Friday, September 28, 2012

At What Cost Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway

At What Cost
By J. Andersen
Release Date: June 13, 2012
Currently E-book only
225 pages

Book Description from Goodreads:
During her junior year, sixteen-year-old Maggie Reynolds expected to shop for prom dresses not maternity clothes. Now, instead of studying for the SATs, she’s reading, What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Maggie’s ‘Mother Dearest’ lives in fear that Maggie will somehow taint the family name, so Maggie can’t turn to her for help. Meanwhile, her father is oblivious to anything but his 9-9 job. And her boyfriend, Justin? She’s pretty sure he’ll stay by her side.

While Maggie wrestles with her options, Justin offers a solution: abortion. It would solve all her problems quickly, easily, and effectively. And her parents would never know, which means they won’t throw her out and cut her off like they’d always threatened if she got herself knocked up. Now Maggie must decide which choice she can live with: abortion or teenage motherhood. Either way, it’ll be a tough road to travel.


My Review:
I have to say I was really impressed with Andersen's writing style. Usually I enjoy books that are more dialogue driven and At What Cost doesn't read that way. This book is written in the third person and deals with how Maggie is feeling as she has countless internal struggles trying to decide what she wants to do about her pregnancy. Throughout most of At What Cost Maggie feels very isolated and alone. She avoids everyone for the most part and wishes that her "problem" would just go away. 

What I liked:
*Andersen's writing 
*The different topics that At What Cost addresses very realistically: family, friends, choices, (a little vague here I know but I'm trying to avoid spoilers)
*Aunt Rachel and Evan, Loved them!!!
*Surprisingly, Maggie's family
*The ending. I loved how Andersen ended At What Cost.

What I didn't like:
*I didn't like how Maggie treated Evan. 
*I didn't like how the author skipped over Maggie and Evan becoming as close as they did. I would have loved another 20 pages that went into that relationship a bit more. 
*the preachy tone that occasionally crept into the story
*Justin, though I don't think I was suppose to like him.

Overall:
At What Cost is an enjoyable, quick read that deals pretty honestly with a tough subject. I know there are other YA novels that deal with teen pregnancy but I haven't read any others yet, so for me at least, the plot was pretty original. 


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About this author
Jessie Andersen lives in a small town in Western New York with her husband and three kids. A former English teacher, she now spends her time writing while the kids are at school and the baby is sleeping. She volunteers at the local library and sings in the church band. You can find information about her books at jandersenbooks.com, and you can follow her blogs atTherabidwriter.blogspot (Personal blog) and Readbetweenthelinesbookclub.blogspot.com (Book blog). You can also follow her on Twitteratwww.twitter.com/jvdlandersen and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jandersenbooks.

http://www.goodreads.com/jvdlandersen


http://www.leisurereads.com – September 24 - Review
http://edandemreviews.blogspot.com/ - September 24 – Promo
http://iheartyabooks.blogspot.com/ - September 25 - Review
http://www.readergirlsblog.com – September 25 – Interview & Excerpt
http://clairelouisereads.blogspot.com.au/ - September 25 – Review
http://scarletsilhouettes.blogspot.com/ - September 25 - Author Interview
http://www.blookgirl.com – September 26 – Review
http://www.fortheloveoffilmandnovels.com/ - September 26 – Review
http://melissaseclecticbookshelf.blogspot.com – September 26 – Promo Post
A Soul Unsung - http://soulunsung.blogspot.com – September 26 - Review
www.sweetsouthernhome.net – September 27 – Promo Post
http://everyfreechancebookreviews.blogspot.com/ - September 27 – Promo Post
http://paigebradish1996.blogspot.com/ - September 27 – Promo Post
http://book-spark.blogspot.com/ - September 28 – Promo Post
http://taralenwalker.blogspot.com/ - September 28 – Promo Post
http://myneuroticbookaffair.blogspot.com – September 28 - Review
A Reader's Devotion - http://areadersdevotion.blogspot.co.uk – September 28 - Review
http://andisyoungadult.blogspot.com – September 29 - Review
http://themodpodgebookshelf.blogspot.com – September 29 – Promo Post
Read and Reviewed  - http://ahandfulofconfetti.wordpress.com – September 29 - Review
The Reading Hideaway - http://thereadinghideaway.blogspot.com – September 29 - Review


1 comment:

  1. I wanted to take a moment to thank you for reading and writing a review. It means so much to us authors!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by. I love hearing what you think!