Wavering

Reader reviewed by Alicia

I just received my book a few days ago and I can't put it down. I love the full bodied characters that the author created and the story that she shares with us. I feel like I'm on a journey with her, sometimes scared, excited, and new to my surroundings. I hope to read more of her work in the future.

Reader reviewed by Dawn

When I first read Wavering, I wasn't sure what to expect. But it resonated with both myself and my teenage daughter. The main character, Joy, realistically deals with issues many teenagers experience, especially in today's technologically driven society. There are other young adult books we have read together that don't seem realistic to how teens really behave.  Not every teen is highly experienced, engaged in sexual activities or comes from a perfect family. 

The story is told in the first person by sixteen-year-old Joy Wright.  She's an extremely likable character, and right from the beginning, you understand that she is stuck in a bad situation.  So, throughout the story, I couldn't help but wonder who the culprit was for holding her captive, and if the story was going to end well. 

The novel begins with Joy questioning who to respect, and realizes that everyone doesn't rightfully deserve it.  She soon meets her grandparents for the first time, and they are far from the typical, lovable grandparents, but it is obvious to the reader that she has reservations about meeting them since she had been told by her older sister, Daphne, about them disowning her mother long ago.

Joy has many "firsts" throughout the story. She gets her first car, goes on her first date, receives her first kiss, develops a renewed sense of self-confidence, and slowly begins to understand why it is that her mother seems to always be on the quest for finding love, even shortly after her husband dies.  She craves that heart-stopping, mind racing, passionate kind of love.  However, the first man her mother seems to crush on, gives Joy the creeps, although she doesn't immediately understand why.

Alec, the high school senior Joy meets in the book, is the kind of guy that many girls her age would like- tan, blue-eyed jock with a carefree attitude. At least he seems carefree in the beginning of the book.  Everything up until midway through their first date seems pretty perfect.  That's when Joy realizes that just like her new friends at the new school, he isn't exactly how she envisioned him as being when she first met him.

Throughout the storyline, there's talk of two possible murders, and slowly, both the main character and the reader begin to see the connection between the two murdered women and Joy.   

Wavering teaches women of all ages about love, trust, self-respect, confidence and safety both in person and over the internet.  It teaches women to be on their guard and to trust their instincts, because it is those instincts that might save your life.