Straight Reading from the Library: Desert Rice by Angela Scott

I received this book from Goddess Fish Promotions as part of a book tour they are doing.  The author will give one lucky commenter on today's post a Mobi or ePub copy of WANTED: Dead or Undead or Survivor Roundup from her backlist, and one randomly drawn commenter on the tour will receive a $15 gift card to Amazon. Also, a $15 Amazon gift card will be awarded to a randomly drawn host.  Fingers crossed!!  To see the other stops on the tour and to see what other bloggers have to say about the books, just click here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/01/virtual-review-tour-desert-flower.html

I'm only reviewing one of the books--Desert Rice.  I've heard of a desert flower, of course, but Desert Rice intrigued me. I had hoped I would be able to decipher the meaning of the title after reading the book.

READ THE BLURB

Samantha Jean Haggert is a beautiful twelve-year-old girl, but no one  knows it. All they see is an awkward boy in a baseball cap and baggy  pants.

Sam's not thrilled with the idea of hiding her identity, but it's  all part of her brother's plan to keep Sam safe from male attention and  hidden from the law. 15-year-old Jacob will stop at nothing to protect  his sister, including concealing the death of the one person who should  have protected them in the first place--their mother. 

Sam and Jacob try  to outrun their past by stealing the family car and traveling from West  Virginia to Arizona, but the adult world proves mighty difficult to  navigate, especially for two kids on their own. Trusting adults has  never been an option; no adult has ever given them a good reason. But  when Sam meets "Jesus"--who smells an awful lot like a horse--in the  park, life takes a different turn. He saved her once, and may be willing  to save Sam and her brother again, if only they admit what took place  that fateful day in West Virginia. The problem? Sam doesn't remember,  and Jacob isn't talking.

READ THE REVIEW

This book held me enthralled. It's a mystery, coming-of-age book, relationship book all at once. It's a book I'm definitely ordering for the library. 

 It deals with many tween issues girls go through--a lot of "firsts"--and they are handled with sensitivity and, at the same time, brutal honesty.

From the first, there's a mystery--but the full extent of the mystery doesn't come about until much later in the book. And, it's not a mystery story, it's nothing that has to be solved. However, the truth has to be revealed in order for Jacob and Sam to heal.

Desert Rice  is told in first person from Sam's POV--and we are privy to her thoughts, desires, and confusions. As a woman, I could feel her confusion with her first period and her embarrassment over the purchase of her first bra.  I've been right there and Angela Scott captures those feelings perfectly.  

I loved the characters in the book and look forward to reconnecting with them in Desert Flower.  And, yes, I think I finally figured out the title--but I don't want to give it away :-)  You'll need to read the book to find out. Just a hint: both titles refer to Samantha (I think... maybe the author can give me a hint).

MEET THE AUTHOR

I hear voices. Tiny fictional people sit on my shoulders and whisper their stories in my ear. Instead of medicating myself, I decided to pick up a pen, write down everything those voices tell me, and turn it into a book. I’m not crazy. I’m an author. For the most part, I write contemporary Young Adult novels. However, through a writing exercise that spiraled out of control, I found myself writing about zombies terrorizing the Wild Wild West—and loving it. My zombies don’t sparkle, and they definitely don’t cuddle. At least, I wouldn’t suggest it.I live on the benches of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains with two lovely children, one teenager, and a very patient husband. I graduated from Utah State University with a B.A. degree in English, not because of my love for the written word, but because it was the only major that didn’t require math. I can’t spell, and grammar is my arch nemesis. But they gave me the degree, and there are no take backs.As a child, I never sucked on a pacifier; I chewed on a pencil. I’ve been writing that long. It has only been the past few years that I’ve pursued it professionally, forged relationships with other like-minded individuals, and determined to make a career out of it.You can subscribe and follow me on my website, where I blog obsessively about my writing process and post updates on my current works. I’m also on Twitter and Facebook, but be forewarned, I tweet and post more than a normal person.

Website: www.angelascottauthor.comhttp://www.whimsywritingandreading.weebly.com/

Twitter: @whimsywritinghttp://twitter.com/#%21/whimsywriting

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaScottWriter