Posted on Friday, July 27, 2012. By Toni V. Sweeney
Emily Stokes is a senior in high school.
She has a little sister, her mother’s a probation officer and her
father runs a gun shop in Topkea. She’s fairly popular, has friends, a
boy she likes—Alex—and the Prom’s coming up…and her father has just
ruined her life. Dad has just announced they’re moving and that’s it.
Then Alex doesn’t ask Emily to the Prom and that deals the finishing
blow. It seems Alex has problems no one knows about and he’s hiding
them well. Nevertheless, he cares for Emily and on the day she leaves,
he gets up enough courage to tell her how he feels…too late.
While
strolling in the woods near her new home, Emily falls and strikes her
head and shortly afterward, meets Sam, a young farmer. They hit it
off. Sam’s handsome, intelligent, and barely out of his teens, and
though he’s a little cautious because of their bare age difference, he
appears to like Emily as much as she likes him. He tells Emily about
himself but most of it is revealed in a guarded way. In the meantime,
Alex is getting into drugs, and his frantic texts to Emily are ignored.
When Emily tries to take her friends to meet Sam, however, his farm
appears to be nothing but a deserted patch of land. Since no one has
seen Sam but Emily and his home doesn’t exist, Emily’s parents believe
she’s having hallucinations brought on by hitting her head. Taken to a
hospital for observation, she falls into the hands of a doctor who
epitomizes the words “Mad Scientist.”
Now Emily’s in big trouble, and headed for worse if Dr. Kendall has any say in the matter…
In the meantime, Alex is deep into drugs and getting worse…
And little sister Kat decides it’s up to her to find Sam and save Emily…
…and the truth about Sam Easley is finally revealed…
MY
OPINION: This is a novel which is a bit difficult to synopsize because
there are so many Spoilers involved. It is, however, thoroughly
enjoyable, and, in spite of its abrupt ending—or perhaps because of
it—will make the reader want to know more.
At first glance, A Kiss for Emily
appears to be simply a YA romance…girl likes boy, girl moves away, boy
becomes despondent… but with Sam Easley’s appearance, it changes.
Emily’s almost mystical description of him immediately sends out signals
that this young man isn’t exactly what he appears to be but he’s so
likable one hopes he isn’t going to be the villain. My impression of
Sam, with his “courtly manners” and genteel way of speaking, is of a
very young “Bill” from True Blood,
without the vampire characteristics. (Got to stop there or here comes
Spoiler #1.) Sam is such a contrast to poor Alex, who obviously has a
horrid home life and seeks drugs to ease his losing Emily for whom he
cares deeply though he can’t seem to be able to tell her properly.
Emily
is shown to be a resourceful, intelligent young woman suddenly thrown
into confusion as she begins to learn the truth about Sam. Her parents
are shown as loving and caring for their daughter, though I did question
the way they left her in the hands of a doctor so obviously intending
her harm.
This
was an enjoyable book, fraught with teenage angst and something deeper
hovering on the edges. Writing from Emily’s POV gives it a perspective
it wouldn’t otherwise have. It’s a love story of a slightly different
kind…of a young woman seeking that first kiss from the young man she
loves, but finding much more in its place. After Sam’s identity is
discovered, it almost becomes a comedy, but the seriousness of his
situation continues to come through (another Spoiler in place). Because
Alex is mentioned early on and seems to be such an important character,
only to disappear except for a few cryptic paragraphs after Emily
leaves Topeka, I wondered what was going to happen to that budding
relationship. I was a little off-put by Emily’s callous ignoring of his
obvious calling out for help, however.
Since
this is only Book 1, I’m already looking forward to Book 2. This
series has a lot going for it in the way of plot, and the characters are
likable and definitely ones the reader can care about. I’m already
building my own scenario of how this threesome, which isn’t really yet,
is going to come to terms with itself and create an HEA for Alex, Sam,
and Emily.
Rating: 5 stars
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