A BOY LIKE YOU by Ginger Scott
YA Contemporary Romance
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Blurb
They say everyone’s a superhero to someone. I’m not sure who I’m supposed to save, but I know who saved me.
We were kids. His name was Christopher. And up until the day he pulled me from death’s grip, he was nothing more than a boy I felt sorry for. In a blink of an eye, he became the only person who made me feel safe.
And then he disappeared.
Now I’m seventeen. I’m not a kid anymore. I haven’t been for years. While death didn’t take me that day, the things that happened left me with scars—the kind that robbed me of everything I once loved and drove me into darkness. But more than anything else, that day—and every day since—has taken away my desire to dream.
I wasn’t going to have hope. I wouldn’t let myself wish. Those things—they weren’t for girls like me. That’s what I believed…until the new boy.
He’s nothing like the old boy. He’s taller and older. His hair is longer, and his body is lean—strong and ready for anything. I don’t feel sorry for him. And sometimes, I hate him. He challenges me. From the moment I first saw him standing there on the baseball field, he pushed me—his eyes constantly questioning, doubting…daring. Still, something about him—it feels…familiar.
He says his name is Wes. But I can’t help but feel like he’s someone else. Someone from my past. Someone who’s come back to save me.
This time, though, he’s too late. Josselyn Winters, the girl he once knew, is gone. I am the threat; I am my worst enemy. And he can’t save me from myself.
Review
“I’m not sure what I’m in right now – a fantasy or tragedy. Perhaps it’s both. Maybe it’s always been both. Maybe that’s what life is – a beautiful mess.”
4.5 stars!
OMG, Ginger Scott!! My heart has just been on a rollercoaster and I’m not quite sure what to do with myself now! This book took me on a journey into the life of a damaged, complicated girl in an emotional, gritty YA story that is beautifully written with a gorgeous romance and a whole lot of feels. I loved it!
Josselyn was only 9 years old when her whole life was turned upside down. In one moment her family was destroyed, and she faced death only to be rescued by a boy she hardly knew – a strange boy from her school that kept to himself and that she had barely spoken to. But he was there for her in that moment, firmly establishing himself as a rock and a safe harbour for Joss.
Christopher is still holding me. He won’t let go, even when they tell him to. He fights away people tugging against us— blood dripping over one of his eyes. I don’t want him to let go. I want them to leave. I want him to take me away.
Christopher disappeared after that night and Joss felt his loss deeply, especially with her life spiralling out of control as her father descended into alcoholism and Joss was left alone, angry and scared. Now she is 17 years old and a high school junior with a massive chip on her shoulder. She is broody and hostile, and regularly lashes out with dangerous and rebellious behaviour, but it’s clear that she is hurting.
I want to feel like I did when Christopher’s arms held me away from the harms of the world. That was the last time I ever felt safe, and it was the day I almost died. I’ve been chasing that feeling for years.
Her father is a functioning alcoholic and coach of the high school baseball team and she is regularly dragging him out of bars, but he has instilled in her a love for softball and she is naturally talented at the sport. And when a trio of brothers arrive at her school, one of them showing mad pitching skills, she is instantly intrigued. Wes is gorgeous, though he is quiet and somewhat withdrawn, but there is something about him that is familiar to Joss, reminding her of the boy from so long ago, so she sets out to get to know him, never anticipating the impact that he will have on her life.
Wes is absolutely amazing. He is quiet and mysterious, but he and Joss share a connection right from the very beginning, and when Wes and his brothers become a part of Joss’s circle of friends, he gets a front-row seat to her destructive behaviour. He steps in as her protector, the one who has her back, who silently worries but never judges, and the one who is there for her even at her darkest moments, allowing her to be vulnerable and being there for her in a way that only one boy ever has been before.
I give in, and I step into him, letting my forehead press deep into the center of his chest as I bring my limp arms around him, my fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt on the back. His chin slowly falls to the top of my head and his own arms circle me tentatively at first, until finally they lock around me, his palms sliding in slow tender circles along my skin. I’m overcome with his strength and the feel of his embrace, and I do something that I regret the moment it starts.
I cry.
It’s an absolutely beautiful connection that they share, and though it’s hard work, Wes gets through Joss’s harsh exterior to the hurt and scared girl underneath, and a beautiful romance starts to grow. It’s slow-building but develops beautifully and we get to see every moment of their chemistry-filled interactions – from aggression to acceptance to friendship and more. Wes is patient and caring, a pillar of strength who is unfailingly loyal, supportive, protective and loving, and he is exactly the boy that Joss needs, becoming the catalyst for some big changes in her life, and their love story is beautiful.
“You had me the first time I saw you, and I’ll be in love with Josselyn Grace Winters until I die.”
Joss is such a great character. She’s complicated and gritty, and she’s not always likeable, but given her background and what her life has become, I could completely understand why she is the way she is. And it made her eventual growth as a character that much more marked when she finally started to get some good in her life.
But life hasn’t finished twisting for Joss yet, there are still some big challenges coming her way. And right when it seems like her life is finally getting some direction, everything is ripped out from underneath her once again.
This is a long book, and though it felt a little overly-lengthy in parts, the story went off in a direction that I wasn’t expecting and towards the end my heart was pounding as the story unfolded. After the descriptive and detailed story we had been given, I was so nervous towards the end of this book because there wasn’t enough time left for everything that needed to happen. And then the twist. And then I remembered that this book was the first in a duet. Aaaarghhhh!!
The book ends with a painfully brutal cliffy, and I still have SO many questions! But I have absolute faith in Ginger Scott to repair my shattered heart and give me the ending that I so desperately want for these characters. I can’t wait for the release of A Girl Like Me.
4.5 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Like Us Duet
A Boy Like You (#1)
Review
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A Girl Like Me (#2)
To be released – May 26, 2017
Giveaway
To celebrate the release of A Boy Like You, Ginger Scott is giving away a $25 gift card!
ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE
The Escapist Book Blog is not responsible for this giveaway
About the Author
Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling and Goodreads Choice Award-nominated author of several young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, The Girl I Was Before, Wild Reckless, Wicked Restless, In Your Dreams, The Hard Count and Hold My Breath.
A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.
When she’s not writing, the odds are high that she’s somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork ’em, Devils).
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