REVIEW and GIVEAWAY
The Weekend Bucket List
by Mia Kerick
The Weekend Bucket List by Mia Kerick is currently on tour with YA Bound Book Tours. The tour stops here today for my review, a guest post by the author, an excerpt, and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
High school seniors Cady LaBrie and Cooper Murphy have yet to set one toe out of line - they’ve never stayed out all night or snuck into a movie, never gotten drunk or gone skinny-dipping. But they have each other, forty-eight hours before graduation, and a Weekend Bucket List.
There’s a lot riding on this one weekend, especially since Cady and Cooper have yet to admit, much less resolve, their confounding feelings for one another - feelings that prove even more difficult to discern when genial high school dropout Eli Stanley joins their epic adventure. But as the trio ticks through their bucket list, the questions they face shift toward something new: Must friendship play second fiddle to romance? Or can it be the ultimate prize?
Excerpt
She acts as if this was my big idea, but The Weekend Bucket List has got Cady LaBrie’s name written all over it. She’s persuasive, though—the girl has almost got me believing I came up with the idea to do everything we never did that “normal” kids do in high school, all in the forty-eight hours before graduation. We have a lot of lost time to make up for.
“These fries are so good.” Cady’s eyes are closed like she’s in goddamned ecstasy. I’m not sure why, but I look away.
“How can you eat so freaking much and stay so freaking skinny?” I ask, as Cady starts in on her second large order of french fries. And these are just appetizers.
“I’m petite, Cooper. Not skinny... and you’re skinny, too.”
I shrug and suck futilely on the straw that stands straight in my vanilla shake.
“Whatever.” It doesn’t matter how thick the shake is; I’m in no rush to suck it down. Cady’s the talker in this relationship, so all I’ve got to do is sit here and listen.
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
“The Weekend Bucket List is without artifice, showing readers of any age, why genuineness is the core of happiness. The novel reaches for a lot and exceeded my expectations; a fun, clear-eyed view of three headstrong souls who come of age by supporting one another.” ~ Anniemaus
“… this is a wonderful book by the always amazing Mia Kerick. Brava, Mia … you entertained me, you broke my heart, and then you lifted me up in glorious fashion … BUY THE BOOK, people!!!! btw you will need the Kleenex I’m just saying.” ~ Kevin Casey
“This was a lovely, quiet book about friendship. Lifelong friends Cooper and Cady are about to leave for college and decide to make a bucket list to cross off all of the things they wish they had done, but didn't, in high school. Crossing things off in one jam-packed weekend, introduces them to Eli, a young man who manages to quickly work his way into their lives, and teach them more than they thought they would learn about love, leaving, and the power of loyalty.” ~ Samantha
“The Weekend Bucket List is one of those coming of age books that can be read and enjoyed by anyone. A perfect read for teenagers who are still having a hard time finding themselves. I would definitely read the other books of Kerick as I enjoyed reading this one.” ~ Tin
“Aside from a kiss or two and some understandable raging teenage hormones, there is no sex in this book - and frankly I didn’t miss it at all. In fact, I would go as far to say that the power of this novel lies in the relationships it examines and in the love that friendships can bring into our lives and, as the story points out, that is the strongest type of bond and love that one can experience.” ~ Joyfully Jay
My Review
Cady and Cooper are best friends determined to complete their Weekend Bucket List before they graduate from high school the following Monday. Everyone thinks Cooper is gay, but the truth is they’re both struggling with their feelings for each other, fearing they will ruin their friendship if they take things to the next level. Then they run into Eli, the cute carnie, and everything changes.
This book asks the question: is romantic love more important than friendship? The story is told in alternating chapters from the points of view of Cady, Cooper, and Eli. It’s fun to see how they each perceive the same situation. All three characters have authentic teenage voices and flawed personalities. The bucket list takes up the first half of the book, while the second half deals with graduation and beyond. My heart broke for Eli following the graduation ceremony. Thankfully, things are resolved in a positive manner.
