[YBW]∎ [PDF] Free Letters to Nowhere Letters to Nowhere Part 1 eBook Julie Cross

Letters to Nowhere Letters to Nowhere Part 1 eBook Julie Cross

Download As PDF : Letters to Nowhere Letters to Nowhere Part 1 eBook Julie Cross

Letters to Nowhere Letters to Nowhere Part 1 eBook Julie Cross

I discovered Julie Cross when I reviewed Whatever Life Throws At You. I was so taken by her voice, the story, and the characters that I rushed out and picked up Letters to Nowhere. Sometimes it's a gamble to go back and read an older book by an author you love. This isn't one of those cases. I loved everything about Letters to Nowhere. Seventeen-year-old Karen Campbell is a spitfire at under five feet and a gymnastic dynamo. When her parents are killed in a car accident, she's left an orphan, struggling to understand how she's supposed to go on. Forced to choose between a promising gymnastics career and family, her coach steps in and offers to be her guardian in place of her grandmother, allowing her to continue her training. Gymnastics is the only thing Karen understands and takes him up on the offer.

Things get interesting when she meets her coach's seventeen-year-old son, Jordan. He gets her in a way no one ever has and she soon discovers why. With shared pain, they bond on a deeper level than either of them has ever known. When friendship turns into something more, things get complicated considering they live in the same house. And oh yeah, his dad is her coach. Karen struggles with how to cope with unimaginable loss, plans for her future, and how to help Jordan cope with his own pain.

Plot
The plot is complex. The main plot is likely the relationship between Karen and Jordan, but there are strong subplots, including Karen's gymnastics career, her ability to cope with the loss of her parents, the mystery surrounding the accident, the secret Jordan's best friend Tony is hiding, and Jordan's relationship with is father. Julie Cross manages to weave all of these together seamlessly, creating a beautiful tapestry of emotion. Letters to Nowhere is definitely a page turner, with increasing tension and heartfelt moments that are worth the wait.

World Building
As a former gymnast, Julie Cross creates an authentic world filled with juniors, worlds, elites, olympics, bars, vaults, floors, and more. I don't know much (anything) about this world and yet I was so immersed in it, I could easily understand Karen's drive, her fears, doubts, and goals.

Characters
All the characters are strong. Karen is deep, troubled, sympathetic, and exceedingly believable. Watching her process her grief and anger over her parents' deaths is sometimes difficult. I love that it wasn't an easy transition for her, that the author didn't have her move on too quickly and make the dead parents just a plot vehicle for the romance. It's more like the romance is there to help drive the grief plot. Everything Karen does is laced with thoughts of her parents. I love that she writes letters, sometimes only in her head, that she never intends to send. She writes letters to Jordan, her parents, and her coach, giving us a glimpse inside her head and allowing us to connect with her on a very deep level.

Jordan is equally fascinating, yet we only see him through Karen's eyes. He's sweet, loyal, a total daredevil, and he's deeply wounded himself. Karen recognizes his pain for what it is and tries to help him through it.

The rest of the cast from Coach Bentley to the other gymnasts, and even Jordan's best friend Tony, are well-rounded and support deeper plotting and characterization with their presence.

Bottom Line
Letters to Nowhere is a compelling young adult story that is as uplifting as it is tragic. Karen deals with loss, triumph, and first love, with equal parts grit and humor.


