Tag Archives: Sara Hantz

Will the Real Abi Saunders Please Stand Up by Sara Hantz – a Review

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Will the Real Abi Saunders Please Stand Up by Sara Hantz – a Review

 

Will The Real Abi Saunders Please Stand UpAmazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / The Book Depository

Description:
Abi Saunders might be a kickboxing champion, but when it comes to being the center of attention, she’d rather take a roundhouse kick to the solar plexus any day. So when her trainer convinces her to audition to be the stunt double for hot teen starlet Tilly Watson, Abi is shocked—and a little freaked out—when she gets the job.

Being a stunt double is overwhelming, but once the wig and makeup are on, Abi feels like a different person. Tilly Watson, to be exact. And when Tilly’s gorgeous boyfriend, Jon, mistakes Abi for the real star, Abi’s completely smitten. In fact, she’s so in love with her new life, it isn’t long before she doesn’t have time for her old one.

But when the cameras are turned off, will she discover running with the Hollywood A-list isn’t quite the glamorous existence she thought it was?

 

Review:

Will The Real Abi Saunders Please Stand Up by Sara Hantz is a YA novel that caught me by surprise.  Most YA books I read are usually dystopian, or other strong types of stories.  Though I have read Sara Hantz before, I did not expect to love the story as much as I did.  This was a simple sweet, entertaining story of Abi Saunders, an 18 year old girl, who is not comfortable around people, as she stutters. Abi is our heroine, who works out in the local gym, being an award winning young female kickboxer.   Abi has two great friends, Liv and Matt, whom she is totally comfortable with.  The three of them are inseparable, and Abi never stutters with them.  Abi also has a crush on Matt, whom she feels only sees her as a friend.

We spend time early on with this wonderful friendship, and then Abi is offered a chance to become a stunt double for a well-known actress, Tilly Watson during a movie shoot.  It is Liv and Matt who convince Abi to take the job, since it would be good experience for her, and help her become more confident in herself.  After the first audition, Abi makes friends with the crew, and each passing day, she becomes more confident, since she truly is one of the best, and stunt work seems to be perfect for her.

At first Abi would run home to tell her friends about the work behind the scenes of a movie, and meeting all the actors and director.  Slowly, as her hours increase, Abi becomes too comfortable playing Tilly.  She meets Jon, an actor and boyfriend of Tilly.  Soon Abi becomes hooked, & begins spends more time with her new found friends, ignoring Liv & Matt.  She thinks she is doing nothing wrong, as it’s a job.  She also finds herself becoming more and more attracted to Jon, and fancies that he too is beginning to care for her.

What follows is an excellent story, allowing us to see Abi’s confidence build, as she garners the respect of the crew and director with her ability.  We watch her as she slowly changes, totally caught up in the world of movies and fame; seeing herself giving up her kickboxing, and life at home to become a full time stunt person.  Will Abi give up her life at home and her friends? Is Jon really as nice as Abi thinks?

Sara Hantz proves herself to be a wonderful writer, as she grabs our attention from the start with this fast paced sweet story, that was a very enjoyable and fun to read.  We find ourselves totally in Abi’s corner, rooting for her; worrying about her; as well as shaking our head at times.  Hantz has also done a fabulous job creating the wonderful secondary characters, as I loved Liv, Matt, and even enjoyed the different faces of Tilly. This was a nice, quick, and fun storyline to read, and I totally recommend reading this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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In The Blood by Sara Hantz – a Review

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In The Blood by Sara Hantz – a Review

In The BloodLinks to order In The Blood:  Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Description:
For seventeen years Jed Franklin’s life was normal. Then his father was charged with the abuse and murder of four young boys and normal became a nightmare.

His mom’s practically a walking zombie, he’s lost most of his friends, and the press camps out on his lawn. The only things that keep him sane are his little sis; his best friend and dream girl, Summer; and the alcohol he stashes in his room. But after Jed wakes up from a total blackout to discover a local kid has gone missing—a kid he was last seen talking to—he’s forced to face his greatest fear: that he could somehow be responsible.

In a life that’s spiraled out of control, Jed must decide if he chooses his own destiny with Summer by his side or if the violent urges that plagued his father are truly in the blood

 

Review:

In the Blood by Sara Hantz is a different kind of YA novel. When I decided to read this book, I did not anticipate that this would become a difficult and hard book to read.  The subject matter was very depressing, and I found myself at times struggling to continue.  Sara Hantz is new to me, and I found that she is a very good writer, good enough to make me feel this strong about the story.

Jed, our 17 year old hero, is in a bad place.  His father, whom he idolized, is ready to go on trial for being a pedophile, having abused and murdered young boys.  Jed’s life as he knew it is over, as everyone..friends, neighbors, school kids all look at him like the plague.  With his mother in a deep depression, Jed relied on his friend, Summer, who treated him normally, always being there for him; and his little sister, Amy, who is too young to understand what is really going on. 

It is a normal way of life to feel sympathy for all the victims and their families, which is rightfully so.  But unfortunately, the families of the accused, also suffer badly. Neither Jed or his mom had any idea that their father/husband was a sick individual with a horrible secret life.  We see through Jed’s eyes, as he comes to terms with the fact that his father is guilty, and his mother is falling apart.  But what I hated about this story was watching as he suffers through doubts about himself, and the terrible treatment he receives from others. His classmates, especially one, would taunt him and treat him like he was the offender.  Everything that happens in the neighborhood, or at school;  all eyes look to blame Jed.  Even the police would either be suspicious of Jed, or ask him to help them get more info from his father.  Some of the things that happen at school, with Jed being falsely accused, left a bad taste in my mouth.  It was a hard and at times unpleasant book to read. 

The subject is a fair subject, because in most cases those families are also the victims; mainly due to everyone turning on them, and blaming them for things they did not have control over.  It is easy to say “you should have seen this”.   Not true if the perpetrator was good or sick enough to hide from their family.  But again I found this to be a dark read, filled with despair and distaste. At the same time, I felt Sara Hantz’s writing was very well done.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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