Author: Stacey R.
Campbell
Publisher: Green Darner Press (May 28,
2015)
Genre: Young Adult
Fiction
ASIN: B00YGCAR1K
Where to buy: Amazon Kindle ($.99)
Author Website:
http://www.staceyrcampbell.com
Reviewed by Marlan Warren originally for Roadmap Girl’s Book Buzz
This quick, lively and poignant read
explores that special longing felt by many adopted children: to know their
biological parents. In this novelette sequel to Hush, Blakely Henry is now a graduate of
Lakeview Academy who juggles her new life as queen of a fictional Mediterranean
country with college and her hunky fiancé. Her adoptive American parents are on
hand to help out, and it's touching how supportive they are of Blakely's deep
need to meet her biological father. Stacey R. Campbell has meticulously crafted
characters who come to life on the page so well that you feel you know them. She
keeps the tone light, and is unafraid of tackling painful memories or events
that come up as Blakely's search intensifies. Details such as the excellent
pasta dishes the castle cook can whip up for her pleasure enhance the pleasures
of this story which has one foot in "fairy tale" and the other in "reality."
What makes this
journey so much fun is how much everyone involved cares. Blakely's whole family
plus her fiancé accompany her on this tough journey which leads them through
some beautiful parts of France. Silence is glamorous fun (how much easier our
lives would be if we all had our own "royal stylist"), and at the same time, it
is down to earth about skeletons in family closets and how families choose to
deal with them. It can be read as a stand-alone, although it might be fun to go
back and read Hush to find
out how Blakely found out that she is the only surviving blood relative
of an assassinated monarchy of a country that now needs her
help.
About the
Author:
Stacey R.
Campbell lives in the Seattle area with her husband and three daughters. She is
a graduate of the University of Washington and a dyslexic writer who believes
there is no such thing as a bad reader. She's also the author of the Young Adult Lakeview
Novel Series (Hush, Whisper and the upcoming Scream), as well as the MG
swashbuckler Arrgh! .
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