Tags : Letters to Nowhere (Letters to Nowhere Part 1) - Kindle edition by Julie Cross. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Letters to Nowhere (Letters to Nowhere Part 1).,ebook,Julie Cross,Letters to Nowhere (Letters to Nowhere Part 1),Long Walk Press,FICTION Romance Contemporary,JUVENILE FICTION Sports & Recreation General

Letters to Nowhere Letters to Nowhere Part 1 eBook Julie Cross Reviews

Favorite Quote(s)

“‘Showers are great, aren’t they?’ he said after seeing my eyes open.’I think I blew about twenty pounds of snot down the shower drain. Hot water clears the sinuses.’ ‘Yeah, for about ten minutes, then it comes back again.’ I sat up halfway and reached for the glass of water Stacey had left for me. ‘But it’s a lovely ten minutes.’”
Favorite Character Jordan.
First Line

“When Coach Bentley dropped me off at home after morning practice, an Audi that didn’t belong to my parents was already in the driveway.”
My Musings I have yet to read Julie’s Tempest series, but when I saw this on sale, I couldn’t help but pick it up. The premise was interesting set in the world of Elite gymnastics, something I hadn’t ever read about. However, being a former gymnast my self, I couldn’t wait to see what Cross brought to the table, as she was a former gymnastics coach.

Adding to the gymnastics, we have a girl struggling with losing her parents to an auto crash. She isn’t dealing to well with the grief, so when her gymnastics coach, Henry Bentley, takes her in so she doesn’t have to move, and she finally has something to focus on making the Worlds team for gymnastics. But things start heating up with Bentley’s son, Jordan, who Karen can’t help but connect with–they both suffered losses within their family and are trying to life through it. But dating her coach’s son, who happens to live with them, is dangerous territory, and something that the two of them have to keep hidden.

“‘Still planning on helping me with my paper?’ I asked, in between kisses. ‘Damn, I forgot. We should go soon.’ He scooted away from me and lay flat on his stomach, pressing his face into the blanket. ‘Just give me a minute…or five.’”
I really really loved this novel. Sure, I say that about a lot of books, but this one just stood out. I liked the gymnastics incorporation. It fed just enough into the plot to keep the novel entertaining. Also, I liked the concept of Karen writing letters to nowhere. And to any and everyone Jordan, her parents, Bentley, her psychologist. It was an interesting concept to include and really gave insight into what Karen wished she could say to the people she wrote to. Without them, the reader definitely would have been more confused regarding Karen’s actions.

“His hand moved through my hair. ‘What did I miss in the life of Karen Campbell while I was at school and then crazy drunk?’ ‘I did a bunch of Amanar vaults, but Stevie’s were better. I scared a little girl by screaming at her when I thought her basketball was my dad’s head rolling around in the gym and probably a whole bunch of preschool parents have now announced my insanity on Twitter. I haven’t checked today. That drama led me to go looking for obituaries in the garage, and then you know the rest.’ ‘A day in the life of an elite athlete,’ Jordan said.”
Karen, in my opinion, was a phenomenal female protagonist. She was struggling with the death of both of her parents, and I must say that she dealt with it pretty well, although she didn’t believe that herself. She was hardworking and driven, especially when it came to her sport, and strove to be the best that she could be. What she was dealing with was relatable, and that really helped me to empathize with her character.

“Jordan, You are the most perfect boy in the world, if such a thing exists. Please don’t ever stand behind anyone else in the dark again. Just me. Love, Karen”
Jordan was the love interest. A former gymnast and current dare-devil, Jordan was dealing with demons of his own, which is what drew him and Karen together. Regardless, Jordan tried to be her rock, even though he had issues of his own. He was funny, a bit on the arrogant side, and just an all around well rounded character. He wasn’t perfect and had his own story, which made it a thousand times more interesting to read about him.

“I smiled at the phone and Blair raised her eyebrows. ‘Are you texting a boy?’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘a boy is texting me.’”
The secondary characters in this novel were Karen’s teammates and Coach Bentley. Coach Bentley, like Jordan, was still suffering from losing people that he loved, and he put that love into Karen. He really cared for her both in and out of the gym, and wanted her to succeed. Karen’s team was life her adopted family. They were there for each other and Karen while she dealt with things, and pushed each other to be the best that they could be. I really enjoyed thier friendship and I can’t wait to see it develop even more in the rest of the novels.

