Reading, Writing, and Me

I'm so excited to host this interview with Sonia about her new book Have A Little Faith In Me  which comes into the world on Tuesday. The book is delightful and one I flew through. If you haven't read my review , I'd suggest you read it for a bit of context! 1. I have to ask, where did you get the idea to set the whole story at a conservative Christian camp? It’s so perfect for the story but also a very unique idea.    I really wanted to set a story that is largely about sexual education in place where abstinence education is more prevalent. Not so that I could position my main character as more knowledgeable, but more so I could show that while she thought she was fairly knowledgeable, there was still a lot she had to learn. I thought this would be especially effective in a setting with girls who were learning along with her, so they could support each other and open up to each other and inevitably grow as characters because of what they each bring to their friend

Have a Little Faith In Me  by Sonia Hartl Overview: CeCe and Paul have no reason being at Jesus camp. Paul gave up his faith years ago when his paster father abandoned his mother,  and CeCe never really believed to start with. They're not there to find their faith again, though. CeCe is on a secret mission to win back her born again boyfriend who dumped her after having sex. Whether it's love or just proving something to herself, CeCe is determined to get Ethan back, even if that means fake dating her best friend, Paul, and listening to hours of sermons. While CeCe shakes the camp up, she starts to shake up some ideas of her own about what happened with her and Ethan. Overall: 5 Characters: 5 I love CeCe. She's bold, unflinching, bright, and impulsive. Unafraid to be quiet about her own beliefs she challenges a lot of the misogynistic happenings at the camp and vocally questions why girls are left to shoulder the responsibility for "tempting" boys by not bei

I can't believe I'm writing these words, but I'm here to announce an exciting new project that I've been working around the clock to make happen for about the last month. In addition to the blog, I'm going to be writing, producing, and creating a podcast called The Empathy Factor. You might have noticed that there's a new tab on the header of my website devoted to it as well to make it easier for readers here to access and find out about it. I did post on Instagram and Twitter when the trailer went up, but, since then, the pod has become available on Apple Podcast and Google Podcasts as well, and I finally have an episode to share with all of you! I wanted to do a formal post announcing and talking about it more on here, not just so that I could talk about what the podcast is but what has led me to make it. The why behind it. And, honestly, it starts with the blog. If I hadn't gotten the crazy idea to start a book blog where some nobody eighth grade girl

That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger (325 pages) Overview: It's been three years since the school shooting in Virgil County and the youngest group of survivors are about to graduate. While Lee is glad to finally be moving on, she also doesn't feel right about leaving the story the way it is, to fade and distill in everyone's minds. And then one of the victims parents decides to write a book about their daughter's courageous show of faith when she confronted the killer before she died. As powerful as the story is, it's simply not what happened. Lee knows this first hand because she was with Sarah in that stall when she got shot. Lee wants to spread the truth, but the town might not want to hear it.  Overall: 4 Characters: 4 Lee makes a great narrator for the book. She'll navigate you through social circles and small town relationships with expertise. She's serious yet witty and funny. The other survivors are also interesting. Denny, a blind st