Bending Under Pressure by Lindsay Paige
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publication Date: January 2016
SYNOPSIS:
Haley Summers is struggling. She’s in a new town with new teammates. She’s unsure if she likes her new stepdad. She doesn’t know why her father isn’t answering her calls and keeps bailing on her. The only thing she has going for her is a boy who is struggling just as much as she is.
Keelan Moore is always feeling pressure. He wants to be a good kid for his adoptive parents while getting reacquainted with his birth mom and that part of his family. The only thing he has going for him is Haley and showing her just how fun her new home can be.
Pressure is hitting them from all sides. Can they survive unscathed while bending under pressure?
MY REVIEW:
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
Bending Under Pressure features Haley, who has just moved to a new town with her mum and step father. She’s still trying to come to terms with her parents’ recent divorce, and the fact that she doesn’t understand why they separated in the first place makes it hard for her to move on. In her new school, she meets Keelan, who is also going through a dilemma of his own; and they begin to form a strong and unique bond.
At first, I didn’t like Haley; she struck me as a clueless child who didn’t want to open her eyes to the fact that her dad was no longer her hero. Later on, she began to grow on me, and I realized that denial is a phase people probably go through when they have to face the fact that their heroes aren’t very heroic at the end of the day.
I like how the author portrayed the struggle between the characters and the way they handle their different situations. I appreciate the fact that the author included the perspectives of the two main characters, which made it easier for me to understand what they were going through. My favourite part of this story is Keelan’s situation with his birth mother. It seems quite realistic, the way he gets irritated at her obvious eagerness to win him over and suddenly be a mother to him.
There is noticeable character development (especially on Haley’s part), and the storyline is quite straightforward and realistic. The romance plays a secondary part in the story, and there is no unnecessary angst.
In a nutshell, Bending Under Pressure is a simple and sweet read that, despite my somewhat rocky beginning with the heroine, had me smiling when I finished it.
You can find Bending Under Pressure here.
Guest review contributed by 1-800 Books. Janey provides book reviews, blog tours, cover reveals, and book blitzes.
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