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"Are you following me?" she asks, but doesn't meet my gaze.
"Yeah," I say.
"Why?"
I give her the only honest and true answer I have.
"You're where I want to be."
Leaving Paradise
by: Simone Elkeles
1st in Series
Published by: Flux
303 Pages
Feeling after finishing: Complete and total awh
Blurb
Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares—has been canceled.
After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb’s free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers.
Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as "criminal" and "freak." Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It’s a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other.
Review
I read this book awhile ago, but am just now deciding to come back and write a review, because this book is way too good for me not to share my unconditional love for it with everyone.
This book has alternating POV between Maggie and Caleb, Maggie use to have a lot of fiends, and was a star tennis player..but that was all before Caleb Becker her neighbor and best friends brother hit her with his car drunk one night..and left her there..now Maggie can't play tennis, and she limps where ever she goes, people stare and make fun of her, and her and her best friend don't even talk, everyday is a struggle for her and all she wishes is for it to be the end of the year so she can leave the small town of Paradise. Caleb a year later after hitting Maggie is getting out of juvie, he knows his home life will never be the same, but he hopes everyone can forgive and forget. As more and more secrets from that night are revealed Maggie and Caleb find comfort in something they never thought they would: each other.
This book will hold you from the first page, till the very last. It will leave you feeling all warm inside and in shock of how beautiful and amazing the story you just read was. After reading Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles I could never have imagined her writing a better book because it was so good...and then came Leaving Paradise. Simone out did herself here, this book was even better then Perfect Chemistry, and if you've seen my review for Perfect Chemistry you will know that I freakin loved that book.
This book had wonderful characters, perfect insight into both Maggie and Caleb's thoughts, one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read, and great character development was perfect. I could make this review probably a million pages long talking about why I loved it so much, but I'm just going to leave it at this: If you haven't read this book, get up and go read it, then come back and tell me how much you loved it. You wont regret it and that's a promise.
To convince you a little more though on it's amazing-ness here is an excerpt:
"I look down at our knees, slightly touching. Jeans against jeans. Does she notice the heat transferring from her body to mine? Does she even realize what she's doing to me? I know, I know. I'm not a virgin and the slightest touch of a girl's knee is driving me insane. I don't even know what I'm feeling for Maggie, I just know that I'm feeling. It's something I've tried to avoid and deny until yesterday, when I held her in my arms while her tears spilled onto my shirt.
God, our knees touching isn't enough. I need more.
She's knotting her fingers together on her lap as if she doesn't know what to do with them. I want to touch her, but what if she pulls away like before? I've never been such a wuss with a girl in my life.
I bite my bottom lip as I slide my hand about millionth of a millimeter closer to her hand.
She doesn't seem fazed so I move closer. And closer.
When the tips of my fingers touch her wrist, she freezes. But she doesn't jerk her hand away. God, her skin is so soft, I think as my fingers trail a path from her wrist to her knuckles to her smooth, manicured nails.
I swear touching her like this is driving me nuts. It's more erotic, more intense than any other time with Kendra. I feel awkward and inexperienced as a freshman again. I look up. Everyone else is oblivious to the intensity of emotions running rampant in the back of the public bus.
When I look back down at my hand covering hers, I'm grateful she hasn't come to her senses and pulled away. As if she knows my thoughts, we both turn our hands at the same time so our hands are palm against palm...finger against finger. Her hand is dwarfed against mine. It makes her seem more delicate and petite than I'd realize. I feel a need to protect her and be her champion should she ever need one.
With a slight shift of my hand, I lace my fingers through hers.
I'm holding hands. With Maggie Armstrong.
I'm not even going to think about how wrong it is because it feels so right. She's avoided looking right at me, but now she turns her head and our eyes lock. God, how come I never noticed before how long her lashes were and how her brown eyes have specks of gold that sparkle when the sun shine on them?
The bus stops suddenly and I look out the window. It's our stop. She must have realized this because she pulls her hand away from mine and stands. I follow behind, still reeling."
God, our knees touching isn't enough. I need more.
She's knotting her fingers together on her lap as if she doesn't know what to do with them. I want to touch her, but what if she pulls away like before? I've never been such a wuss with a girl in my life.
I bite my bottom lip as I slide my hand about millionth of a millimeter closer to her hand.
She doesn't seem fazed so I move closer. And closer.
When the tips of my fingers touch her wrist, she freezes. But she doesn't jerk her hand away. God, her skin is so soft, I think as my fingers trail a path from her wrist to her knuckles to her smooth, manicured nails.
I swear touching her like this is driving me nuts. It's more erotic, more intense than any other time with Kendra. I feel awkward and inexperienced as a freshman again. I look up. Everyone else is oblivious to the intensity of emotions running rampant in the back of the public bus.
When I look back down at my hand covering hers, I'm grateful she hasn't come to her senses and pulled away. As if she knows my thoughts, we both turn our hands at the same time so our hands are palm against palm...finger against finger. Her hand is dwarfed against mine. It makes her seem more delicate and petite than I'd realize. I feel a need to protect her and be her champion should she ever need one.
With a slight shift of my hand, I lace my fingers through hers.
I'm holding hands. With Maggie Armstrong.
I'm not even going to think about how wrong it is because it feels so right. She's avoided looking right at me, but now she turns her head and our eyes lock. God, how come I never noticed before how long her lashes were and how her brown eyes have specks of gold that sparkle when the sun shine on them?
The bus stops suddenly and I look out the window. It's our stop. She must have realized this because she pulls her hand away from mine and stands. I follow behind, still reeling."
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6 comments:
I TOTALLY agree.....this was better than P.C although P.C was amazing. I think I need to get this on hardback if they do it. Lol Great review Haley :) Donna
I love this book so much! I read it in like 2 days, it was so good. I love Simone Elkeles. I was so close to buying the 2nd in the series, but I hesitated & now I wish I got it, your review made me remember it! Ah, I need to buy it now. Great review :)
Great review amigoo, and this book sounds amazing, I loved the little preview you wrote out for us, gosh he sounds amazing already!
amazing book!
I have this one on my massive overfilled bookcase! Now I just need to read it! AWESOME review and great excerpt :)
I have read one of Simone's books and I loved it.
A bind up of this has just come out in the UK so I may have to break my book buying ban! Great review! :D xxx
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