Review: I wish I could tack on a few more stars to the 5-star rating
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 8, 2013
*Review published on Page Turners Blog on 0/0/2013*I don't know if you're like me, but I love the Olympics, and I always wonder what it's like behind the scenes for these elite athletes. How do they cope with everyday stresses and overwhelming tragedies? We've all seen those stories where athletes succeed in spite of the odds being against them. We fall in love with them and cheer them on all the more because we know their background and the pain they went through to just be at the top. And it seems every single one of them has a burden that they carry into competition because no one's life is simple and happy all the time.Julie was inspired by her own gymnastics and coaching background to write a story in a competitive gymnastics setting. But, this story is not just about athletes; it's about surviving against tragic odds.If you've read my reviews of Tempest and Vortex, you already know that I love Julie's writing style; the plot rhythm of Letters to Nowhere is just as page turning-ly fast as you'd expect from any of her action-packed sequences in the Tempest series. But, Letters to Nowhere is a contemporary story and I expect certain things from a well-written contemp. First, the characters have to be believable and most of all real. Karen is one of my favorite contemp protagonists. She is a girl who struggles with not only staying on top of a competitive sport, but also with the tragedy that has forever changed her life.I love how Julie introduced Coach Bentley and most of all, Jordan. The parallel between Jordan and Karen's coping processes made for the best kind of reading -- the kind where you feel all the feelings the characters are going through and you appreciate their struggles all the more.I gave this book 5-stars and I wish I could tack on a few more.