sstaley
Written on May 25, 2010
My Review of "Rebound" By Heather Justesen
"Rebound" by Heather Justesen is the second novel by this great new author. Her first book, "The Ball's In Her Court" came out last year.
Let me first say that I was very impressed with this second book by Heather. I felt that her first book was very well written, but this second book even topped her first. Once again, though, there is a clean romance hidden away in this story, but it is not the central focus of the whole book. Heather knows how to weave so much more into her novels. You will find struggles, heartache, suspense, laughter and much self-growth and awareness from her characters. Of course you will also find even more kisses that make your toes tingle, without being smutty.
The main character, Lily, is amazing! To face what she does, husband in jail, losing her home, seven months pregnant, chasing an active two year old and having to find a job...my heart went out to this character. I am grateful that Heather makes Lily struggle a lot, because this makes the story realistic. There are no quick fixes to Lily's problems or a fast & easy highway to a new romance. We, as readers, take this ride with Lily, as she learns to move forward, gather strength and instill confidence in herself again. As someone who has gone through divorce and had/still am trying to pick up the pieces of my life, I could relate to the feelings and doubts that Lily had about her future. I can't thank Heather enough for making this character and her life situation so real. I also loved that Lily is a teacher!! Lily's teaching moments were also portrayed realistically. I sat and giggled and groaned as I read about her teaching days. Heather has got to have teacher friends to have nailed this so spot on!!
I also enjoyed revisiting the characters from "The Ball's In Her Court", Denise, Rich and Denise's siblings. One of her siblings, Curtis, is the love interest for Lily in this second book. I would love to have a Curtis around like him that babysits, helps with car problems and he even changed baby Sophie's diapers. I also like how Curtis was portrayed as kind, patient, loving and persistent. You did such a nice job on this character Heather.
There were moments when I had to grit my teeth and not scream out loud. Lily's ex-husband and her ex in-laws are just down right nasty people!!! Bleech! (Is that really a word?) In certain situations, when confronted with their mean and vindictive ways, I don't think I would have been as patient and as calm as Lily was. This again is another example of great writing from Heather, in that I was yelling at Lily what I thought she really should have said to these creepy snobs. Thank goodness my children are used to me talking to the characters of the books I am reading. {I did hear in the background one night while reading..."Mommy's crazy"}
"Rebound" needs to be on your summer reading list. I read it quickly because the story moved fast and there were no dull moments for me.