A wonderful story about growing up and cherishing what’s really important.
Favorite line: “Right now, we’re on totally different pages, maybe different chapters, in our lives. I just hope we’re still in the same book.”
Guest Post by the Author
The Weekend Bucket List: A Different Kind of Love Story
In The Weekend Bucket List, I have crafted a love story, which will not come as a surprise to my loyal base of readers, or to new readers who look its way. As the story starts, high school seniors Cooper and Cady aren’t sure whether it’s best-friendship or the first stirrings of romantic love that has them dwelling on nothing but each other twenty-four/seven. Difficult questions about Cooper’s sexuality also come into play, causing insecurity and emotional distance. And yes … I’ve crafted stories with similar themes in previous YA novels. But this one is different … so keep on reading.
On the weekend prior to high school graduation, under the guise of crossing risky items off a carefully constructed bucket list to make them feel more “cool” and ready for college, the teens more truly set out to discover the truth of their feelings for each other. Are we in love or just good friends? Is Cooper gay or straight, or something else entirely? Awkward!! And this is when Eli, a high school drop-out who works at the traveling carnival they visit - dreamily handsome and oh, so tempting to both Cooper and Cady - enters the picture. He joins their journey of self-discovery, which turns out to be a voyage that transports all three teens to new and uncomfortable places in both the physical and emotional realms, where they learn the truth of their feelings for each other.
At the risk of dropping a spoiler in the promotion of my very own book, I will say this: Compelling love comes in different forms. And by compelling, I mean the kind of love that is magical and soul-driven, packed with enough ups and downs to make a reader’s palms sweat. I’m talking about the kind of love that you truly give a damn about … in which the characters endure raw emotion sufficient to cause withdrawal symptoms when they lose sight of it, and long sighs of relief when they find a chance to reach for it again. Cooper, Cady, and Eli must earn their reward - the bond of loving friendship.
I wrote The Weekend Bucket List with the above quotation in mind because friendship is an exquisitely fine art, even if in our society is incredibly undervalued. Maybe romantic love is frilly and lacy and jeweled, and is supposed to be what all teens should want - the be-all and end-all of relationships. But a committed bond of friendship is not a consolation prize; in fact, it can be a more meaningful target for emotional investment.
Friendship is a worthwhile vessel for deep feeling.
Friendship offers opportunity that romance often can’t.
FRIENDSHIP:
*can tolerate complete honesty
*is dependable, especially in times of trouble
*allows you total freedom
*calls you out when you are wrong
*celebrates your success without reservation
*grows stronger with disagreements
*is able to forgive and overlook
*helps you live longer
*makes you want to be a better person
*is dependable, especially in times of trouble
*allows you total freedom
*calls you out when you are wrong
*celebrates your success without reservation
*grows stronger with disagreements
*is able to forgive and overlook
*helps you live longer
*makes you want to be a better person
Shouldn’t there be an extensive list of gripping YA books that celebrate the unique and necessary and loving bond of friendship? The Weekend Bucket List is every bit this kind of love story. Best friends Cady and Cooper and Eli can no more live apart than could Romeo and Juliet! Aristotle said, “Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.” (In the case of The Weekend Bucket List, three teenage souls live their best lives when they’re together.) Cooper, Cady, and Eli must struggle to understand their individual sexualities and to discover the roles they will play in each other’s lives, but they find a way to be together. They learn to be honest. They decide to forgive each other’s mistakes. They complete each other. And if this isn’t love, I don’t know what is.
My April 19th, 2018 release of YA LGBTQ fiction, The Weekend Bucket List, strays from my usual path of romance, but not from the direction of love.
(And it’s pretty funny too.)
About the Author
Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children - all named after saints - and five nonpedigreed cats - all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.
Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled men and their relationships, and she believes that sex has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.
Mia is proud of her involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card.
Links
