ARC Review of
Sia
by
Josh Grayson
Available 11/20/13
Blurb:
When seventeen-year-old Sia wakes up on a park bench, she has no idea who or where she is. Yet after a week of being homeless, she’s reunited with her family. At school, she’s powerful and popular. At home, she’s wealthy beyond her dreams. But she quickly realizes her perfect life is a lie. Her family is falling apart and her friends are snobby, cruel and plastic. Worse yet, she discovers she was the cruelest one. Mortified by her past, she embarks on a journey of redemption and falls for Kyle, the “geek” she once tormented. Yet all the time she wonders if, when her memories return, she’ll become the bully she was before…and if she’ll lose Kyle.
My Review of 'Sia'
A heartwarming story which thoroughly surprised me, I just wasn’t expecting it. From the beginning, I thought it was going to be full of high school drama stuff like a ‘Mean Girls’ scenario, but that played just a minor role in the book. The little insights it had on homelessness, true friendships, and changing one’s life to better themselves, were awesome. The main character, Sia Holloway, was extremely likeable, even after discovering her treacherous past.
Sia Holloway finds herself on the streets of L.A., lost with no memories of anything about herself or where she belongs. Deciding to not go to the cops about it, fully paranoid that it’d bring nothing but trouble, she resorts to homelessness, discovering some hard lessons about life on the streets. After being attacked by a man whose intentions were not so noble, she meets Carol, a homeless lady who takes her under her wing and shows her the ropes of surviving this cruel world. But soon after, Sia gets hit by a car following a strange run in with a mysterious boy, sending her back into her life as a spoiled rich girl who ruled her high school with cutting words and an iron fist.
I liked how Sia discovered what a terrible person she used to be and how the ‘new’ Sia is very much a saint. She knows she’s wronged people and knows she’s not that person anymore. Even though her best friends Amber and Stacy shun her, and her quarterback boyfriend Duke doesn’t understand this new side of her, she continues to want to be better than she used to be, not just for herself, but her family and the new amazing friends she acquires along the way. She hopes her old self won’t come pouncing back in, especially when she’s around the cute bakery boy named Kyle, who sets her heart fluttering. Together with Kyle, she discovers a new calling that makes her a braver, more giving and happier girl.
I enjoyed this story very much. It’s an easy young adult read that keeps you wondering what will happen to Sia next. She turns out to be a very charming girl, even with all her quirks. It’s impossible not to like her. Through her amnesia and her struggles, I found myself rooting for her the whole way through, hoping that even through adversity, she doesn’t return to being the monster of her past. I especially liked her homeless friend Carol, who was wise and always helpful. She was a ripple of sunshine for sure.
A heartwarming, sometimes tear jerking story that reignites one’s faith in humanity. An excellent debut!
ARC provided by the author via NetGalley for an honest review.
5 Stars
Author Bio:
Josh Grayson was born in Mexico, raised in Massachusetts, and now lives in Martinsville, Virginia. It was his move to the South that stirred his imagination and gave him the courage to start writing. When he’s not writing, Josh spends his time reading, jogging, swimming, and watching YouTube videos.
Josh currently works as a medical driver, shuttling people all over Virginia and North Carolina. He has also worked as a machinist, film sales rep, admin. assistant, and telemarketer (he apologizes if he called you).
Sia is his debut YA novel. (Available 11/20/13)
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