“Jordan held a giant package of pads in each hand. ‘I wonder what the difference is in inches. Should we open them up to compare?’ Oh. My. God. ‘And how does one know if they need wings or not?’ he asked. ‘Have you ever tried flying one of these like a paper airplane?’”
My favorite part of this novel was the relationship between Karen and Jordan. It was interesting to say the least. They connected because of their loss of someone imporant to them Jordan, his family (grandparents, mother, and sister) in a London bombing, and Karen, her parents in a car crash. Jordan was there for her through it all, even when they were dying sick on the couch and when Karen got her first period. The connected in such a unique way, and I don’t think that I’ve read a romance so interesting as theirs. Karen was kind of new in the boy department, and it was interesting to see Jordan work with that. Regardless, they had some major chemistry that was pretty much undeniable, and I can’t wait to see where their relationship goes.

Letters to Nowhere was a unique and unforgettable novel. Brilliantly written with interesting aspects in the form of letters and gymnastics, it’s definitely one that you’d want to pick up.
I discovered Julie Cross when I reviewed Whatever Life Throws At You. I was so taken by her voice, the story, and the characters that I rushed out and picked up Letters to Nowhere. Sometimes it's a gamble to go back and read an older book by an author you love. This isn't one of those cases. I loved everything about Letters to Nowhere. Seventeen-year-old Karen Campbell is a spitfire at under five feet and a gymnastic dynamo. When her parents are killed in a car accident, she's left an orphan, struggling to understand how she's supposed to go on. Forced to choose between a promising gymnastics career and family, her coach steps in and offers to be her guardian in place of her grandmother, allowing her to continue her training. Gymnastics is the only thing Karen understands and takes him up on the offer.

Things get interesting when she meets her coach's seventeen-year-old son, Jordan. He gets her in a way no one ever has and she soon discovers why. With shared pain, they bond on a deeper level than either of them has ever known. When friendship turns into something more, things get complicated considering they live in the same house. And oh yeah, his dad is her coach. Karen struggles with how to cope with unimaginable loss, plans for her future, and how to help Jordan cope with his own pain.

Plot
The plot is complex. The main plot is likely the relationship between Karen and Jordan, but there are strong subplots, including Karen's gymnastics career, her ability to cope with the loss of her parents, the mystery surrounding the accident, the secret Jordan's best friend Tony is hiding, and Jordan's relationship with is father. Julie Cross manages to weave all of these together seamlessly, creating a beautiful tapestry of emotion. Letters to Nowhere is definitely a page turner, with increasing tension and heartfelt moments that are worth the wait.

World Building
As a former gymnast, Julie Cross creates an authentic world filled with juniors, worlds, elites, olympics, bars, vaults, floors, and more. I don't know much (anything) about this world and yet I was so immersed in it, I could easily understand Karen's drive, her fears, doubts, and goals.

Characters
All the characters are strong. Karen is deep, troubled, sympathetic, and exceedingly believable. Watching her process her grief and anger over her parents' deaths is sometimes difficult. I love that it wasn't an easy transition for her, that the author didn't have her move on too quickly and make the dead parents just a plot vehicle for the romance. It's more like the romance is there to help drive the grief plot. Everything Karen does is laced with thoughts of her parents. I love that she writes letters, sometimes only in her head, that she never intends to send. She writes letters to Jordan, her parents, and her coach, giving us a glimpse inside her head and allowing us to connect with her on a very deep level.

Jordan is equally fascinating, yet we only see him through Karen's eyes. He's sweet, loyal, a total daredevil, and he's deeply wounded himself. Karen recognizes his pain for what it is and tries to help him through it.

The rest of the cast from Coach Bentley to the other gymnasts, and even Jordan's best friend Tony, are well-rounded and support deeper plotting and characterization with their presence.

Bottom Line
Letters to Nowhere is a compelling young adult story that is as uplifting as it is tragic. Karen deals with loss, triumph, and first love, with equal parts grit and humor.