The Evolution of Emily by Kate Scott

THE EVOLUTION OF EMILY

by Kate Scott

Elliot Books

YA Contemporary

240 pages

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emily Charles knows how to run away. Away from her overprotective, agoraphobic mother. Away from her biology-obsessed, autistic sister. Away from her quiet sheltered claustrophobic homeschooled life. When Emily's escape plan involves starting her junior year at Kennedy High School, she realizes she's no longer running away. Now she's running towards. Towards her quiet thoughtful cross-country teammate, August. Towards her zany enthusiastic lab partner, Miles. Towards friendship, love, independence, and life. Thanks to her sister's special interest in biology, Emily knows all about the birds and the bees. Boys are a lot more confusing.

Readers who enjoyed Counting to D won't want to miss Scott's second novel, also set at Kennedy High School.



MY TIDBITS

Sixteen-year-old Emily starts the story with a monumental step; she jogs right into the nearest high school and asks for an application form behind her mother's back. It's clear from beginning on that her family is not exactly ordinary--her mother has major social-phobia issues (really, she's certifiable) and Emily's younger sister, Olivia, is autistic. But this isn't the story of how Emily gains courage to break free of her isolated, home schooled life. This story covers the next step: what ripples her actions create and how she deals with them.

This is a heart warming, enjoyable story. Emily's act of bravery immediately demands sympathy, and her loving personality doesn't let the reader go. She forces herself to embrace a new life, but at the same time, is unsure how to really pull it through. When things seem too much, she runs. Literally. This sudden, somewhat insane reaction gave a great twist to her otherwise pretty level-headed personality. It makes her realistic. After all, who could lead such an insanely isolated life and come out completely 'normal'?

The school scenes are well-done, making it easy to get lost in Emily's world. The dialogue is realistic and the other characters are likable. There's a sweet romance and a lot of confusion, perfect for this age group.

Probably one of the most driving things about this story is the weaving in of people with different outlooks on life and/or challenges. Not only are Emily's mother and sister portrayed with different challenges, but the people Emily meets at school don't fit in the normal, perfect high school image. Although I found this array of characters almost too colorful , the author manages to weave them together so that it never really feels like it goes over-board.  Obviously, there's a lot of issues with acceptance, fitting in and learning to embrace ones self. In other words, great themes for teens.

Summed up, this is an enjoyable read. I can especially recommend it to teenage girls who like real life stories about high school with a nice dab of boys and first-love thrown in.


You can find this on AMAZON and GOODREADS!




And here she is. . .
                                 KATE SCOTT!!!

Kate Scott lives in the suburbs outside Portland, Oregon with her husband Warren. Kate was diagnosed with dyslexia as a young child but somehow managed to fall in love with stories anyway. Counting to D is her first novel. When Kate isn't writing, she enjoys listening to audiobooks, camping, and spending time with her friends and family. Kate also spends a lot of time doing math and sciency things and is a licensed professional engineer.

http://www.katescottwrites.com

Counting to D by Kate Scott with Giveaway!

COUNTING TO D

by Kate Scott

Elliot Books

YA Contemporary

228 pages

Expected Publication:  February 11, 2014

The kids at Sam's school never knew if they should make fun of her for being too smart or too dumb. That's what it means to be dyslexic: smart, and illiterate. Sam is sick of it. So when her mom gets a job in a faraway city, Sam decides not to tell anyone about her little illiteracy problem. Without her paradox of a reputation, she falls in with a new group of highly competitive friends who call themselves the Brain Trust. When she meets Nate, her charming valedictorian lab partner, she declares her new reality perfect. But in order to keep it that way, she has to keep her learning disability a secret. The books are stacked against her and so are the lies. Sam's got to get the grades, get the guy, and get it straight--without being able to read.

My Tidbits

I'll admit, when I see that a book is about a person with a disability, disease or handicap, I usually think 'Uh, oh...this will be preachy', but COUNTING TO D surprised me. Although Sam must face a new school and new friends while dealing with dyslexia, it was very entertaining and felt just like a 'normal' teenage, high school romance novel. 

The dialogue and scenes were very realistic, pulling me into the story right away. I really felt for Sam and had no problem rooting for her the whole way--as well as wanting to punch some of those jerky kids she ran into in the nose. The dialogue was done well and there was enough tension to keep me reading all the way to the end. As soon as I was done, I handed this to my 14 yr. old daughter, who devoured it too.

Complaints? The only one I might have is that toward the end, the dyslexia problem began to feel a little heavy, but this by no means hurt the story! The length was perfect, not too short and not too long. I also enjoyed the fact that the type was a little bigger than usual. 

Summed up, I can only recommend this to teenage girls who enjoy high school drama with a bit of romance. And give it a big. . .

TWO THUMBS UP!!!

As of February 11th, 2014, available:

Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Counting-D-Kate-Scott/dp/098959470X/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_d_2

B&N page: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/counting-to-d-kate-scott/1117186314?ean=9780989594707

And here she is. . .

Kate Scott!!!

Kate Scott lives in the suburbs outside Portland, Oregon with her husband Warren. Kate was diagnosed with dyslexia as a young child but somehow managed to fall in love with stories anyway. Counting to D is her first novel. When Kate isn’t writing, she enjoys listening to audiobooks, camping, and spending time with her friends and family. Kate also spends a lot of time doing math and sciency things and is a licensed professional engineer. 

You can find her:

 www.katescottwrites.com 

Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18518158-counting-to-d 

And there's a GIVEAWAY!!!

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