I don’t know about you guys, but I’m afraid of a lot of things. The list includes cults, serial killers, shortening, people in masks, infestations (any kind, I don’t discriminate), small spaces, any and all horror films, public speaking, full-body mascot costumes, roundabouts, ordering things I don’t know how to pronounce at restaurants, strange men, strange women, the soundtrack to Twin Peaks and icebreaker games. That’s just a partial list, but you get the point. I’m a fearful person, okay? That’s probably why I love reading books about girls who are totally fearless, like Leah, the teenage pilot in Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols.
Leah seems destined to fly. She grew up in trailer parks, and not the crazy, campy, John Waters type of trailer parks. Leah lives in the kind of trailer parks where people go when they give up, the kind of trailer parks that always end up being next to airports because the people who live there won’t complain. It’s in the latest trailer park, living with her mostly absent mother, that Leah finally gets the courage to take a flight class. Mr. Hall, who owns Hall Aviation, takes her under his wing (pun intended; sorry guys) and Leah eventually learns to fly. Soon she has a job flying a banner plane, hauling advertisements targeted at beachgoers. But when Mr. Hall suddenly dies, his two sons, Alec and Grayson, return to take over the family business. Leah’s afraid her great job and her dream of flying may be over for good.
Fortunately, Grayson wants her to work for him. Unfortunately he also blackmails her into dating his brother for reasons Leah doesn’t yet understand. Soon, she’s forced to balance her rocky home life, her job, her attempts to seduce Alec and her rapidly developing feelings for Grayson. Oh, and she’s also flying a plane. No bigs.
All of the scenes involving flying were tense and definitely captured my attention (I’m afraid of everything, remember?), but my favorite part of the book was the romance. I’ve mentioned my love of a good romance before, and Such a Rush delivers. This was another book that had me flipping through the pages to figure out how these two crazy kids could make it work.
Some Highlights:
-Brother love triangles are one of my favorite things in books (like Jenny Han’s Summer series) or movies (like While You Were Sleeping). Has this ever happened in real life? Please, let me know if this is something you’ve ever had experience with. Inquiring romance-loving minds want to know.
-Leah is a unique YA protagonist. While I love the typical shy, bookish girls who largely populate YA, it’s refreshing to read about a character who wears skimpy clothes and is known for being beautiful and kind of reckless. Plus, she’s dealing with some real family problems, and everything’s not necessarily tied up perfectly in the end.
-Jennifer Echols has also written a ton of other YA romances, like The One That I Want, Love Story and Forget You.
Big thanks to Small Girls PR for clueing me in to this awesome book and for hooking us up with a giveaway! Such a Rush comes out on July 10th, but you can win a copy right now. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post saying what you’re doing to get Such a Rush this summer….are you taking an exciting vacation? Going skydiving? Just living vicariously through fictional characters by reading a book about teenage pilots (that one is my pick, in case you couldn’t tell)? One lucky commenter will win a copy of Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols! The contest ends at midnight on Tuesday, July 3rd, and I’ll announce the winner in next week’s column on Saturday, July 7th. Please remember to check the column next week to see if you’re the winner. For serious, you guys, you can’t win if I can’t contact you!
As always, I love to hear what books you’d like to see next in Young Adult Education! E-mail me at youngadulteducation@gmail.com, find me on Twitter @KerryAnn or leave a comment!
Image via Goodreads
My summer rush will be reading all my fashion magazines and daydreaming about being able to own such gorgeous clothes!
i’m getting such a rush out of going to conventions this summer. two so far (cosplaying one!) hopefully hit at least one more before the summer is up!
I started my summer with SUCH A RUSH by hiking to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. It was an amazing way to start my post grad summer and I give that hike most of the credit for why I got my dream job a few weeks after!
My rush is jumping into the ocean full of waves
Oh and what Im doing this summer for my rush is going boating, having bonfires, watching meteor showers, and working on my career by campaigning! Im also working on a summer romance…
My summer rush is working at my pool this summer, reading many books, and practicing my writing as much as possible!
Yea, I’ve had a part in a brother-triangle romance. Very, very awkward…especially when you’re good friends (moving onto dating) with one brother but are kind of just a little more attracted to the other. They were both older than me which I why I found my situation difficult. I ended up deciding that I couldnt be with either of them because they were just too close and took myself out of the situation. I’m not looking to do it again ANY time soon…
This summer, I plan on getting such a rush out of tutoring incoming freshman about natural disasters at my college. I also plan on heading out to Cedar Point amusement park to ride all 14 roller coasters again. Nothing better than a rush of adrenaline!
I’m actually going to Disney World for my birthday in July so I would really love to win this to take with my on the road and read it
gaby891 AT YAHOO DOT COM
My summer rush…definitely having vicarious adventures through my reading choices – I’ve had some crazy ones, and am definitely looking forward to this whole pilot-thing! I also feel like spending a week running games for my church’s VBS should count as a rush – it was a work out for sure
haha…
my summer rush is getting ready for college, getting ready to live on my own, spending my last days with my friends and family and making the most of it. Saying goodbye to the old life and hello to the new.
My summer plan is to open up more. Stop being shy and show people who I really am. I’m turning 22 this summer. I don’t want to be that girl who stays home and watches tv and drinks wine a glass of wine. I want to be that girl who goes out, meets new crazy people, and get out of my comfort zone. I want to get that feeling of rush. To know that I did something crazy before I settle down and have a family. I want to do something that I never thought I would ever do. I might not know what that would be right now. But i hope to find out before the end of the summer. That would be my rush!
This summer, I plan to get a rush by writing my very first novel–one in the YA mystery genre (I’m still a teen myself), since everyone has been telling me my imagination is vivid like a storyteller. And I also plan to finish it by the end of the year, even with having Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. They say to be able to write, you’ve got to read, so I’m hoping I win a copy of this book (that is if you ship to the UK?)
xo Becca
My plan to get a rush this summer is to get my very first tattoo! I also plan on traveling through Florida deciding on a college to transfer to! And I plan on reading throughout the entire dog days of summer!
This summer I plan on hanging out with my little sis, summer, catching up on some reading and going to tennessee to see my grampa who is having surgery and some bffs i haven’t seen in 9 years
My plan is to get a rush out of writing a novel in a genre totally out of my comfort zone this summer!
My plan to get such a rush is to pretend that im a princess from mid 1700s and made up scenes in my head !
For such a rush I’m going to Thailand with my family! Sun, sea, sand and lots of spicy food!
My summer rush is working with 100 underprivileged kids in inner city Denver.