Push Girl

Push Girl by debut authors Chelsie Hill and Jessica Love, and which Hill used her real life experience to help write.

Kara is a high school junior who's loving life.  She's popular, has a great group of friends, and an amazing boyfriend, and she's a shoe-in for homecoming queen,  Even though her parents can't stop fighting and her ex-boyfriend can't seem to leave her alone, Kara won't let anything get in the way of her perfect year.  It's Friday night, and Kara arrives at a party, upset after hearing her parents having another one of their awful fights, and sees another girl with her hands all over her boyfriend.  Furious, Kara leaves to take a drive, and, as she's crossing an intersection, a car comes out of nowhere and slams into the driver's side of Kara's car.

When Kara wakes up, she has no memory of the night before.  Where is she?  Why are her parents crying? And, most importantly-- why can't she feel her legs? As Kara is forced to adjust to her new life, where her friends aren't who they seemed to be and her once-adoring boyfriend is mysteriously absent, she starts to realize that what matters in life isn't what happens to you-- it's the choices you make and the people you love. 

The Breakdown:
1. Hill and Love present a fantastic story of lose and triumph.  They show so easily how life and plans can change in a blink of an eye.

2. I find Kara an interesting character.  She lose her dream of becoming a dancer because of someone else's bad decision, and while she is angry, she does not give up on life. I like that the authors allow us to follow Kara through her stages of grief.  While she does not always handle her change well, and who would really, she makes great strides as a character as the book progresses.  She eventually learns that being the wheelchair girl does not define her as a person.

3. The authors bring into sharp focus on how tragedy shows who are real friends and who are fair weather.  Kara gets some super loyal friends in Jack and Amanda, but she also loses other friends and her boyfriend because they can't deal with her change.  Jack and Amanda are awesome.  They stick with Kara through the accident, and even when she is not handling life well, they are still there for her.

To Read or Not to Read:
Must Read (especially for anyone who tragedy has changed their life)

Currently Reading:
Tempting the Best Man
by J. Lynn