Petals
by Laurisa White Reyes
Genre:
YA Contemporary
YA Contemporary
On Christmas Eve, a horrific car accident leaves Carly Perez without a
mom. After a year of surgeries and counseling, Carly’s life is
nearly back to normal—except for the monsters—vague, twisted
images from the accident that plague her dreams. When her father
insists on spending their first Christmas alone in Guatemala with a
slew of relatives Carly has never met, she is far from thrilled, but
she reluctantly boards the plane anyway.
mom. After a year of surgeries and counseling, Carly’s life is
nearly back to normal—except for the monsters—vague, twisted
images from the accident that plague her dreams. When her father
insists on spending their first Christmas alone in Guatemala with a
slew of relatives Carly has never met, she is far from thrilled, but
she reluctantly boards the plane anyway.
That’s where she first spots the man with the scarred face. She could swear
she has seen him before. But when? Where?
she has seen him before. But when? Where?
In Reu, the Guatemalan town where her father grew up, Carly meets
Miguel, her attractive step-cousin, and thinks maybe vacation won’t
be a total waste after all. Though she is drawn to him, Carly’s
past holds her back—memories that refuse to be forgotten, and a
secret about the accident that remains buried in her subconscious.
And everywhere she turns, the man with the scarred face is there,
driving that unwelcome secret to the surface.
Miguel, her attractive step-cousin, and thinks maybe vacation won’t
be a total waste after all. Though she is drawn to him, Carly’s
past holds her back—memories that refuse to be forgotten, and a
secret about the accident that remains buried in her subconscious.
And everywhere she turns, the man with the scarred face is there,
driving that unwelcome secret to the surface.
“Trust me, Carly. You’ll love Guatemala,” he
said. He was relentless. “It won’t be so bad, spending Christmas there.” He
poured the rest of the nuts into his mouth and chewed.
Personally,
I had serious doubts about spending nearly a month in a third world country
where half the people lived in mud huts.
“It’s
a great place,” Dad continued. “Lush jungles, ancient ruins, coconuts—”
Malaria, sauna-like heat, amoebas—
“All
I ask is that you give it a chance, Carly. Give them a chance.”
Them.
The so-called family I never knew. For all my seventeen years, they had
been nothing more than pictures on the mantle. Dad rarely spoke of them, so why
he chose our first Christmas since Mom died to change the status quo was beyond
me.
“Why
did I have to come?” I asked, my
frustration piquing. “I’m old enough to man the house while you’re away. I can
take care of myself.”
“We
already went over this, Carly. They want to meet you. It’s important to me that
they do.”
“If
they’re so important, then why haven’t you seen them in two decades?” I didn’t
expect an answer. I just wanted to get Dad off my back. But instead, he
shrugged his shoulders and gave me an apologetic grin.
“Let’s
just say we had our differences,” he said.
The
flight attendant returned, this time offering a pillow. She was still smiling.
At least the red mark on her teeth was gone.
I
took the pillow and arranged it behind my neck. Dad took one as well, tucking
it behind his head. I should have been glad to finally have some quiet time to
myself, but curiosity got the better of me. I leaned over and whispered.
“What
differences?”
“Go
to sleep,” said Dad.
“What
differences?” I asked again.
“Carly,
it’s almost one in the morning. Even if you’re not tired, I am. Let me get some
sleep. Okay?”
I
looked around and realized that most of the other passengers had already dozed
off.
“Do
you need your pills?” Dad asked.
I
shook my head. “If I take them now, I’ll be a zombie by the time we land.”
Although, maybe Guatemala won’t seem so
bad if I’m in a drugged-out stupor.
“Night,
Carly,” said Dad. Five minutes later, he was snoring.
Across
the aisle, Raisin Face had a magazine open on his lap. He licked his thumb
before turning each page. I didn’t realize I was staring until he turned
abruptly to look at me. Our eyes locked, and in that sliver of a moment, my
heart threatened to explode right out of my ribcage. I broke away from his gaze
and jerked opened my own magazine, pretending to be absorbed in it.
When
my heart returned to its normal rhythm, I set the magazine aside, turned on my
music, and leaned back against the pillow. I closed my eyes, but thoughts kept
racing through my head. I wanted to look at him again, to study his face and
give my brain time to place him.
Is
he watching me? I wondered. Does he recognize me too?
After
a while, I started to relax. Oblivion was calling, but I desperately clung to
consciousness, like a mountain climber gripping a rock by her fingernails while
dangling above a precipice. The fall was inevitable, but I strained to hold on.
It wasn’t that I had trouble sleeping, but the pills kept the monsters at bay.
Finally, unable to fight it any longer, I
surrendered. Falling into sleep, I struggled to recall just where I had seen
that man’s face before.
The author is running this tour alongside her fundraiser for Casa de
Sion, an orphanage/charity in Guatemala, which is where the book is
set. She is donating $1.00 for every book sold and also $1.00 for
every review of Petals posted on Amazon or Goodreads throughout the
month of November to Casa de Sion. Her goal is to raise $200. More
specific details can be found here:
Sion, an orphanage/charity in Guatemala, which is where the book is
set. She is donating $1.00 for every book sold and also $1.00 for
every review of Petals posted on Amazon or Goodreads throughout the
month of November to Casa de Sion. Her goal is to raise $200. More
specific details can be found here:
What can $200 do?
...feed a mother and child for six months
...buy shoes for 15+ children
...educate a child for 1/2 a year
...and more!
Laurisa White Reyes is the author of the 2016 Spark Award winning novel The Storytellers,
as well as The Celestine Chronicles and The Crystal Keeper series.
She lives in Southern California where she teaches English at College of the Canyons.
Thanks for posting about Petals!
ReplyDelete