Sia

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Sia

Sia

by: Josh Grayson
My Rating: four-stars



Published by: Josh Grayson on November 23rd 2013
Genres: Tween, Young Adult, Coming of Age, Contemporary, Romance

ISBN: 0989869016

Pages: 306
Disclosure: I was invited by the publisher to read this title in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. I received no monetary compensation, and all comments are subjective and mine alone.



Synopsis

Forgetting was only the beginning. When seventeen-year-old Sia wakes up on a park bench, she has no idea who or where she is. Yet after a week of being homeless, she’s reunited with her family. At school, she’s powerful and popular. At home, she’s wealthy beyond her dreams. But she quickly realizes her perfect life is a lie. Her family is falling apart and her friends are snobby, cruel and plastic. Worse still, she discovers she was the cruelest one. Mortified by her past, she embarks on a journey of redemption and falls for Kyle, the “geek” she once tormented. Yet all the time she wonders if, when her memories return, she’ll become the bully she was before…and if she’ll lose Kyle.






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“Sia” by Josh Grayson was a different young adult novel than what’s on currently on the market. It’s a fresh topic. And one I think needs to be on every school library’s shelf. It’s relevant and an important topic for today’s teens.

 

For a debut novel, Grayson hit one out of the park. He has a great voice and I think, for the most part, he was able to tell the story in a teen’s voice. Although, at times, I found the characters’ actions and voice too young for their stated age.

 

I had some problems connecting with the characters and found Sia to be “preachy” at times, but she was an excellent example of how teenagers can, and should, change for the better. She had a great story to tell in the book and that carries over in to real life. So even though Sia and I may not have connected as well as I would have liked, I found her character’s story wonderfully told and relevant to today’s society.

 

Secondary characters were in and out of the book. Most were not developed fully. I would have liked to have seen more meat in the story of Alyz. And the relationship of Kyle and Sia could have been developed more. I really love secondary characters. I think sometimes they make or break a story. In “Sia” I think the secondary characters were instrumental in making the story since Sia herself needed them to tell her story because of her amnesia. So I would have loved more development there.

 

Bottom line: Excellent debut. A relevant story for today’s teens. A great moral wrapped up in an entertaining and captivating book that will appeal to younger teen audiences.

About Josh Grayson

Josh Grayson was born in Mexico, raised in Massachusetts, and now lives in Virginia. It was his move to the South that stirred his imagination and gave him the courage to start writing. During his free time, Josh enjoys jogging, swimming, reading and dreaming up new stories.

Michelle
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