Leap of Faith by Jamie Blair
Published by: Simon & Schuster BfYR
Publication date: September 3rd 2013
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Can true love be built on lies? A teen on the run seeks relief and redemption in this gripping, romantic read.
Leah Kurtz has finally found a place to call home, a town where she and baby Addy can live in peace, far from the drug-infested place she grew up. Chris is one of the best parts of her new life, the only person who’s ever made her feel safe. And now that she’s found him, there’s no way she can tell the truth:
Her real name is Faith, not Leah. She’s seventeen, not nineteen. And the baby isn’t hers—Faith kidnapped her.
Faith’s history catches up with her when a cop starts asking questions and Chris’s aunt spots her picture in the newspaper. She knows it’s time to run again, but if Faith leaves, she’ll lose Chris. If Chris is in love with a lie, though, did Faith ever really have him in the first place?
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Excerpt:
After a few minutes of Chris flipping through the channels with the remote while we eat, I have to break the silence again. “How was work? Where do you work, anyway?”
“I have a glamorous job roofing houses for RJ Roofing.” He leans back and rubs his stomach. “I’ve been there a couple of years. It’s not bad. They’re good people to work for.”
“That sounds horrible to me.”
He lifts one eyebrow.
“I’m terrified of heights. I couldn’t ever go up on a roof. Plus it has to be about a hundred and fifty degrees up there.”
He chuckles. “It is. And you come home covered in tar and dirt. But the pay’s good.”
“How long have you played the guitar?” I look down at my hands.
I can’t stop asking questions.
I hate that he won’t ask me his own questions even if I won’t answer them anyway.
He stretches both arms over his head and yawns. “About five years.”
I nod and tuck my hair back again.
“Here.” He reaches into his pocket and shoots me with a rubber band. “For your hair. It’s not going to stay behind your ears.” His smile’s easy.
Tonight, his eyes match his dark blue shirt. I like his chin length hair down. It makes the angles of his face softer. Faint stubble has grown on his chin. No wonder I’m obsessed with him. He’s hot.
My eyes make their way back to his, and I can tell he knows what I’m thinking. I shift to peer at the TV, feeling my pulse race. I ball my hair on top of my head and wrap the rubber band around it.
“Faith,” he mumbles.
I jerk around. “What did you say?”
“The tattoo on the back of your neck, it says hope and faith.”
I reach around with my hand, covering my tattoo. It’s a banner inside angel wings with our names on it. Hope and Faith. My sister and I got them last summer. It took me forever and five days to talk her into it. She got hers as a tramp stamp, thinking she could hide it. More people have seen hers than mine since her track pants sit low on her hips.
“Yeah.” I swallow my fight or flight instinct. “Do you have any tattoos?”
In one swift movement, he whips off his t-shirt. There, in the middle of his tan chest, beside a smear of paint, is a cross with two dates inscribed on it. One across, one down. Its intricate design has my fingers itching to touch. Instead, I crawl on my knees around the table to get a closer look.
Justified Kidnapping?
Is kidnapping ever justified?
In Leap Of Faith, the main character, Faith, kidnaps her newborn sister, Addy, in order to give her a better life. Faith’s mother is a drug addict. Faith has grown up in a neglectful and mentally abusive home, often with no food to eat. In her mind, there is no way she can let this baby grow up the same way she has.
I was approached by a woman who had a very similar situation in her family, so the question I never expected to be asked and never even considered when writing Leap Of Faith was asked: Is it ever okay to kidnap a child from an abusive or neglectful parent?
Approaching the topic from a fictional standpoint as I had, I felt that Faith was justified in her actions, but it was illegal, so I can’t in good conscious say it’s a measure that should be taken in a real-life situation. On the other hand, a child should never be left with an abusive or neglectful caregiver. There are steps to take, authorities to involve—it might take a while and be frustrating to wait for a resolution, but kidnapping can’t actually be an option, can it?
Is there ever a time when it’s justified? When a child you love is in danger? What are your thoughts?
AUTHOR BIO:
Jamie Blair spent most of her teen years choreographing moves for her dance team routines, kissing boys on the couch after her mom went to bed, and pondering the mood enhancement qualities of Lemon Heads when consumed with Diet Coke. Writing under Kelli Maine, she’s the USA Today bestselling author of Taken. Leap of Faith is her debut New Adult novel.
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Giveaway:
Prizes (open US only):
10 winners:
5 prize packages of a signed hardback, a t-shirt and a guitar pick,
5 e-books with an autographed Leap of Faith notecard, a guitar pick and stickers
1 comment:
I'm looking forward to reading this book! Another to add to my growing TBRs. Yikes, I keep waiting for my Kindle to yell "Enough already!" :)
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