Title: Want
Author: Stephanie Lawton
Publisher: Ink Spell Publishing
Release Date: June 7, 2012
Synopsis: Julianne counts the days until she can pack her bags and leave her old-money, tradition-bound Southern town where appearance is everything and secrecy is a way of life. A piano virtuoso, she dreams of attending a prestigious music school in Boston. Failure is not an option, so she enlists the help of New England Conservatory graduate Isaac Laroche to help her.
She can’t understand why he suddenly gave up Boston’s music scene to return to the South. He doesn’t know her life depends on escaping it. Julianne must face down madness from without, just as it threatens from within. Isaac must resist an inappropriate attraction, but an indiscretion at a Mardi Gras ball—the pinnacle event for Mobile’s elite—forces their present wants and needs to collide with sins of the past.
My Thoughts: Want by Stephanie Lawton really threw me for a loop. I went into this book expecting a sweet love story between a girl and her piano tutor, throwing in the typical hard core drive of any aspiring artist. Let me tell you, this book held so much more. Lawton was not shy and she wrote about some very serious issues.
Julianne is an amazing leading character. Her complete passion for her music is so beautiful. She has perfect form and knows the music, she just has to learn to let go and truly shine. I loved watching her journey to finding that ability. When she let herself go while playing Rachmaninoff I was so happy. Julianne is a girl with a lot of problems though. With her total love of music comes a kind of obsession with perfection that takes over her sometimes. She also has some very major family issues that are kind of scary. She is such a strong girl, though. Through out the book I just loved her so much as a character.
Isaac is a dark and brooding artist. He has secrets and he isn't interesting in sharing them with anyone. His past plays a huge part in who he is. I got frustrated with his hot and cold routine but mostly I liked him. I saw him as a guy with some big issues and he just didn't handle them all right. Some of the ways he treated Julianne bothered me, too, but I like to think he isn't an all together bad person.
Dave is fun. He is upbeat and he really knows how to enjoy life. I loved him from the first phone call. He talks a little dirty but he is a major gentleman when you get down to it. His part in this story could almost seem secondary at times but he really plays a huge role in Julianne's life. At first I wished his part was bigger, but the more I thought about the more I realized his part was perfect. Always there for Julianne to fall back on, he is her white knight.
The rest of the characters all had depth and they each shone in their parts. The entire story was so wonderful. I was drug into the story and I didn't want to stop reading. I kept wanting to find out more of what happened to Julianne. If I have any warning for a reader it is be ready to cry. Oh and this is definitely for upper young adult. Some scenes wouldn't be good for younger teens. I really loved everything in this book. I think that Lawton has written a best seller that will touch lives. I really do.
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About the Author:
After collecting a couple English degrees in the Midwest, Stephanie Lawton suddenly awoke in the deepest reaches of the Deep South. Culture shock inspired her to write about Mobile, Alabama, her adopted city, and all the ways Southern culture, history and attitudes seduce the unsuspecting.
A lover of all things gothic, she can often be spotted photographing old cemeteries, historic buildings and, ironically, the beautiful beaches of the Gulf Coast. She also has a tendency to psychoanalyze people, which comes in handy when creating character profiles.
On her thirtieth birthday, she mourned (okay bawled) the fact that in no way could she still be considered a “young adult,” so she rebelled by picking up Twilight and promptly fell in love with Young Adult literature.
She has a love/hate relationship with Mardi Gras –where does all that money come from?–and can sneeze 18 times in a row.
I received a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
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