Blog Tour: Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk (REVIEW + PLAYLIST)
3:30 PM
Synopsis (via Goodreads): A modern cupid story set in present-day Wisconsin combining the fantastical elements of Greek mythology with the contemporary drama of MTV's Teen Mom.People don’t understand love. If they did, they’d get why dance prodigy Karma Clark just can’t say goodbye to her boyfriend, Danny. No matter what he says or does or how he hurts her, she can’t stay angry with him . . . and can’t stop loving him. But there’s a reason why Karma is helpless to break things off: she’s been shot with a love arrow.
Aaryn, son of Cupid, was supposed to shoot both Karma and Danny but found out too late that the other arrow in his pack was useless. And with that, Karma’s life changed forever. One pregnancy confirmed. One ballet scholarship lost. And dream after dream tossed to the wind.
A clueless Karma doesn’t know that her toxic relationship is Aaryn’s fault . . . but he’s going to get a chance to make things right. He’s here to convince Danny to man up and be there for Karma. But what if this god from Mount Olympus finds himself falling in love with a beautiful dancer from Wisconsin who can never love him in return?
This fast-paced debut novel explores the internal & external conflicts of a girl who finds herself inexplicably drawn to a boy who seemingly doesn't reciprocate her feelings, touching on the issues of love, sex and responsibility, with a heroine struggling to control her destiny--perfect for fans of Katie McGarry's novels and MTV’s 16 and Pregnant.
Author: Melissa Gorzelanczyk
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: January 26th, 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fantasy, Mythology, Romance, Fiction, Retellings
A story about love, decisions, teenage pregnancy, and mythology all in one! It's amazing to think about all of these things being written in just one book. Reading this book, I found it a bit difficult to get through Karma's narration because it would start a rage-filled fire inside me, not for Karma, but for Danny. If this was any other book, and if the circumstances were different, I would have definitely hated Karma, but I understood the situation, and I just couldn't blame her. At the same time, she was also very nice and very talented. She was the type of character who had just been screwed over by life (or by Cupid's son), and you would just want everything to get better for her.
What I like about this book was that it touched on sensitive topics that most authors don't dare to touch on or cannot pull off well. Teenage pregnancy and the unhealthy relationship between Danny and Karma are two of the issues Gorzelanczyk addressed, and I believe she did do them justice while also presenting to us a strong but realistic heroine. Another thing that I would commend the author for is being able to write about this topic without having to make the story dark, depressing, or sad. It was easy to get through it, and she was able to create an impact without having to change her tone in writing.
One of my favorite things about this book was that the romance was not pushed to the forefront of everything. Because this story has a lot of important themes, I would absolutely hate to see the relationship drama get in the way. It was a beautiful addition to the story, but it never took the limelight away from the parts that really mattered. I also found it great that readers can also see the strong female bonds here. Oftentimes, female bonds in YA is shown as petty and shallow rivalry, and to see that in this book, the author created a female support system that really meant well and was essential to Karma's development.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book. I believe that the author was able to portray the more sensitive issues accurately for the most part and was able to write a brilliant YA novel that deviated from the norms. It's a great book that's not too heavy and still very meaningful.
PLAYLIST:
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