No, this is not my book, but I wish it were! And it's not just because I'm partial to other Christines. In Forgiven are the Starry-eyed, Christine Doré Miller takes on an issue young women need to understand: intimate partner abuse. Chances are, you know someone who's dealt with it--or maybe that someone was you. First love feels amazing, but it also leaves you vulnerable. Miller's heroine, Andrea Cavanaugh, learns the hard way.
Naive sixteen-year-old Andrea Cavanaugh is elated when Josh, a charismatic, bright-eyed piano prodigy, becomes her first boyfriend. But the closer she gets to him, the more she realizes that he is not the boy she first fell for. In its poignancy and emotional darkness, Forgiven Are the Starry-Eyed takes you deep into the delicate and devastating web of shame that spirals from the depths of dating violence when dreamy teenage love turns dark. Andrea must find not only an escape, but a belief that she is even worthy of freedom.
Friends, meet the newest author at Evernight Teen (my patient and lovely publishers), Christine Doré Miller! I asked her how she came to write this, her first novel. Here's what she told me:
Andrea's story has been inside of me for a long time now and I can't even express how good it felt to let it breathe and exist outside of my head once I started writing it down. I was inspired by a lot of things, some from my own experiences as a survivor of teen dating violence and some from the stories of many other teens who have suffered abuse at the hands of an intimate partner, whether it be emotional, physical, verbal, and/or sexual.
A new study shows that 60% of teens in the U.S. have experienced some form of abuse from a person they were dating. This is a staggering statistic, especially considering it's not an issue that is often talked about. It became my mission to spark a dialogue on this topic through a novel that could be crafted from the voice of a modern teenager. I spoke to many teens and adults alike, some who experienced dating violence themselves and some who witnessed it. Both groups felt helpless and isolated by the shame that spirals from this type of abuse, even if you're on the outside looking in, so I created Andrea Cavanaugh to be a voice for this topic. She is a fictional character but her struggles and experiences are quite real and represent things happening on a daily basis.
If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, or if you have questions about abuse, please call 1-866-331-9474 or visit www.loveisrespect.org
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The steel school locker felt cold against my back and I recognized the familiar feeling that lately seemed to just dwell and ache in my bones. Fear, I think it was, mixed with just enough madness to keep the blood racing through my veins … fast. Too fast.
"Why did you do that, Andrea?" Josh shouted in my direction.
My eyes fell closed again. I don't remember what else he said. I just remember the feeling of each overly pronounced syllable piercing the air while he said it. I stared through the darkness that danced behind my heavy eyelids. What had I done?
I tried to pry open my hazy eyes to examine the faces of the expanding crowd as they stood, mouths agape. I only recognized a few. There were hardcover music books sprawled open on the tile floor at my feet. Confused, I looked to Josh, but the heavy silence of the room deafened any words he may have been saying...
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2W9JEa6
Evernight Teen: https://bit.ly/2UTGp9Y
Nook: https://bit.ly/2IKkGuW
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2UF9noY
Smashwords: https://bit.ly/2Gz485m