Title: Kick, Push
Author: Jay McLean
Release Day: August 4, 2015
There’s a single defining moment within every skater.
It lasts only a second. Two if you're good.
Three if you’re really good.
It’s the moment you’re in the air, your board somewhere beneath you, and nothing but wind surrounds you.
It’s the feeling of being airborne.
The sixteen-year-old version of me would’ve said it was the greatest feeling in the world.
Then at seventeen, I had my son.
And every single second became a defining moment. Even the ones that consisted of heartbreak when his mother left us.
Seventeen. Single. Dad.
That’s what my life became.
Yet, every day, I managed to find that feeling of being airborne.
Or at least I convinced myself I did.
But I lied—to myself and to everyone around me.
Until she showed up; Tanned skin, raven dark hair, and eyes the color of emeralds.
You know what sucks about being in the air?
Coming down from the high.
Sometimes you land on the board and nail the trick.
Then kick, push, and coast away.
Other times you fall.
You fall hard.
And those are the times when it’s not as easy to get back up, dust off your pads and try again.
Especially when the girl with the emerald eyes becomes your drug...
And you become her poison.
Goodreads
Kick, Push...
Hands down one of my Jay McLean favorites. This book really took me back to why I fell in love with Jay McLean's writing style in More Than This. It's all about the tragedy and how much emotion the characters can pull out of you through their lives. It's about the recovery and stages of grief. It's about finding the moments that seem so perfect and then are recklessly destroyed but never forgotten.
Jay McLean is a genius with this book. I was kept on my toes throughout it and there were so many unexpected parts to this story that I was continuously surprised. There were a lot of elements that played a crucial role in the characters that I didn't even discover until the last few pages. So many things were brought to light at the end of this book that made perfect sense once I connected the dots.
This is definitely not an easy love story. Kick, Push describes two people who have been broken down by life. Broken down by the people who were supposed to love them the most. The people who were supposed to protect them. Josh was left behind by everyone who he thought loved him. His girlfriend leaves him after having his baby because she can't handle raising a child, and his parents turn their backs on a son who decides raising his son is more important than anything else. Yet in these circumstances, Josh manages to survive and raise his son to his best ability. Becca on the other hand. has a tragic past filled with a woman who just did everything to hurt her. Unable to speak, Becca has difficulty fitting into society again and finding people who she can call her family. At least until she found the person who she thought would always be there for her.
My favorite character in this book is definitely Josh's son! He's sounds completely adorable and I loved how he brought Josh and Becca closer together. Making fast friends is his specialty as he seems to be the only person who Becca can actually talk to. And of course, this friendship leads to a closer relationship between Josh and Becca. Yet their dependence on each other becomes a little too unsteady.
One of the biggest faults of Josh and Becca is grabbing onto each other without learning all there is to know. After being raised by a monster, Becca is desperate to hold onto someone she can love. And Josh is ready to find love again after being ditched by those closest to them. It seems like a relationship built for disaster.
The past comes back to haunt Josh and Becca in this book. I felt it a little unfair that Josh seemed to get a happier ending then Becca in the final moments. There are definitely some reconnections for Josh that allow him to really flourish and grow as both a person and a dad. Becca on the other hand, seems to only get hurt throughout this book. Unstable when she comes to live with her grandmother, it seems Becca will have to find her own two feet if she wants to survive.
While this book definitely ended in a cliff hanger, it is one to check out! The characters were great and I loved their relationships. McLean really tricked me in this book because there is almost this illusion of everything turning out perfectly until everything falls apart. I can't wait for the next book as the epilogue left me gasping for air!
Author Info
Jay is an avid reader, writer, and most of all, procrastinator. When she's not doing any of those things, she can be found running after her two little boys, or devouring some tacky reality TV show.
She writes what she loves to read, which are books that can make her laugh, make her smile, make her hurt, and make her feel.
For publishing rights (Foreign & Domestic) Film, or television, please contact her agent, Erica Spellman-Silverman, at Trident Media Group.
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