When I Am Through With You Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

When I Am Through With You

Author: Stephanie Kuehn
Genre: YA Contemporary Mystery
Release Date: August 1, 2017
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:

“This isn’t meant to be a confession. Not in any spiritual sense of the word. Yes, I’m in jail at the moment. I imagine I’ll be here for a long time, considering. But I’m not writing this down for absolution and I’m not seeking forgiveness, not even from myself. Because I’m not sorry for what I did to Rose. I’m just not. Not for any of it.”
 
Ben Gibson is many things, but he’s not sorry and he’s not a liar. He will tell you exactly about what happened on what started as a simple school camping trip in the mountains. About who lived and who died. About who killed and who had the best of intentions. But he’s going to tell you in his own time. Because after what happened on that mountain, time is the one thing he has plenty of.

When I Am Through With You is an edgy YA thriller that will have readers eagerly devouring each page. There's no doubt that this author has great talent and I've enjoyed many of her previous novels. I really wanted to love this book - it had me intrigued since I read the description. I'm a huge fan of thrillers and this sounded really unique - which it was. There were some elements of the story that didn't appeal to me personally as a reader, and which ultimately made me not love this like I thought I was going to. This is solely my opinion and has nothing at all to do with the book or writing itself. The major issue I had was the setup of the story. It felt like nothing really happened until around page 150 - a little past half way. The plot up to that point was backstory and history of what happened to lead up to what I considered the main events. In all fairness, the book is written as if the main character - Ben - is telling the story of what went down from the beginning, so the chronology fits perfectly. I feel that if it had been less backstory and more focused on when things got out of control on the mountain, I would have loved it much more. For me, there was way too much buildup and not enough action. It's truly a novel about survival and the things people will do when faced with extreme circumstances.

The writing was fantastic in every way. I could easily close my eyes and see Ben and the others as the events unfold. The setting was brought to life by vivid imagery and incredibly detailed descriptions. Another huge plus for me was the author's use of the first person point of view - which is always a favorite for me. I loved that the book is told from Ben's perspective - it was the perfect fit and made all of the events feel more dramatic and personal. Ben was an interesting and complicated main character. I liked getting to know him - his history, relationships with each of the other characters, and all of his thoughts, feelings, emotions, and everything they come with. The plot was great - aside from what I mentioned above - and I really liked the story line after things start to spiral when they're on the mountain. Again, if more of the book was focused on that part instead of the backstory, I would've enjoyed it much more. Overall, this was a good book that fans of the author and the genre will want to pick up.

   

I grew up in Berkeley, California, which is a quirky sort of a place with many wonderful bookstores. When I was fifteen, my very first job was working in one of those bookstores. It’s where I would go after school, and I’d read everything that I could. Back then, some of the books that had the greatest impact on my life were young adult novels, and now, as an adult, I’ve found my own passion in writing for teens.

Other passions of mine include mental health advocacy, social justice, and sports of all kinds. When I’m not writing or reading (or studying for graduate school), I’m usually outside running or playing with my family. I currently live in Northern California with my husband, three kids, and our menagerie of pets. Life is loud, joyous, and filled with animal hair.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, my last name is pronounced keen. I know! I don’t get it either.

(3) copies of WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH YOU by Stephanie Kuehn will go to 3 winners

(1) winner will receive a copy of WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH YOU & THE SMALLER EVIL by Stephanie Kuehn

4 winners total
US Only 

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Charm & Strange Blog Tour: Review, Excerpt + Giveaway

Charm & Strange
Author: Stephanie Kuehn
Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal/Mystery
Release Date: June 11, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Buy Link: Amazon
 
Description:

When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .

Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.

He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.

He’s part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the unthinkable.

Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles both the pain of his past and the isolation of his present.

Before the sun rises, he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild darkness inside his mind or make peace with the most elemental of truths—that choosing to live can mean so much more than not dying. 

 From Chapter One: Matter

I don't feel the presence of God here.

I pace along the far side of the river, my ears filled with the hum of cicadas and the roar of water flowing over the milldam. Vermont is postcard perfect. I could stand on my toes and peer over the current and the cattails and see the whole town spread before me. Green-shuttered houses. The cobblestone square. The church spire. The boarding school.

But I don't.

I crave the illusion of solitude.

The dark-haired girl, who looks like a boy, watches me from the woods. She's hunkered down in a birch thicket with bare legs and discerning eyes. I know what she saw and I don't want her to talk to me, but she'll try. I'm sure of this. She mistakes my distance for mystery, and she wants to know why I do the things I do.

My sister was the same way. She thought there was a reason for everything.

Me? I don't think there's a reason for anything.

Not anymore.

Charm & Strange is a young adult paranormal mystery that follows the story of Andrew Winston Winters as he battles himself and his past while at boarding school in Vermont. He punishes himself over a family tragedy, deadly secrets from his past, and the fact that he is essentially two people trapped in a single body. He's part Win and part Drew, and one night the two of them are going to relive the pain and isolation that he's been trying to avoid. 

This was a truly amazing book filled with mystery and tons of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing throughout the entire novel. The story gripped me right from the beginning and didn't let go until long after I finished reading it. I loved Andrew as the main character. He was so flawed and broken that he was completely realistic and believable. His fractured personality along with his secrets and his past made me really empathize with him, but kept me guessing about the truth most of the time too. The setting was a good one - an isolated boarding school in Vermont, where Andrew can't hide from himself or his past any more. I loved learning all about Andrew - about Win and Drew and the horrible things that have happened to him. There was a lot of character growth and history throughout the novel that I felt gave the plot a depth that you don't normally find in YA novels, especially ones in this genre. The story was very fast paced and kept me eagerly reading to see what would happen next. I loved the mystery element to the novel - I love trying to guess what will happen or what had happened beforehand to make things the way they are. The author did a magnificent job with the story, especially with blending the past with the present along with everything going on inside Andrew's mind. This is definitely a book that had me hooked from the very first sentence and one that I will have to revisit again. Highly recommended for fans of mysteries and YA paranormal/fantasy fiction.

Stephanie Kuehn is a YA writer who grew up in Berkeley, California, which is a quirky sort of a place with a ton of wonderful bookstores. Her very first job was working in one of those bookstores, and she's been a freakishly avid reader for as long as she can remember. 

Stephanie's other passions include mental health advocacy, social justice, and sports of all kinds. She's currently living in Northern California with her family and their wild menagerie of pets.

www.stephaniekuehn.com | twitter.com/stephkuehn

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