DNF. At 32%, I finally gave up, despite the intriguing questions. "Free" costs my time, and I'm done spending it with this sad cardboard cutout.

I've never known any teens as bad as this one. Her thoughtless dismissal of what her mom does contradicts her support and devotion to her. She's incredibly is very self-centered, and her opinions re classmates are presumptuous and self-fulfilling. She has abilities, but no compassion. No larger awareness. Crappy observational skills. In other words, she is a stereotype, and an insulting one, and I'm done. I don't want a "hero" who is this awful a person. ( )

This novel just had me gushing!

4.5 stars. I really wanted to give the novel 5 stars because I’m SCREAMING over how much I enjoyed this novel, but there were a few lagging parts and this new community that the main character finds out about is never really explained. I was all excited about the Addo giving the main character, Nalena, options on her future path, because I thought he was going to explain stuff to Nalena but then that never really happens. If I were the main character, I wouldn’t have jumped into anything without explanation, but she kind of does. Nalena just doesn’t ask a lot of questions. When she’s upset, she kind of just clams up.

Okay, Okay. Why am I screaming?

I was absorbed into the way the author described everything. She used every day comparisons to describe the most complex emotions in a way that completely related to me. I think some readers might be turned off by the number of metaphors and similes, but I enjoyed them, especially when they described how Nalena was affected emotionally by Garrett. Eep! I loved it.

And the Reese family just made the whole novel feel real. They were a normal family with crazy powers, but the dynamic was just so comforting. I was instantly glad when Nalena became involved in their lives.

OH, and on to Garrett. I think I am in love with every little thing he does. My most favorite scenes are when he and Nalena walk into the office supply store, and later when he is carrying her into his house because she has a spiritual experience that zaps her strength. Both times, what he said, MELTED me.

You’d enjoy this novel if you are a reader who loves the developing tension between the main chick and her squeeze. Seriously. The plot is weak, but I just can’t get over how this novel’s descriptions really spoke to me.

This novel has strong and realistic characters. The author has developed her own voice that you will either instantly love or hate. (In case you haven’t guessed, I loved it.) And she has painted a picture with such understandable imagery that grounds you in the moment.

This is a perfectly clean read. Perfectly sweet read.

One final drawback. The formatting. Every single paragraph indent was different. But I was able to overlook this because the novel made up for it. ( )

I am enjoying this book a great deal. About 1/2 done! Libertarians might take exception, there are some digs. Those digs might be unintentional?

This book starts out with Nalena walking home from school after a stop at the office supply store. She stops to pick up 3 reams of paper from her mother. For some strange reason her mother writes but never finishes anything she started. She writes little bits of information that have no relevance or understand to anyone but her. Here is a little bit of information from the book:

“Christos DelMinos, 14, stabbed, instead of his 3 year old niece; Martin Fowler, 24, returned the money he’d stolen but not all of it; Linda Hayes, 63, invited depressed neighbor in for long talk.”

Well maybe someone understand what Evangeline, Nalenas mother, is writing but Nalena does not. Or at least during the beginning she does not understand.

Nalena is called The Waste at school. At one time a so-called friend dropped by to see her and saw all the paper stacked in the duplex and assumed wrong. But we all know what happens when we assume something. Then a cranky old over-worked social worker thinks that Evangeline is not carrying out her parental responsibility in being a parent to Nalena. It seems like Nalena is just a lone out cast that no one wants anything to do with.

Nalena goes to the library after her bologna sandwich supper. While she is studying one of the popular guys at school comes over to sit at the table she is studying at. Of course Nalena is suspicious of him and wonders what he wants. Well for that information you need to read the book. Okay now I have to stop telling you about the book. If I keep writing I will give away the whole plot and then it would not be any fun to read the book.

This book is a great young adult read. The author catches the readers attention with the first page. Then the plot, oh wow. The plot is just so intriguing. It will grab your attention and keep you guessing on what is happening next.

While I will admit I do not normally read YA books this one is a great read for anyone. This book is the first in a series. The second book is titles Keystone. I do not know much about the second book in this series but I do know is that I will be looking forward to the release.

Thanks for a great read Misty. ( )

Dubbed “The Waste” by her peers, because of her mother’s compulsive paper hoarding, Nali Maxwell goes through the motions of life… She desperately wants her mother to finish just ONE book, and maybe they can quit living in and round stacks of paper.

“In our house, no one notices the tiny square of clean wood floor where we kick off our shoes. That little patch is lost in the blinding avalanche of white paper that hides the rest of the house. Heaps of it fill every inch of our living room, an efficient blizzard of orderly, white stacks. My mother’s teeny tiny scrawl covers every inch of every sheet…”

*gasp*

Right? Can you imagine?

Nali escapes her life by passing time at the library… Reading, doing homework- she has a nice little sanctuary where no one bothers her, or calls her names.

Until Garrett Reese sits down next to her.

When Garrett takes notice of her, that’s when everything fall’s apart- or comes together… however you want to see it! Jen, his wanna-be girlfriend freaks out… Nali gets ATTACKED by some crazy guy in the woods, wearing a mask, and talking gibberish! (You’ll never guess who it is!!)

Garrett doesn’t care about the nasty things people say about Nali, he doesn’t care that her mother hoards paper filled with one line plot plans. He only cares about her. Awwwww!!!!!

Choices…. Contego, Addo, The Fury and forgotten memories… Are only SOME of the things you’ll find in Cornerstone! The passion, heat and fire of two halves made whole is what sets this book apart!

Misty Provencher totally blew me away! Cornerstone has it all- sizzling hot romance, tragic pasts and family secrets. You DO NOT want to miss this amazing start to what promises to be a fantastic series! ( )