Review Detail

“I was always going to do terrible things because it was in my nature.”

This is Tate McKenna. She doesn’t hold back, and she is a hurricane.

Tate McKenna isn’t a good girl. She is very bad, and she likes it that way. Tate has run away from her past, her future, and her fortune to stay in her best friend’s grad school dorm in New York City. NYC is Tate’s favorite place in the world, and she’s going to start fresh, even if it kills her.

Tate meets Hayden Rockefeller, an NYC celebrity, on the flight to New York. Pure chance, or something more? Regardless, they connect, and Tate can’t seem to escape their connection. This is Tate’s story, how she overcomes the darkness in her past and embraces the darkness in her present. Behind her is Jesse, a boy back in Charleston who she grew up with, and is a part of her very soul. In her future is Hayden, a rich businessman with a heart of gold and who may be hiding his own darkness.

Choice. Destiny. Fate. Volition. Willpower.

While Tate and Hayden dance around each other in the New York lights, Jesse’s shadow lingers in their memories. Who will Tate decide to be with? Or will she destroy all of her relationships?

The storytelling is fantastic. Alternating chapters told from Tate’s perspective in the past and present show the reader who she has become, and why she is this way. Stories from Tate’s past, in high school and early college, showcase the defining moments in her life.

“I hate this version of myself because although I think I have all the power, I have none. I am not rational here.”

Tate has family issues. Don’t we all? I can really relate to Tate’s complications with her family. She doesn’t love them. She doesn’t want to see them, and runs instead of sticking around for her big sister’s wedding rehearsal.

I get this, down to the very core of my being. When I am with my family, this is what happens to me. My power drains from me, my volition dies, and I am sapped of what makes me me. Tate having to deal with this during her sister’s wedding, with Hayden Rockefeller on her arm, is absolute torture. She deals with it in the only way she knows how – by being terrible.

“I’ve won, and Hayden is my weapon.”

At this moment Tate has embraced her own nature, her strength, and isn’t holding back. She knew what would happen, that she would use Hayden against her family, and she tried to fight it, but couldn’t stop it. Tate is a powerhouse of darkness and crazy. Now she’s embracing the power, and I love her for that. I love this crazy girl for grabbing her own insanity by the reins and steering her own way.

The verdict: VOLITION is the story of a crazy, scarred girl who tends to bring out the darkness in others. Tate McKenna’s story is not for everyone, but if your soul aches for someone in your past, while your fingers itch for adventure, try VOLITION.