I’m perfectly okay with that.

The supporting characters are just wonderful. Violet is eccentric in her own way, but I definitely liked her. She’s interesting and fun. Dew’s sister, Faith, can be a brat, but I liked her sassy personality. I love JJ and Kam and Stella and Thomas. I think they’re amazing — patient, supportive, kind, and loving. I liked Nell too. She seems to really care about Naima’s well-being and she tries to be there for her. Even though Ray is gone from Naima’s life, I could feel how much he truly cares and loves his daughter throught the messages he leaves her.

Wonderfully meaningful and utterly poignant, Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger is such a beautifully written story about grief, friendship, family, love, and having the courage to say goodbye and move on. I loved the writing, the loveable characters, the heartwarming relationships, the sweet moments, and all the emotions. It’s heartbreaking and difficult to digest, but there are so many amazing and uplifting moments that filled me with so much hope and love. Such a touching and lovely story and I honestly can’t recommend it enough.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher Wednesday Books via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review and for participating in a blog tour. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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abouttheauthor

Candace Ganger AP_Credit Candace Ganger

Candace Ganger is the author of Six Goodbyes We Never Said and The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash as well as a contributing writer for HelloGiggles and obsessive marathoner. Aside from having past lives as a singer, nanotechnology website editor, and world’s worst vacuum sales rep, she’s also ghostwritten hundreds of projects for companies, best-selling fiction and award-winning nonfiction authors alike. She lives in Ohio with her family.

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