Published July 10th, 2012MTV Books
325 pages (Hardcover)
When I was fourteen, I made a decision. If I was doomed to live in a trailer park next to an airport, I could complain about the smell of the jet fuel like my mom, I could drink myself to death over the noise like everybody else, or I could learn to fly.
Heaven Beach, South Carolina, is anything but, if you live at the low-rent end of town. All her life, Leah Jones has been the grown-up in her family, while her mother moves from boyfriend to boyfriend, letting any available money slip out of her hands. At school, they may diss Leah as trash, but she’s the one who negotiates with the landlord when the rent’s not paid. At fourteen, she’s the one who gets a job at the nearby airstrip.
But there’s one way Leah can escape reality. Saving every penny she can, she begs quiet Mr. Hall, who runs an aerial banner-advertising business at the airstrip and also offers flight lessons, to take her up just once. Leaving the trailer park far beneath her and swooping out over the sea is a rush greater than anything she’s ever experienced, and when Mr. Hall offers to give her cut-rate flight lessons, she feels ready to touch the sky.
By the time she’s a high school senior, Leah has become a good enough pilot that Mr. Hall offers her a job flying a banner plane. It seems like a dream come true . . . but turns out to be just as fleeting as any dream. Mr. Hall dies suddenly, leaving everything he owned in the hands of his teenage sons: golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson. And they’re determined to keep the banner planes flying.
Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business—until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers—and the consequences could be deadly. (From Goodreads)
Guys! This is my first Jennifer Echols book! I really liked it!
In my mind, Jennifer Echols' books equated to those of Sarah Dessen and Nicholas Sparks, which I just wasn't into. I take it all back.
The plot here was really cool. Don't lie, you like airplanes. It makes for an original plot and I respect that. Leah is ambitious and hard-working and is defying what she was given in order to be something more. Again, I respect that. There is a level of maturity there that really matches the tone of the story. Also, snark. Everyone loves snark.
I know I say this a lot, but the characters really make this story. The relationships between Leah, Grayson, Alec, and Molly felt entirely real. There was that genuine quality. And I won't lie, I was cheering for Leah and Grayson from the start. I really liked that the story started in a place where most of the characters all ready knew one another. I think that is what made it feel so genuine, in that the development flowed and didn't happen too quickly.
Such A Rush was a roller coaster. I was content, then heartbroken, confused, swooning and cheering. It is a great read that has lead me to want more from Jennifer Echols!
I've been meaning to buy this book, but decided against it because just like you, I thought Jennifer Echols's books are like Sarah Dessen's. Since it's not, I might just buy it! :D Hopefully I'll end up liking it as much as you did! :D
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