BOOKISH FRIDAY: EXCERPTING “BEFORE THE STORM”

 

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which I enjoy sharing excerpts from books…and connecting with other bloggers, who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

What better way to spend a Friday!

I am a big fan of Diane Chamberlain’s books, and back in 2011, after reading my very first book by her,  The Midwife’s Confession (click for my review), I immediately began grabbing as many of her books as I could find.

Today’s presentation is another of her books, Before the Storm, published in 2013, and I am sure I will not be disappointed.

 

 

 

 

Beginning:  (Andy)

When I walked back into my friend Emily’s church, I saw the pretty girl right away.  She’d smiled and said “hey” to me earlier when we were in the youth building, and I’d been looking for her ever since.  Somebody’d pushed all the long church seats out of the way so kids could dance, and the girl was in the middle of the floor dancing fast with my friend Keith, who could dance cooler than anybody.

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56:  (Laurel)

“I was careless.”  I stared at him.  “And I don’t understand why you’re not angry about it.  I almost killed you.”

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Blurb:  Fifteen-year-old Andy Lockwood is special. Others notice the way he blurts out anything that comes into his mind, how he cannot foresee consequences, that he’s more child than teenager. But his mother sees a boy with a heart as open and wide as the ocean.

Laurel Lockwood lost her son once through neglect. She’s spent the rest of her life determined to make up for her mistakes, and she’s succeeded in becoming a committed, protective parent—maybe even overprotective. Still, she loosens her grip just enough to let Andy attend a local church social—a decision that terrifies her when the church is consumed by fire. But Andy survives…and remarkably, saves other children from the flames. Laurel watches as Andy basks in the role of unlikely hero and the world finally sees her Andy, the sweet boy she knows as well as her own heart.

But when the suspicion of arson is cast upon Andy, Laurel must ask herself how well she really knows her son…and how far she’ll go to keep her promise to protect him forever.

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I am eager to begin reading this one.  What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

Here’s where I like to curl up and read….

 

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