Review: Took me back to my youth...  oh my!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 14, 2013
"Choices" is the perfect title for this book! It brought me back to those awkward and challenging college years when I was so full of doubt about my own choices and whether or not I was making the right ones. There were times in this book that I felt so emotionally connected to Quincy and her struggles. In some ways, it was almost like reading my own story. Well, minus the two hot guys both pining for my attention! But, we can't have everything...Quincy grew up with a bi-polar sister who also suffered with addictions. Because of this, Quincy made the choice to work hard and be the perfect student and daughter. She didn't want her parents to have more on their plate than they already had and she was also on a mission to prove that she wasn't like her sister. This is something that I can relate to from my own personal experiences. Sometimes we are forced to make choices for what is best for others and not necessarily for what we want. I respected Quincy for always putting her sister and parents needs ahead of her own and NOT acting like the world owed her a favor. She handled it with maturity.When she goes away to college she faces new choices! More specifically she finds herself drawn to two very different men by the names of Brody and Declan. She has somehow found herself in the difficult position of loving two men but for very different reasons. Declan is the safe choice and someone she can always count on but Brody is the risky choice who doesn't do relationships. One follows her heart and emotions... the other her brain and her safety.I loved both of these male characters... and, I understood why it was so hard for her to choose. They were both great guys but for very different reasons. I know that Brody was supposed to be kind of the "bad boy" choice... but I didn't think he was a bad boy at all. He was just dealing with bad choices of his own and needed to learn to trust again.There was a big heartbreaking event at the end of the story that forced Quincy to take pause... and this is where I stopped to reflect that sometimes we have to endure the consequences of other people's choices. And, those choices can alter us just as quickly as our own.All in all this was a beautifully written story, it touches the emotions and makes us feel... and, for those of us who are older it allows us an opportunity to reflect and remember. I loved it...