Blog Tour: The Unloved by Jennifer Snyder

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The Unloved
by Jennifer Snyder
Release Date: 07/30/12
263 pages

GR's Summary:

Sometimes the love our heart needs to heal can be found in the familiar eyes of a childhood friend...

Julie Porter learned the hard way that trust is something which must be earned and not something to be given out lightly, those who say they love you are those who hold the power to hurt you most, and best friends can help you survive anything—until they move away.

Nick Owen knows a thing or two about a hard life. At a young age Nick learned how to take a hit and to make lemonade out of the lemons life tossed his way. Returning home after nearly two years of being away, all Nick cares about now is protecting his mom from the abusive hands of his father and catching up with his best friend—the girl who lived across the street, the girl he can’t seem to stop thinking about.

Finally reunited after two years apart, Nick and Julie are about to learn that age does nothing to protect you from life’s trials and tribulations, heartache and loss, but maybe together they’ll find a way to survive.

(Mature Young Adult, contains violence, language, and sexual situations.)

Welcome to our stop on The Unloved blog tour by Jennifer Snyder hosted by YA Bound.  Click HERE to see the rest of the blog tour schedule!

My Take on this Journey:

The Unloved, by Jennifer Snyder is one of the best books I've read this year.  I rank it up there with Hopeless, by Colleen Hoover.  This novel is the story of two young teens, Nick Owen, and Julie (Jules) Porter, and is written in dual narration from each of their perspectives.  Nick and Jules share a common bond, the shame in their lives, and don't tell a soul other than one another.  They grow to care deeply for each other, and share their mutual hiding place in an old abandoned house next door to Nick's house, where they confide their deepest secrets and fears to each other.


Nick is living in a dysfunctional home, with his alcoholic father, and a loving mother.  Nick and his mom take turns getting beatings on a regular basis.  His mother doesn't know how to leave, or have the strength to get out.  Jules lives across the street in a similar state of dysfunction.  She lives with her stripper mother, who brings home the flavor of the week, pops pills, while her children starve, because there is never food in the refrigerator.  Jules' friends never know, because her and her brothers have made a pact never to allow their friends in the house to see how they live.


Nick's mom decides to send her son away for two years to his Aunt and Uncle's house, till his father gets his act together, (she is forever hopeful.)  Jules is completely destroyed when Nick is sent away, and feels alone, and helpless.  Nick is allowed to return in his senior year of high school, and he and Jules are reunited, but not without a lot of conflict along the way.  Not only does Jules live with the shame of her mother's chosen profession, but also the shame that comes from living in a small town, and everyone knowing your business.  The towns people think she is awkward, and white trash, because of her mother.  Her mother pimps herself out for drugs, and her boyfriends take turns, as they come along making advances and groping Jules, which her mother refuses to believe.  Jules has two brothers, the elder of the two, Logan, that got the hell out at 18, and a younger brother, Cole, that is still at home.  Jules' plan is to graduate this year, and move out as soon as possible.  When Nick returns, he recognizes Jules immediately.  She is as beautiful as he remembers.  Especially her big green eyes.  Yet, her appearance is disturbing to him.  She wears baggy clothes, hoodies, and very large sweaters to cover her lithe shape.  Jules dresses this way, because she doesn't want to call attention to herself.  This is the consequences of her mother's perverted boyfriends.  Jules recognizes Nick's beautiful hazel eyes, but doesn't remember where she's seen them before.  Nick's bulked up, good looking appearance doesn't resemble anyone she knows, and she doesn't understand why he keeps staring at her.


The Unloved, was filled with an abundance of disturbing content, such as, child abuse, starvation, battery, assault, self-loathing, humiliation, rape, drug-dealing, and loneliness that resulted from Nick and Jules feeling unloveable.  All of these subjects I found very disturbing, yet, I couldn't put this book down.  The reader is able to get alternating perspectives, is given the full picture, and an explanation of why there are misunderstandings throughout the book.  I sobbed in so many parts of The Unloved.  It was emotionally draining.  There were so many twists in this book, and it was gut-wrenching.  The Unloved, tore at my soul.  Ms. Snyder does it to me every time.  She describes the feelings between Nick and Jules so intriquitly, and when Nick looks at Jules so tenderly, with his heart full of love, you will feel it too.  She knows how to tug on my heartstrings, and she will tug on yours too.


This is a must read book!!!  Don't be afraid because of the content.  This love story has so many messages, such as hope, faith, redemption, love, courage, survival, loyalty, and never giving up on your dreams.  Put it on your TBR list!  I guarantee that it will stay with you for a very long time to come.   I give The Unloved, by Jennifer Snyder 5 love-starved, star-crossed, constant-yearning for love and acceptance stars!

Purchase At:

The Unloved is on sale this week only for only $.99!  Get your copy below:

Amazon |  B&N

About the Author:  Jennifer Snyder

I live in a small town nestled in the mountains of Western North Carolina with my husband and two small children. Growing up, I was always an avid reader. My mother spent way too much money on R. L. Stine and Christopher Pike books!  Writing a novel of my own wasn't something I'd ever given much thought to. It seemed like an unobtainable, far-fetched dream. Then, in late 2007, I attempted to put pen to paper for the first time. What came out wasn't pure gold. And what came out next wasn't either. Things didn't work that way for me. I had to write and rewrite and learn more about my 'voice' as an author first.  It took me a while to find that. Roughly about two years.  I did make a stab at going the traditional route to getting a novel of mine published, but it didn't work out. Some might say I gave up too quickly, some might not. You can look on the 'For Writers' tab to read my post on why I went the way I did to hear the full story.  I will say, I don't regret my decision to Self-Publish. It was right for me. I'm loving that fact that I am able to still be a stay-at-home-mom even though my kids are both now in elementary school. I thank my readers for that. Seriously, a million times over I thank you!  SHATTERED SOUL was my debut novel and no, you haven't seen the end of me yet...

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***GIVEAWAY***

1 e-book copy of The Unloved through Amazon or B&N (U.S./INT.)

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