Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: IF I TELL


Title: IF I TELL
Author: Janet Gurtler
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Release Date: October 2011
Pages:

I'd like to thank the publisher for supplying me with a copy of this book for review.

Favorite Line/Passage: Tina didn't even flinch. "Now here's a match made in crack heaven," she spit out. "The druggie and the not-quite-black girl."

My heart tripped over itself, but Jackson didn't even glance her way. He leaned down and whispered in my ear. "Remember what I said about gossip and judging?" (sounds pretty teen, huh?)

Description: It was like watching a train wreck. I wanted to look away but couldn't take my eyes off them.


Her best friend and her mom's boyfriend. Locking lips. This is the secret Jasmine Evans  has to keep at all costs. Because her mom is pregnant, and Jaz doesn't want to ruin her life-again (just being born did it the first time). But the harder Jaz tries to pretend everything is okay, the faster her life spins out of control. Until Jackson. He doesn't care about the popularity of her friends or the color of her skin. But can she really trust a guy who just transferred in from reform school? She might be willing to chance the heartbreak, but telling him everything and risking the truth getting out is a whole other level of scary. 
NIGHTSTAND WORTHY +1

My Splats: IF I TELL explores the age-old struggle of discovering information that could hurt someone if revealed and what to do with that information. And being a teen takes it to a new level. 

Jasmine is very easy to like, probably because she's like some teens who keep appearances outside but their insides tell a different story. She's never felt worthy of her life. Her birth put a damper on her mother's life, so she was raised by her grandparents. She and her mom have a good relationship, though, which was an interesting sway from what I expected.

Compounding matters, Jasmine's mother and grandparents are Caucasian, where her birth father was black. She ends up with dark skin and lives in an area that doesn't let her forget it. EVERYONE seems to know that she's a mixture of black and white, which bothers her. She doesn't feel black or white or that she belongs with either.Being a product of inter-racial parents as well as an absent parent (her birth father) is at the heart of so many emotions for this girl, and I'm sure many teens will relate to it.

The inner conflicts of this character from her racial attitude to her fear of water and not being accepted are deep and well distributed throughout the story. The reader discovers more about Jasmine just as Jasmine discovers more about herself. The writing is fluent, stringing one scene to the next.

The slow unfolding of a hidden lie moves the story along and intertwines other characters and emotions. Using a boy with a shady past added conflict for Jasmine and tension, even a bit of mystery to the story. 

In the end, the story and characters grow and the reader is satisfied. I would recommend this book to any teen or contemporary reader.

To ENTER the giveaway for a chance to win a free copy, fill out the form below. GOOD LUCK!!





I also need to announce the winner of a copy of HOOKED, by Les Edgerton, which I offered during the Season's of Reading Blog Hop. I'm also giving away a copy of Janet's book I'M NOT HER to my local high school library.

The WINNER is:
KELLY HASHWAY!!
Kelly has already joined me in donating a book to her local library!
Congrats!!

21 comments:

  1. Congrats to Kelly!

    And that book sounds awesome! I love the boy with a shady past and not knowing if she can trust him - sounds intriguing.

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  2. If I Tell sounds great. And yay, I won! Thanks, Sheri!

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  3. That sounds great! I'm becoming such a HUGE fan of YA!

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  4. I actually just blogged it but forgot to add those points!

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  5. Congrats to Kelly!
    If I Tell sounds like a great book! I like how you share your favorite passage!

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  6. This sounds like a great book! I agree with Kelly, I like that you shared your favorite passage!

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  7. Just read another review of this book--thx for the giveaway, I'd love to read it!

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  8. Thanks for the review of the book. Sounds like an emotional read.

    And congratulations to Kelly and her library!

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  9. A romantic interest fresh out of reform school, and a crushing secret to keep? I'm hooked!

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  10. So many relationships can hinge on the secrets kept...or not. This book sounds like it really explores this idea and adds, what sounds like, a bit of a bad boy love interest to tangle the web. Very intriguing.

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  11. Oy, what a secret to keep! Thanks for the review, sounds intriguing all around.

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  12. I saw this book on another review site this morning. It's interesting to see the different perspectives. It looks like a great read.

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  13. I saw this book on another review site this morning. It's interesting to see the different perspectives. It looks like a great read.

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  14. Hi, Sheri,

    Happy New Year! 2012 is certainly starting out with a bang!

    You look GORGEOUS in your Facebook pic! You certainly don't look like you had four kids... BRAVO!

    Great review. The book looks very intense. Lot of tension.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Michael! So nice of you to say. Glad to see 2012 treating you so nicely. Happy New Year to you, too!!

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  15. This one sounds REALLY good! And I love that cover.

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  16. Ohhh, sounds interesting. Great review Sheri!

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  17. That is a nice, juicy passage! If I Tell sounds like a great read.

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  18. So glad you've all enjoyed my post! Thanks for stopping by. And to any new followers - WELCOME!!

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  19. You know how I feel about these books! Great review, Sheri!! :-)

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  20. Yay! Awesome review. And can you believe I almost missed it? Darn this reduced blogging schedule. I'm always behind. :p Thanks, girl!

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