Review: A Determied Young Lady Facing Lots Of Challenges - And Winning
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 30, 2012
Amelia Travis is about to turn 18.  To say her childhood had been tough would be an understatement.  When her father left the family, her mother (who had no instincts of a mother) turned the young children over to State Services.  Amelia was separated from her brother and two sisters, and lived in government orphanages and occasionally foster care. She grew up essentially alone, with no significant adult interaction aside from the little she got from her caregivers (who she didn't trust).  Now she would be an adult.  She has some dreams.  She would like to find a man, marry, and have a family, she wants to be financially independent, and she wants to travel. This is her story.The most pressing need for Amelia is to find a place to live.  The youth hostels are always an option.  But she has heard stories about them.  Drug use is rampant.  They are places where young adults with no ambition and no future go to burn out, and return in many cases to State Services, or prison.  Her other option is to beg her mother to take her in. This is also not attractive, because her mother is a mean, spiteful woman. But Amelia does not earn enough at her job to afford rent, so it's going to be one or the other.Amelia goes to her mother.  To her surprise her mother takes her in, with conditions.  Lots of conditions.  Amelia will have to pay most of her paycheck in rent.  She will have to pay for phone calls.  All the communal items in the house (things like toothpaste and shampoo) are off limits to her.  If she wants those, she'll have to buy them herself.  It will be a very strict life, but at least she'll have a place to stay.So Amelia moves in, and it is every bit as bad as she expected.  Her mother is constantly telling her how worthless she is, how ugly she is, how the clothes she wears make her look horrible, and anything else to degrade her.  And phone calls, which are limited to a few minutes, are 10 pounds (US $15) each.  Her mother is trying to bleed her dry, to the point where she will never save enough money to be able  to live on her own.Amelia thinks she may be pretty enough to do some modeling.  She enters a contest, and to her surprise she wins and is offered a modeling contract. Modeling is pretty easy work.  Might take a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday, but you can earn up to a week's wages.  Amelia also takes a new job which pays significantly more than her current job.  She doesn't tell her mother about the modeling or the new job, because her mother would just raise her rent and keep her broke.  Amelia is finally starting to accumulate some savings, and the end appears to be in sight.|She agrees to spend the weekend with Dean.  Dean is in love with Amelia, but she has no feelings for Dean other than friendship.  But Dean introduces her to Peter.  The two hit it off immediately, and soon become lovers.  Then they get a lucky break.  One of Peter's friends is going to serve six months on a cruse ship.  He needs to rent his flat.  Amelia and Peter check it out.  The rent is reasonable, and together they can easily cover it.  So they move in as a couple.  Amelia is now away from her domineering mother, in a different city in fact.  Amelia is moving up in her career, and Peter is doing well for himself.  It looks like marriage may be in the cards.Amelia continues doing new things.  She goes to college and gets a Certified Financial Planner certificate.  This opens doors for her at the very upper levels of corporations.  Before long she is responsible for managing tens of millions of pounds a month.  She is very good at it, and is paid well.  Her and Peter have broken up, but she dates other men.  She has a wide circle of friends, and an active social life.  She has enough money to travel, and she starts to visit foreign countries.  First with friends, then alone.  Everything looks too be going perfectly.But it's not.  First, she has not found a man she wants to spend her life with.  But more importantly, she has not escaped her past.  It continually drags on her.  She goes into deep depressions, where she is not able to work or do much else for weeks at a time.  She also wants to find her brother and sisters, as well as her father and grandparents.  But she has very little information on them - not even their names.  Will Amelia, now a successful businesswoman, be able to overcome her past, overcome the depression which hunts her, meet the man of her dreams, and find her family?Amelia's Destiny is the story of a strong woman, with very specific goals in mind.  But there are roadblocks to just about everything she tries to do.  Nothing in her past has set her up to be successful.  She is not well educated, but she is very intelligent.  Author Torrens tells an enjoyable story of a young woman who digs deep into herself to overcome some things most people never face.  You will get to know Amelia very well.  You will feel for her as she struggles, and you will celebrate with her when she triumphs.  The writing is crisp and sharp, and just like Amelia goes right to the point.This book is the second book in a series.  I did not read the first book, Amelia's Story, which details the earlier part of Amelia's life.  But you don't have to have read the first one, because this book stands on its own.  But if you are like me you will be buying the first book, to see how this story started out.  Highly recommended.