Immerse In Count On Me (Count On Me, #1) Composed By Melyssa Winchester Accessible As Hardcover
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I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Count On Me had an intriguing premise, and I was in the mood for a more serious sort of contemporary, so I immediately picked up this book once I had it downloaded on my kindle.
As I progressed, I began to realize that this book would not be something I enjoyed, There were multiple problems that I had with the book, and it just was not a good matchup for me at all,
First off, I didn't think the love story came off as believable, and when realistic fiction isn't realistic to me, it's a problem.
Kayden may have been nice to Isabelle later, but he still had been pretty awful to her before, and I never was really able to get over that.
The way he treated her, I would find friendship rather hard,
The real problem I had with this book were the runon sentences, I hate when a book constantly has them, because it really takes away from the quality of the story, Hate. it. This book had quite a few comma splices,
I was never able to connect with either of the characters, This probably was in part do to my problems with the "realisticness" of the story, It's a big problem when I'm not able to connect to characters, especially with romance, because characters are kind of crucial in this genre, I really, really tried, but I just never could,
Though others liked Count on Me, I never found myself getting into the story, While it isn't the worst book I've read, it was not something I enjoyed, sadly, Well I don't know what happened but I wasn't feeling it, . . I had to push myself to keep reading just because I don't like to leave unfinished stories, . .
Overall, it was a good story, I mean I'm not complaining about it, but the only thing that was bothering me was that I knew Belle had autism because it was mentioned every time.
. . I mean, I've read books where the struggling was real, I mean apart from the bullying and anxiety, . . or maybe it was due to the syndrome the books I read were about asperger, . . it's a kind of autism though and I looveed them!, . .
Anyway, I'd love more book recommendations related to autism or any other syndrome please!
It took likehrs off an on but finally finished this.
I had an advantage with this book because I got to see it before it became the final product it is now.
I didnt speak about it or review it then in the ARC stage or when I betaread it because I knew in the end it would change and my opinion would change with it.
I was right.
This is not the same book I read in the beginning, Its stronger, better and if you dont listen to anything I say after this, remember these words before you read it,
It will change your life,
I came into this reading it as a one time bully, I was Kayden. I was Dillon. I was all of them combined which made this appeal even more to be because it was like looking in a mirror, Or going back in time to the old me,
There are three real life issues put into this book and theyre given equal face time throughout, The biggest is bullying, but there is also Autism and Child Abuse, both of which the lead characters experience,
Right from page one this story is touching, It will rip your heart out with the emotion behind every scene and it gets to a point where you dont want to put it down because you dont want to miss what happens next.
I dont do crying but I cried with this book, Repeatedly.
It will open your eyes to bullying and the effects that it has but also opens your eyes to special needs individuals and how even though they may experience things in life that are different from normal people it doesnt make them bad, defected or wrong.
They want the same things as us, Acceptance and love being the two displayed in these pages,
The author, Melyssa Winchester, has outdone herself with this story and I cant wait to see what she follows it up with,
Givin this storydoesnt seem right, Its at least owed.
This is about so much more than a love story, but the one that is there is life changing,
You NEED to read this book, NOW. So go. Get it. You will not be disappointed,
Tears, tears and more tears, . .
So heartbreaking, but real, Truly raw and believable. And, what teenager Isabelle Reagan goes through is
ultimately sad and unfortunate, Constantly abused by a group of nasty bullies, both girls and guys, she wants so desperately to just be normal, But, shes not. On a daily basis she deals with the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Shes a young sweet girl that enjoys numbers, So, math is her specialty, But because of her lack of speech, the group of bullies often call her names and push her around, When it finally gets to be too much, her neighbor Kayden Walker decides hes seen enough and this cant go on any longer, Looks can be deceiving, though, because at one time, Kayden used to be the biggest bully of them all, Why is he being so nice to her Is there an ulterior motive to this aboutface
As the pair get to know each other, while narrating their story in alternating voices, Kayden distances himself from his friends.
The comments and abuse, unfortunately, only gets more and more degrading, I just couldnt believe what kind of punishment these kids doled out to this beautiful innocent young girl, They were beyond disturbing! It hurt me so much to know that this possibly could be going on for real right now, WOW! The author really pulls the reader into the story with honesty and intensity, And, the home abuse that was revealed, was nothing less than painful and difficult to read,
My hats off to Ms, Winchester for portraying truetolife characters the disabled, the abused, and the bully, Autism affectsinindividuals boys more than girls, though, Its difficult and fearful, and each day you never know what your family and your child are going to be faced with, New challenges. Unfortunate heartbreak. And, unpredictable situations. Its with hope, faith and love that makes us wake up and begin a new day, A possible smile and a hug to know maybe you will make a difference to a child that looks to you for love and guidance.
And, with the bullying aspect of the story, it just solidifed to me that people can be so mean no matter how much you try to protect your child.
This story really got to me emotionally with tears and sadness, Please read this book, you will not be disappointed! I would love to see Isabelle and Kaydens story explored further, They both were very likable and, as a couple, I couldnt hope for them to stick together supporting and protecting each other, They were just meant to be together! Excellent novel that deals with lifealtering circumstances!
DNF at, I know I'm in a minority here, A lot of readers really liked this book, I tried, but this story about the bullying that an autistic high school student endured just didn't ring true to me, A childhood friend who comes to her defense, but was one of the biggest bullies himself at the school, kind of disgusted me, His attempt at saving her from other students by actually actively participating in humiliating behavior toward another autistic student really left me hating him to a point that I don't think I could never like him again.
