Thursday, June 6, 2013

Secret for a Song by S.K. Falls- Blog Tour & Giveaway


Secret for a Song

By: S.K. Falls
Publication Date: June 3, 2013
Genre: NA- Coming of age

Saylor Grayson makes herself sick. Literally.

She ate her first needle when she was seven. Now, at nineteen, she’s been kicked out of college for poisoning herself with laxatives. The shrinks call it Munchausen Syndrome. All Saylor knows is that when she’s ill, her normally distant mother pays attention and the doctors and nurses make her feel special.

Then she meets Drew Dean, the leader of a local support group for those with terminal diseases. When he mistakes her for a new member, Saylor knows she should correct him. But she can’t bring herself to, not after she’s welcomed into a new circle of friends. Friends who, like Drew, all have illnesses ready to claim their independence or their lives

For the first time, Saylor finds out what it feels like to be in love, to have friends who genuinely care about her. But secrets have a way of revealing themselves. What will happen when Saylor’s is out?


 
 
My Thoughts:
 
Saylor is a sick girl.  Well she's sick in that she wants to be sick.  Dreams about it, researches it, yearns for it.  She's willing to do whatever it takes to get at the attention that comes with hospitalization.  She's been pulled out of college after being caught "faking it", and now she's back to seeing a shrink.  But this shrink actually allows her to volunteer at a hospital, the one place she loves but is usually banned from.  She just knows if she can spend time in a hospital she'll figure out a way to become sick again.  She's supposed to be helping out with a terminally-ill support group... but when the leader of the group, Drew, mistakes her for a patient, she goes along with it.  Eventually she finds something she's never had before: friendship and love.  But now she's in over her head with lies and could lose it all in an instant.
 
I went in to this book a little worried just because I haven't loved most of the NA that I've been reading lately.  This was finally one that was NORMAL... and good.  It wasn't all sex, sex, sex... abs, abs, abs.... lust, lust, lust.  It was just about a girl who was college age.  A truly messed up girl, but not a nympho.
 
For real: This book hooked me from page one.  I mean it has a 7-year-old swallowing a needle for crying out loud!  Tell me that's not going to make you curious.  I also just loved the idea for a book about Munchausen Syndrome.  It seems like when that topic is brought up in books and on TV, it's usually the by proxy kind which features the parent hurting the child for attention... not the child actually hurting herself.  It was really interesting (and kinda disturbing) to read Saylor's thoughts about hurting herself.  She was a fucked up, attention deprived little girl.
 
I really liked how all the lies building up created this tension that had me sweating it out for Saylor.  She just kept telling them and telling them, feeling bad, and then feeling really good at the love she was getting back from all these amazing people.
 
So you have the tension building because you know she's going to be outed somehow and everything is going to crumble.  But then you also have this other tension because these people are terminal and you just don't want anything to happen to them.  At least that's how I felt.

I do want to give a warning though: if you have someone close to you that has had a serious illness, you might want to think about your feelings before you read this book.  Some of the things Saylor did had me cringing like crazy.  I don't think she was trying to make the people in the support group feel like she was mocking their disease (as in that wasn't her intention), but that is pretty much exactly what she was doing by pretending to be ill.  I just think if you have watched someone go through cancer or something like that, you might be offended by some of Saylor's thoughts and actions and you wouldn't be able to see the book for what it really is.

The one thing I hated was there is a scene where Saylor is texting while driving... and yeah there are worse things she could've done, and I'm not saying I've NEVER done it, but I don't like seeing it in print.  It's super dangerous and should be taken seriously because too many people have died.
 
The ending was not perfect, but overall it could have been way worse... and in a way I sort like it when everything isn't all happy, pretty, sunshine, rainbows, ya know?
 
Overall:  Such a well written book on a refreshing topic.  It features a truly mentally ill main character who makes herself sick... and then she lies so much it kind of makes you sick.  This is a NA book that is actually worth reading (it's not porn, hurrah!!).  It's an emotional, tense, cool book that I would definitely recommend!
 
This Book Contains:
  • Mental illness
  • Physical illnesses
  • Dollhouse building
  • A snowy New England setting
  • Self-loathing
  • Guitar playing
  • Asshole parents

My Rating:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.5/4
 
 
Giveaway:
  • [3 winners] Secret for a Song e-reader/tablet covers (will fit any reader) -  US/Canada 
 

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3 comments:

  1. I love books with this much tension and emotion in it! I'm glad you enjoyed it, Michelle!

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  2. Thanks so much for your honest and thoughtful review, Michelle! :)

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  3. Woah this book sounds intense. And this is New Adult?!? I usually stay away from it, but now I have to look into it if this is the kind of stuff you see in there. You don't see this kind of stuff in YA. I really am going to read this book. To the Barnes and Noble I go. Great review!

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