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You and Me Trilogy
By: Kailin Gow
Pub. April 16, 2012
By: theEDGEbooks
Source: Author
Purchase At: Amazon
GR's Summary:
*New Adult/Mature-YA with mature themes and sexual situations.
*Book featured and recommended on CBS television news for mature teens and adults in August 2012
*Book was originally edited by Ifsha R. and will be re-edited and re-released with new bonus chapters on Feb. 12, 2013.
18 year old high school senior and aspiring psychologist Samantha Sullivan (Sam) never thought she would fall for the one mysterious guy she has been speaking to over the phone for months, the boy the counselors called Daggers. She wasn't supposed to talk to him outside of their sessions. But as she began to peel the layers of Daggers and learn who he is, the one boy she is supposed to be saving, might just be the one who is saving her.
Saving You Saving Me inspired the Saving You Saving Me Project found at: http://www.SavingYouSavingMe.com
The Saving YOU Saving ME Project was inspired by the book, which tells the story of Samantha (Sam) Sullivan, who becomes a peer counselor at a teen and young adult crisis center called Sawyer House. The Saving YOU Saving ME Project tries to replicate the atmosphere of Sawyer House by allowing a place for teens through adults a place to share their issues anonymously and in doing so, might be able to help others learn from it or might receive feedback from people about what to do.
You and Me Trilogy:
My Take on this Journey:
Saving You Saving Me, by Kailin Gow, was a story that was created around Sawyer House, a call center hotline for teens that could offer advice, talk in confidence, or air concerns on situations about a wide range of various subjects. The subjects were quite disturbing, ranging from different kinds of abuse, drug addiction, cutting, pregnancy, sexual deviance, bullying, and more. The concept of the book was very educational to the reader. Samantha, (Sam) is an 18 year old, who is mature for her age, and a senior in private school. She is the daughter of a preacher, and has a very dysfunctional life. Her family appears to be the perfectly religious family on the outside, but they are actually a mess behind closed doors. Sam needs some extra-curricular activities in order to ensure herself a scholarship to Stanford. Her counselor gets her into the Sawyer House to fill that necessity. Sam is trained under a guy named, Derek, who becomes a very close friend to her. While counseling on the phones, she becomes emotionally attached to a young, vulnerable, and insecure guy who calls himself Daggers. Sam blurs the lines when she realizes they need to help each other.
Sam is the perfect daughter in everyone's eyes, but the secret that lays behind the façade is quite another story, yet one undeserving of it's punishment. Sam has a very deep conflict within herself since childhood, and refers to herself as Lola, and Susan, her dual personalities. Her Id and Ego are always in tow. While on campus at school, she runs into the famous and wealthy 24 year older guy, Collins McGregor. She is taken by surprise by the chemistry and evident goo goo eyed attraction that they both feel for one another immediately. There is an odd interaction between these two, and it throws the reader off at times. Collins is very good looking, charming, confident, self assured, and dressed to the nines. Ms. Gow spends a lot of time describing every little detail to the reader. Though Collins seems to have it all together, he is actually a walking disaster of contradiction and chaos. He has a multitude of disturbing secrets that are brought to the forefront rather rapidly, once he decides that the innocent Sam is for him.
Sam has a sweet younger sister that she is constantly preoccupied with, and a drunken mother that drives her sister around while under the influence. Her father is indifferent towards her, but there is another secret behind that as well. Though Sam seems innocent, (especially Susan), when Lola comes out, all hell breaks loose, and she is ready to pounce! There are many issues covered in this novel, and more to this story than the reader is led to believe by the excerpts. Ms. Gow reaches out to her readers to open there eyes to the scary, outlandish behavior going on out there with our teens, and the fact that everyone needs to listen and be there for these teens in need.
While Sam is trying to find herself, and what she really wants out of life, she starts to realize how much she is in need of saving along with these other troubled teens. Her and Collins' relationship is started on a outrageous note, as she must sign her rights and her life away for a man with some pretty shady requirements. These two get together, and the walls come tumbling down... I found Saving You Saving Me hard to read at times, as the writing was distracting, endless mistakes which caused break in the flow of the story. The insta-love was not believable. I had a difficult time connecting with the characters in the first third of the book. I do believe the concepts were good, maybe just not thought out as well as they could have been. There are a lot of twists and turns, secrets revealed, and good love scenes, and disturbing situations. Get your Kleenex ready. I am going to read the next segment in the series, Finding You Finding Me, and am hoping for more continuity, and a smooth transition into the next part of this couples' lives, as they were great characters.
About Kailin Gow:
Kailin Gow uses her author platform to bring awareness to issues affecting young adult and women. She has appeared on national radio as a regular guest on topics such as body image, self-esteem, dating and sexual relationships, bullying, and more; often brought up in her fiction books for young adults and women.
She is a graduate of the Annenberg School for Communications Masters in Management program in journalism, marketing and publishing at the University of Southern California.
I've read some up and down reviews about this book but the idea behind it definitely has me intrigued. It sounds like Sam has a troubled childhood and I can't wait to see how I feel about this book. Great review!
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