Sia

by Josh Grayson

• ASIN: B00GRUVUE2
• Publish Date: 2013
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Format: eBook (Kindle)
• Pages: 308
• Language: English

Reviews

[goodnghtmoonx]

Every get excited for the concept of a book and just get horribly disappoint with each new chapter? That's how I felt about Sia. It was too cliched and narrow and predictable. With flat, over the top characters and just. I'm just disappointed.

[bryannaleigh]

Every get excited for the concept of a book and just get horribly disappoint with each new chapter? That's how I felt about Sia. It was too cliched and narrow and predictable. With flat, over the top characters and just. I'm just disappointed.

[Kim Deister]

This was a truly beautiful story. It was moving, it was emotional, it was simply gorgeous. It is not in any way a light story, but one full of deeply intense situations and issues. It doesn't shy away from issues of alcoholism, bullying, judgment, etc. It was a real story that was not glossed over.

Sia is the epitome of the spoiled little rich girl... until she wakes up on a bench in a park with no memory of who she is or how she ended up in this park with nothing more than an iPod with the name "Sia" on it. For the next week, she ends up living a life that she never expected or paid any attention to prior to her bout of amnesia. She is reunited with her old life after an accident lands her in the hospital, but she still has no memory of who she once was. As she reintegrates with her family and "friends," she realizes what she really was... a bully and a mean girl. It is a life that she no longer wants for herself, especially when she starts to learn the truth about her own family. I love the change in her life, going from the queen bee to being the outsider. It is a good reminder to look beneath the surface and think of others.

This is a story about looking at life and priorities from a new perspective. All of a sudden, There are messages in this story that are important for all of us. She realizes that she has been living a life to please everyone else instead of being true to herself.

Things to love about Sia...

--The willingness to be raw about real issues like bullying and judgment.
--Carol and Sia. It is an unlikely friendship that is beautiful.

Things I wanted more or less of...

--More grittiness. I think Sia's week of self-discovery was a little easier than it would be in reality.
--More angst with Ashley. It just seemed like Ashley came around far too easily.

Some quotastic goodness...

--Comprehension dawns, and all the blood leaves my head in a rush. I start to shake. No matter what question I ask, the answers all point in one horrifying direction. I have no idea who I am (Loc. 113-114).
--“Sia, dear, can we please not discuss your homeless friends over lunch? I’m trying to eat (Loc 872).”
--I feel increasingly sick listening to my so-called friends talk, their eyes dancing with malicious laughter. Was I really one of these people? Was I ever such a selfish, cruel person (Loc. 1310-1311)?
--And now I know what to do with the rest of it. I have a lifetime ahead of me, one I hope to fill with as much love and joy as I can find. One I will fill with beautiful memories. Who am I? I’m Sia Holloway. And this is the me I was meant to be (Loc. 4207-4210).

My recommendation: A fantastically gorgeous story that I highly recommend to those who want their faith in humanity restored!

[Nessa Luna]

Couldn't get myself to finish it. Didn't like the first chapter at all, and hardly got any further. Stopped after chapter three and I just gave up.

[inlibrisveritas]

Sia is one of those rare books that make you want to get out and attempt to make a difference in the community. It’s a heartfelt and encouraging story that definitely has it’s core set in the right place.

Sia wakes up on a park bench completely lost and with no memory of who she is, and as result spends week on the streets. When she finally returns home she sees that her life is incredibly far away from what she experienced while homeless. She also realizes that everyone see her as someone completely different and she desperately wants to turn her life around. However Sia isn’t the only one who grows and changes through the course of the novel and I loved that more than one person was affected by her amnesia and her want to improve the lives of others. Her family starts off broken and nearly collapsed, and her friends want nothing to do with the ‘new’ Sia. Everyone grows and by the end of the book has reached their own levels of improvement. There were a few moments of convenience but they didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the novel.

Kyle is a kind-hearted guy who volunteers at the local soup kitchen and has witnessed Sia when she was in her prime, and he wants nothing to do with her. The relationship that they cultivate over the course of the book is really sweet and I liked that despite some moments of tension they worked better as a team.

Grayson has given us an extremely charming and heartfelt story about about self discovery, selflessness, and friendship. Sia’s tale shows that second chances are possible and no one is beyond redemption.

[Kelly]

Sia was the story of a girl who used a traumatic event, to change her life for the better. Her memory loss is devastating, but the insight into life on the streets, truly is unimaginable. The down and out people that Sia's situation introduces the reader to, are realistic, but charming. Carol literally changes Sia's life. A woman who lives each day not knowing where she'll sleep, eat or if she'll survive to see the sun rise, and she takes Sia under her wing and protects her against the unforgiving street life. My heart bled for Carol, she was warm and kind hearted, and I wanted to hear more of her story.

It's the ultimate story of the popular rich girl being served a huge dose of reality and being able to start her life again, the way it should be. A brilliant debut for first time novelist Josh Grayson, who isn't afraid to create raw characters and confronting situations.