Wednesday, June 12, 2013

A Way Back to You Blog Tour

a way back to you tour

Welcome to the blog tour for A Way Back to You by Emily Gray Clawson!
a way back

A Way Back to You

What would you do if you were given a second chance? Annabelle, whom nearly everyone calls Anne, has been stuck in the past for two years. Numbed by grief over her husband's unexpected death and overwhelmed with the responsibility of raising their three young children alone, Anne agrees to let a friend take the kids for the weekend while she tries to get some much-needed rest at her parent's home. But when Anne wakes up the next morning, she is suddenly sixteen again. And it just happens to be the worst day she spent as a teenager. High school the second time around brings unforeseen changes and frustrations, but remembering that her future husband, Mitch, has just returned from a mission and is living on the other side of town gives Anne hope. Getting Mitch's attention (for the second time) is more complicated than she could have imagined, but Anne discovers she is stronger than she believed possible—and there just might be a future for her after all.

emily

Author Emily Gray Clawson

Emily Gray Clawson describes herself as an author, mother, and youth mentor. Born and raised in Utah, she is passionate about her faith and great books and will share her love of both with anyone who will listen. Emily began writing at the age of seven, creating homemade picture books that she peddled from door to door. She self-published her first novel, Things Hope For, and is collaborating with Jennifer Graves on a book entitled A Sister’s Witness: The Powell Family Tragedy. With her husband, Richard, Emily founded two youth leadership programs, Handmaidens of Virtue and Mastering Knighthood. Trained in vocal performance in college, she has enjoyed including aspects of her training in this book. Emily and Richard are the parents of four children and live in Taylorsville, Utah.

Review:

Anne is having a rough time ever since her husband Mitch passed away. Everything is just becoming too much to bear, so Anne finds herself at her parents house for the weekend. She arises the next morning to discover that she is sixteen again, and as she begins to go through her day she discovers so many things that she did wrong. Soon Anne finds herself caught up in a romance with her first love Sam, but she feels guilty because somewhere out there is her husband and her future. Anne will learn that things rarely work out the way you think, but sometimes this gives you a chance for a future you never planned.

I was a little unsure where this book was going in the beginning. Anne was just so unhappy, and I really felt for her. I wanted her to be able to find some peace, but it came in a way that was completely surprising. I can't imagine how awful it'd be to relive my teenage years. I'm sure I'd cringe at most the things I did and said. Anne definitely felt that way too. More than that though, it gave her perspective on not only her past but her present as well. By looking through her grown-up adult eyes, she saw things much more clearly the second time around.

This book was very easy to read, and I didn't want to put it down. The book makes it easy to read it in small amounts of time, but you'll probably want to sit and read the whole thing all at once. Anne got very emotional  through the book, and at first I was sympathetic. It did wear on me a bit though as the book went on. Overall this was a tiny bother though, and I did enjoy the book. I liked the sense of perspective Anne was able to gain, and it made me think about my own life. Do I take the time to do the things I truly love? I certainly try. Reading is something that brings me great joy, and this book helped add to that joy.

Book provided for review.

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1 comment:

Emily Gray Clawson said...

Thanks for the review and for sharing A Way Back To You with your readers!