Night Sky Book Tour: Review
On this Memorial Day, we honor all of those who have fought and continue to fight for our United States. On the blog we have two YA book tours. The first is Hotblood and the second is Night Sky. We share our review below. Welcome and Happy Memorial Day.
Night Sky
by Jolene Perry
ISBN: 9780983741862
ISBN: 9781466052338
Genre: YA contemporary romance
Format: ebook (247 pages)
Publisher: Tribute Books March 1, 2012)
Blurb: Girl I’ve loved, girl I’m falling for. Now that they’re both in view, the problem is clear.
After losing Sarah, the friend he’s loved, to some other guy, Jameson meets Sky. Her Native American roots, fluid movements, and need for brutal honesty become addictive fast. This is good. Jameson needs distraction – his dad leaves for another woman, his mom’s walking around like a zombie, and Sarah’s new boyfriend can’t keep his hands off of her.
As he spends time with Sky and learns about her village, her totems, and her friends with drums - she's way more than distraction. Jameson's falling for her fast.
But Sky’s need for honesty somehow doesn’t extend to her life story – and Jameson just may need more than his new girl to keep him distracted from the disaster of his senior year.
About the author: Jolene Perry grew up in Wasilla, Alaska. She graduated from Southern Utah University with a degree in political science and French, which she used to teach math to middle schoolers.
After living in Washington, Utah and Las Vegas, she now resides in Alaska with her husband, and two children. Aside from writing, Jolene sews, plays the guitar, sings when forced, and spends as much time outside as possible.
She is also the author of The Next Door Boys and the upcoming Knee Deep.Jolene Perry's links: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
After living in Washington, Utah and Las Vegas, she now resides in Alaska with her husband, and two children. Aside from writing, Jolene sews, plays the guitar, sings when forced, and spends as much time outside as possible.
She is also the author of The Next Door Boys and the upcoming Knee Deep.Jolene Perry's links: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Our review: I've been on an incredible roll with reading lately. I finished The Demon Trappers series--fantastic. I loved Want by Stephanie Lawton. I adored The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting and lastly, Jolene Perry's Night Sky. I started Night Sky one evening and read straight through until I had finished it in the early morning. The story was so addictive, I lost track of time.
Jameson, an only child, competitive swimmer, and all around good guy, hasn't had luck in the "love" department. His best friend, Sarah, has just announced she's going out with jock, Eric. But Jameson's been in love with his bestie for three years and he never got around to telling her how he felt.
A friend of mine once told me that "everything happens for a reason." This motto certainly applies to our main character, Jameson. If he hadn't gone to the school dance and saw Sarah dancing with Eric, he wouldn't have left early, gone to visit his casino working parents on the Las Vegas strip, and wouldn't have borrowed his dad's Porsche to drive home. On his way he stops at a red light and spots a 'hot' young woman who looks like she's lost. He asks her if she needs help and finds out she lives across the street from him.
Her name is Sky and in many ways both she and Jameson are both lost. His losses include Sarah, high school graduation is weeks away, and there's something brewing between his parents at home. Her losses include living with grandparents to attend college but she's really running away from her Alaskan clan and years of abuse. Their impromptu meeting is just the beginning of an intense story of love, growing up, acceptance and understanding.
Her name is Sky and in many ways both she and Jameson are both lost. His losses include Sarah, high school graduation is weeks away, and there's something brewing between his parents at home. Her losses include living with grandparents to attend college but she's really running away from her Alaskan clan and years of abuse. Their impromptu meeting is just the beginning of an intense story of love, growing up, acceptance and understanding.
Night Sky is narrated by Jameson in present tense and I loved the immediacy of hearing his thoughts and getting his views on everything--from his changing parental situation, swimming, girls, dating Sky (who is the opposite of Sarah) and much more. He is funny, down to earth, learning to be honest and open with his feelings, and he's smart and cute.
There is a lot to admire and enjoy about Night Sky: the rich setting of Vegas and Alaska, secondary characters featuring parents who actually exist and talk (Jameson's mom is cool), coming-of-age desires and the pining of first love, a culturally diverse cast of characters, and poolside talks (both in and out of the water).
There is a lot to admire and enjoy about Night Sky: the rich setting of Vegas and Alaska, secondary characters featuring parents who actually exist and talk (Jameson's mom is cool), coming-of-age desires and the pining of first love, a culturally diverse cast of characters, and poolside talks (both in and out of the water).
What impressed me most about Night Sky was the way Perry developed Jameson's character. This high school senior made me laugh out loud with his commentary like these lines: "Now that they're both in view, the problem is clear. Girl I've loved, girl I'm falling for. Let's meet in my driveway and see if we can give Jameson his first heart attack." He's an incredibly well-rounded character and watching him stumble, fall, and get back up and into the search for a girlfriend while ultimately finding true love, was worth every single second I spent with Jameson.
As for Sky, I liked her but didn't always understand her. When Jameson first meets her she's flirty, wears skimpy clothing (black panties in the pool?) but is a hands-off girl (for someone only a year older she comes across as a girl/woman at times). She champions the role of honesty in relationships and Jameson learns to handle her request (so admirably he even mentions the lack of honesty to Sarah regarding their own friendship). Sky also turns into a hypocrite. He does call her on it and is rightfully angry with her, yet I couldn't connect all of the dots in her story to find her as equally appealing or as real as Jameson. Sky was sweet, I enjoyed learning about her clan, their laws and tribal home in Alaska, but she ultimately remained a mystery.
Night Sky is told refreshingly from a teen male's point-of-view and Jameson's voice will resonate with many readers. This is a coming-of-age story for teens and fans of YA.
Rating: I really liked it.
Favorite excerpt: ""How's that?" There's no smirk or tease on her face at all. Even with her angles, she looks so soft.
"Like I'm flying." I smile and tilt my face closer to hers. Close enough that I can feel her breath on y face. "Like I'm flying through the night sky because I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, but I can't get enough of you."
I don't ask her this time. I press our lips together, and she kisses me back. My arms slide down her shoulders, down her arms, around her waist, deepening our kiss. Then I pull her against me. It's even better than I imagined. It feels like we're on top of the world--our lips together, our bodies together. And it's just me and Sky...just us...only us...Sky and Jameson. Because Sky and Jameson go together; and we're awesome."
Cover comment: I pictured Jameson a bit like this cover model, but the model for Sky is too light skinned.
Book source: I received a free ebook in return for my totally honest review for use during a book tour.
Laurie, thanks for the review!
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