Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway: Hello? by Liza Wiemer
SYNOPSIS:
One HELLO? can change a life. One HELLO? can save a life.
Tricia: A girl struggling to find her way after her beloved grandma’s death.
Emerson: A guy who lives his life to fulfill promises, real and hypothetical.
Angie: A girl with secrets she can only express through poetry.
Brenda: An actress and screenplay writer afraid to confront her past.
Brian: A potter who sets aside his life for Tricia, to the detriment of both.
Linked and transformed by one phone call, Hello? weaves together these five Wisconsin teens’ stories into a compelling narrative of friendship and family, loss and love, heartbreak and healing, serendipity, and ultimately hope.
Told from all five viewpoints: narration (Tricia), narration (Emerson), free verse poetry (Angie), screenplay format (Brenda), narration and drawings (Brian).
REVIEW:
*Book Received in Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*
Where do I begin this review, how can I summarize this book…I was disappointed to say the least. I had extremely high expectations for this book. I had friends who have absolutely fallen head over heels in love with this story but sadly that wasn’t the case for me. I had two primary pet-peeves with this story.
First, I really struggled to follow the five different characters and viewpoints. For the first 150 pages, I was constantly referencing the back of the book to keep track of whose who. I think this struggle from the viewpoints bleed into me being un-able to emotionally connect and relate to the characters. I struggled to feel sympathy and empathy towards the characters and instead I found myself feeling annoyed and disconnected.
The story itself is great and I think I just found myself lost in the tangled web of characters and plot lines. The free verse poetry, screenplay, and drawings were all beautiful, individually; however, I think in the grand scheme it too away from the plot for me.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 
I am the author of two non-fiction adult books, short stories, and newspaper and magazine articles. A pre-school to high school educator now writing YA fiction full time, which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! And I’m a diehard Green Bay Packers fan.
For my author posts on writing and my upcoming YA novel HELLO?: http://www.LizaWiemer.com
Unique “job” experiences: I spent a summer selling popcorn in a Koepsell’s popcorn wagon while listening to awesome music on the Summerfest grounds in Milwaukee. I also know my way around a fender and a quarter panel and under the hood of a car. I spent a few years driving to accident scenes, scrapyards, hospitals, auto repair shops as a claims adjuster for an insurance company.
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