Trust

A Mature YA Novel

By Kylie Scott

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Synopsis

Being young is all about the experiences: the first time you skip school, the first time you fall in love…the first time someone holds a gun to your head.

After being held hostage during a robbery at the local convenience store, seventeen-year-old Edie finds her attitude about life shattered. Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers.

While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.

An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.

Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.

Excerpt

“You were going to give it up to Duncan Dickerson?” he sneered. “Are you serious?”

I halted, staring at him. This was not good. “How do you know about that?”

“Anders overheard you and Hang talking.”

“Bastard.”

“Well?” he demanded, acting all authoritarian. Idiot.

“To be fair, I didn’t know his last name was Dickerson,” I said. “That’s unfortunate. Though, I wasn’t actually planning on marrying him, so . . .”

“Not funny.”

I shrugged.

“You barely know the guy.”

“Um, yeah. None of your concern. We’re not talking about this.” How mortifying! My face burned bright. People should just gather around and cook s’mores. “I appreciate that we’re friends. You mean a lot to me. But this is going to have to fall under definitely none of your damn business, so go away please.”

“We’re talking about it.” He advanced a step.

“No we are not.” And I retreated.

“You were going to let a complete stranger touch you.” Advance.

Retreat. “People do it all the time. You do it all the time.”

“But you don’t,” he said, taking the final step, backing me up against the side of his car and getting all in my face. “Edie, this is your first time we’re talking about. Isn’t it?”

“Yes, and it’s going to be messy and painful and probably horribly embarrassing and I just want it over and done with.” I tried to meet his eyes but failed, settling for a spot on his right shoulder. “You’re not a girl; you wouldn’t understand. Also, last time I checked, you’re not the gatekeeper of my hymen, John Cole. So back the fuck off.”

He said nothing.

Deep, calming breaths. “Look, someday I’ll meet someone I really like and we’ll have a deep and meaningful relationship and go at it like bunnies. But I don’t want to be the dumb virgin in that scenario.”

He slowly shook his head.

“Also, I do not want to die a virgin.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Hey, you and I both know death can occur at any time.”

“This is crazy.”

“I’m seeing a therapist!” I told his shoulder. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m a little bit messed up these days. It’s hard for me to trust people. That’s not going to change anytime soon.”

He screwed up his face at me. “Wha—”

“I’m just trying to be practical.”

“Well, you’re being ridiculous. None of this makes sense.”

“It does to me.”

Again, he said nothing.

In fact, he said nothing for so long that I finally looked him in the eye. The anger had left him, replaced by an emotion I didn’t recognize. Worst of all, he still smelled like summer. A little sweat and the open night air, everything I loved. Liked. I meant liked.

“What?” I said, finally.

He let loose a breath. “I’ll do it.”

“

Michel’s Review

Wow!  Trust by Kylie Scott blew me away!  Kylie Scott ventured into the dramatic world of teenage angst and conquered those drama babies with a big dose of harsh realities, valid fears, and gave them the tools to become strong, independent adults with an arsenal of emotional experiences and new perspectives in life.  In other words… she gave them a chance to learn to trust themselves and trust their hearts by making them face themselves in a life changing situation where the scars were internal rather than external.  A life or death situation bonded two completely different types of people and opened their eyes to the realities of their lives.  It changed their perspectives and changed the course they were on.  It gave them the strength they didn’t know they needed to step outside of their individual destructive paths and reach for a better path.

Most teenagers can’t see past right now and really don’t have a concept of what they want for their future lives.  They can’t comprehend life beyond the drama induced world in which they are living in.  To them it’s a state of permanence rather than a stepping stone of becoming a mature adult.  They don’t understand that the moment they graduate high school that none of the crap they dealt with matters anymore.  Their choices and actions at that time in their lives can influence their future paths but the peer pressure is gone.  They are now accountable only to themselves.

Edie and John were put in each others paths during a convenience store robbery where they witnessed tragic horrific murders.  They were lucky to survive the ordeal but they didn’t come out of it without scars.  It opened Edie’s eyes to the way she saw herself as an individual and made her take a stand against bullying by choosing to remove herself from the negative environment.  She switched schools and refused to become a target. When she runs into the boy who saved her life, she knows she made the right decision. This boy sees her as a person rather than the poor fat girl.

John was on a bad path.  He was a party boy and small time school drug dealer.  After the robbery he began to see his life was on the same path as the guy who robbed the store.  When he sees the girl from the store at school and notices how positive her life is, he wants the same thing.  With her help, he’s changing into a boy with a bright future rather than a low life drug dealer.

These two find refuge in one another.  They become deeply bonded friends who give each other the confidence to become better people.  They help each other accept themselves and see the good rather than the bad.  In the process they find a love built by strength of character rather than surface beauty.

Kylie Scott captured the soul of a teenager in todays world and gave them the tools to become confident adults.  This book was more than a teenage romance, it was a suspenseful novel that allowed the characters to grow emotionally as individuals.  Life is never easy and it’s even harder when you don’t have the emotional maturity to handle the angst.  This novel is about learning to Trust oneself and Trust those who are willing to invest themselves in you.

I loved this novel and would recommend it to readers of all ages!

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Kylie is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013 & 2014, by the Australian Romance Writer’s Association and her books have been translated into eleven different languages. She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet. You can learn more about Kylie from http://www.kylie-scott.com/

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