I also couldn't believe that school authorities would turn a blind eye to what was going on, I might be naïve on that point, but I hope not, DNF at
There was a scene where the hero started bullying a disabled boy to protect the heroine, but for me that was very cruel thing to do to another human being! There are no excused for Why
For starters the boy was innocent and should never be bullied.
Second, the hero was bullied himself for years, knowing what pain and depression is, but yet he allowed the same bullying to be inflicted by him for years to completely innocent people!
I cannot romanticised that!
It is very emotional, heartbreaking and painful book.
It is a story about Isabelle, a girl with autism being bullied in high school, And about Kayden, a boy, who is a bully,
She is shy, quiet and has social anxiety, but is not in any way stupid or dumb or retarded or deaf or mute or slow or defective or.
see it is awful listing all the names she was called, imagine reading it, . . Attending school is a horrible experience for her, she just wants to stay invisible and not being picked on, Every day is a struggle to survive without being embarrased and hurt,
He is popular football jock, tough and confident, he hurts others with a smile on his face, But behind the mask is a broken boy who is dealing with drunk brother and loneliness, He puts on facade to fool everyone that his life is great, while in fact, it is empty and miserable, He used to be Isabelle's friend as a little kid but became one of her enemies later on,
Everything changes one day, when Kayden can no longer stand the treatment she gets from his bullying friends and saves her from attack.
He spends more and more time with her and somehow becomes her guard, There is still a lot of drama on the way but there is also beautiful friendship and then relationship, Besides being rough, this book also gives hope, that every one can change for the better, given a chance,
The book is strict YA and there was no smutt, just stolen kisses, but I didn't miss it here, The story itself is good to keep your attention and got me curious enough to read other books in this series,
This is one of a few books I have read recently, that is dealing with bullying, And I'm glad that more and more people advert attention to this hard subject, because it seriously starts to scare the crap out of me.
I have a little daughter who will soon go to school and I am terrified of what is going on with kids nowadays, It's obvious that besides schoolkids, others in school must know that this things happen, it's impossible not to, I am just wondering where the hell are the teachers and where the hell are the parents to protect those kids from each other When I was in high school, such thing as bullying was UNTHINKABLE, I mean sure, there were few who tried but reactions were immediate, consequences severe so not many were bold enough to bully because of the punishement they were bound to receive.
Sorry for this private digression, but as I said above, the whole thing scares me shitless and my kid is only six, I think I will be gray by the time she goes to high school:
This book hit close to home for me, and I'm glad I read it.
It moved me, and I think the thing I took away with the most is acceptance not just in others, but in ourselves, Isabelle and Kayden both had to take that journey in similar ways and also in different ways,
I loved Isabelle from the very beginning, And was not a fan of Kayden's, But watching him grow into the person who he wanted to be touched my heart, And the first time Isabelle smiled was a beautiful moment, I smiled right along with her, And every smile after that was just as beautiful,
A truly moving and touching story of growth and learning to love,
This is one of my favorite books I've read this year so far, It deals with a very sensitive subject, more than one actually, and the author does a fantastic job handling these issues in this book,
I think most people, myself included, thought that if someone is autistic, they're like Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man, . . where they are basically unable to communicate or behave normally in any way, Apparently there are degrees to autism, However, that does not mean that it is easy, if you happen to have autism to a lesser degree,
I felt so badly for Isabelle in this book, I just wanted to reach through the pages and hug and protect her, Bullying is horrible for anyone to have to endure, but for kids as school to pick on someone who is autistic, . . a disease they cannot help having, is just beyond the regular cruelty of bullying, The things she has to go through in this book just made me ill, And Kayden was a guy that went along with it for a long time, despite the fact that there are small clues to indicate that he's not really liking it.
But he's bowing to peer pressure too, despite the fact that, at fist, he's actually the leader of this group, But when his group begins to bully and make fun of Isabelle, somehow, he just can't do what he's always done,
I loved how Kayden grew and changed throughout this story, It takes some patience and a really caring heart for a young man of his age to attempt to date an autistic girl, and I applauded him for it.
I really don't want to say too much more because I don't want to ruin it for you, The author did an amazing job with this story, I was completely andemotionally engaged in this story and with both of these characters, Loved it. Why isn't this book more famous! It was such a great and lovely read for me, I think it is really well written and that storyline!! Amazing and so different, and unique, from what I've read before, I just loved it and I believe I'm going to be rereading this for many years and would recommend it to everyone, Best book I read this year!
Thanks for the recommendation to Mandy, I wouldn't have known about this if it weren't for her,
Will try to review this soon, but seriously have nothing but good things to say about this one, There are people that tell you high school is the best time of your life,
They lied.
High school is horrible when youre like me and youre autistic,
They think that because I dont talk and I seem to always be lost in my own world, Im stupid or deaf, Some even think Im retarded, Im none of those things and I dont like that word,
Just because I've got these issues, doesn't mean its all I am, Theres a lot more to me, but no one really takes the time to get to know it, At least thats how it was until Kayden,
Kayden Walker is bad news, He spends his time making people that are different, like me, feel even worse about themselves and he does it with a smile, Hes everything I dont need in my life, yet hes the one person I cant seem to live without,
Underneath, theres more to him that hes afraid to let the rest of the world see, I've seen it and as Im finding out, were not so different after all, .