Review: BEYOND Five Courageous and Resilient Stars!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 22, 2013
I was offered an ARC of Skipping Stones in exchange for an honest review.  I typically read (and review) erotic romance, and since one of the biggest concerns/criticisms I had read was that there was no sex in this book.  I was mildly intrigued by confusing comments, so I had to check it out for myself.Okay, so first, let's just get this out of the way.  Hands-down, unequivocally, clearly, and indisputably, this is a book about love, and yes, for a romance junkie like myself, there's even some of that too.  Is there sex in the book?  No, but sex without love is just mechanics.  Without a good love story, really what's the point?Alex Hart is a survivor, and Skipping Stones is her journey of survival and resilience; living, breathing  testament to the axiom that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.  Her story is one of overcoming tragedy and loss, and of using the experiences of those losses to help make the world just a little better.  It's also a story of hope and trust.  Trust that we will never be given more than we can bear, and hope that out of every tragedy, the possibility of rebirth exists.C.S. Lewis describes four types of love as storge (affectionate love - the love between family members), phileo (love between friends), eros (romantic love - being in love), and agape (unconditional love - the love that brings forth caring regardless of circumstances).  Skipping Stones is not only a story about romantic love, it's a story about all of the aspects of love, and how love can not only shatter you, but it can also make you whole again.At 15-years-old, Alex suffers an unthinkable tragedy - one that few of us could ever even fathom.  Then, just three days later, another equally-unimaginable tragedy strikes.  Alex is not just devastated; she is completely overwhelmed by the reality of her loss.  The one thing (the only thing) that keeps Alex grounded in the face of her overwhelming grief is love - that of family, and that of a new friend, Drew.  Drew shows Alex the unconditional love of a friend, and through that friendship, the evolution of romantic love.  Then, just three weeks into her journey of healing, and with Drew as her near-constant companion, another loss occurs.  And while this loss may not be considered necessarily tragic, it is equally catastrophic, and it's confounding, and it threatens to decimate Alex's already shattered heart.Author J.B. McGee has written a beautiful story of unconditional all-encompassing love.  But Skipping Stones is much, much more. It's an exploration of the resilience of the human spirit and the promise of a second-chance love.  It is also a story of enduring heartbreak and of finding the courage and hope to persevere.  You'll need a box of tissues, because there will be tears, but I promise that for every tear of sadness, there will be tears of joy in equal measure.Skipping Stones would be wonderful for a book club or grief support group.