The Evolution of Lillie Gable (Eastbrook #2)
Young Adult ContemporaryDate Published: March 31, 2015
Meet Lillie Gable- high school sophomore, outgoing, beautiful, athletic, and funny...
She is the life of any party. Her boyfriend, Jake, is a smoking hot senior, and Lillie is on track to be a starter on the varsity girls' basketball team this year.
But trouble looms behind the façade. Lillie's home life is a wreck. Her father is hiding a secret, and Lillie is determined to find the truth, even if it tears apart her family.
While she searches for the truth about her father, the last thing Lillie needs is a feud with Angela Barrett, the brass, bleached blonde senior who is the queen of the rumor mill. Angela is determined to ruin Lillie's reputation because she has set her sights on Lillie's boyfriend, Jake.
Heartbroken and humiliated, Lillie can't return to the life she once knew. Does she have the strength and resolve to forge a new path now that everything is changing?
Read an excerpt:
It was almost ten, and Jake needed to go home, but she didn’t want him to leave her in the empty house.
“I have an idea,” he said. He threw on his T-shirt and stood up. “We both don’t want this awesome summer to end, so I think we should have one more day of summer.”
“What are you saying?” Lillie asked.
“Let’s ditch school tomorrow. We can spend the day at the beach. It will be quiet because everyone will be at school, and we get to have one more day at the beach,” he said. Excitement was written all over his face.
“Ditch? I don’t know, Jake,” she said. She loved his impulsiveness, but ditching school could get her in serious trouble.
“It’s the first day. You know nothing happens on the first day. Teachers aren’t paying attention to who should be at school and who isn’t there. It’s the perfect day to ditch. We’ll leave at the same time we should be heading to school. Your parents won’t have a clue. They aren’t around ever.” He grabbed her hands and looked into her eyes. “C’mon, it will be lots of fun.” She turned her gaze from him and mulled over his argument. He’s right. The first day of school is pointless.
“Okay. Let’s do it,” she said. He grinned, gave her a big hug, and lightly kissed her lips.
“I’ll pick you up first thing.” He turned and walked out the door. Lillie locked the door behind him. She turned off the lights before heading upstairs. She brushed her teeth, set her alarm, and collapsed on her bed. The silence overwhelmed her. She switched on her television so she could sleep.
**My thoughts**
Lillie is one messed up girl. She is trying to juggle her popularity, a relationship, a best friend, a worst enemy, a basketball team, and horrible family craziness. You couldn't pay me to go back to school to deal with that kind of drama again. As a result, Lillie keeps getting herself into trouble. I think readers can learn some good lessons, just as Lillie is forced into learning a lot of life lessons.
I cringed at a lot of her decisions. I am grateful I didn't have to deal with as much crap when I was in high school. I worry about kids who are in school now, especially with the added problems of social media and camera phones. I pray that kids who are confronted with similar situations have someone to whom they can reach out for help.
The book was an easy read and went by quickly, though I felt like it was a little flat at times. It was almost as if I was being told a story, instead of really being shown the story. I didn't quite connect to Lillie and all of her emotions. That being said, I wouldn't write it off, because it does adequately chronicle Lillie's evolution, as denoted by the title. Perhaps younger readers will relate to it better than I did. I best related to the setting of the book (Cleveland, Ohio), as I am also originally from Ohio. I am also now curious to read the first book in the series, that tells Rachel's story. Rachel is Lillie's best friend, and she has interesting secrets in her own life.
About Kristen Otte
Kristen Otte is an author who calls Cincinnati, Ohio, her home. Her mission is to bring joy and laughter to people young and old with stories. She writes books for children, teens, and adults. In her free time, she can be found running, reading, coaching basketball, playing board games with her husband, or walking her crazy dogs, Zelda the Pug and Peach the Boston Terrier.
Learn more about Kristen and her books at kristenotte.com.
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