About the Book
Title: Her Good Girl
Author: Elaine Stock
Genre: Family Life, Contemporary fiction, Coming-of-age story of a whole family
Release Date: January 22, 2018
Sometimes digging deep frees you to bloom. Sadie Tremont’s will to survive is killing her. Almost 18, she’s battled one mysterious illness after another. Tara-Lynn, her mom, insists she’s the only one with the ultimate cure. Sadie can’t depend on her dad to help when his only interest is underground caving. Her grandmother too easily counts on God to help, but Sadie has stopped waiting for miracles. Callie, a café owner and new friend, might help but can she be trusted? Then there’s Sky, Sadie’s new boyfriend who offers a sliver of joy, peace, and self-respect. When he schemes that the only way for Sadie to be happy is to escape with him from her native West Virginia hills by killing Tara-Lynn, she’s trapped. She can’t partner with Sky to hurt the mom who has hurt her for years . . . or can she? When tragedy strikes and threaten Sadie’s dad’s life and the shaky ground the Tremont family stands on, will they pull together or give in to the weakened earth beneath their feet?
Click here to purchase your copy!
About the Author
Elaine Stock is the author of Always With You, which released in January 2016 and has won the 2017 Christian Small Publishers Association Book of the Year Award in fiction. And You Came Along, a novella, released in December 2017. Her novels fuse romance, family drama and faith in a clean fiction style. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and contributes to the international “Happy Sis Magazine” and “InD’tale Magazine.” In addition to Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, she hangs out on her active six-year-old blog, Everyone’s Story, dedicated to uplifting and encouraging all readers through the power of story and hope. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Elaine has now been living in upstate, rural New York with her husband for more years than her stint as a NYC gal. She enjoys long walks down country roads, visiting New England towns, and of course, a good book.
My Review
""Her Good Girl" by Elaine Stock was not an easy book for me to read because it was about Munchausen syndrome. I still don't understand this syndrome except to stay it is when a caregiver makes someone sick so that they can get praise for taking care of the sick person.
I did like a few things about the story such as the main character, Sadie, had a special relationship with her grandma. I think this story is more about Sadie coming into adulthood and how she is finally breaking free from her mother's attempts to make her sick.
This story shows when one family member suffers from mental issues, the entire family does. This story also shows that things goes on in other families that are kept secret and are a shock to others when they come to light.
This book is not a fun filled book that a reader wants to pick up and read when they want to relax but if a reader is in the mood for a serious read, then I recommend "Her Good Girl".
I have to also admit when I finished the book I thought I am glad it ended that way but I would have liked to have more of the story. It just felt like it ended with a cliffhanger, although it wasn't really a cliffhanger just left me wanting more of what happened after the story ended, I hope I am making sense and my blog readers understand what I am saying.
This book also pointed out something that is so true to life, it takes a tragedy sometimes for people to get involved and help others in need.
This book had a lot of twists and turns and kept me turning the pages.
I am giving "Her Good Girl" by Elaine Stock four stars.
I was given a complimentary copy by the author and Celebrate Lit. These opinions are my own.
Guest Post from Elaine Stock
How to Bloom Against the Odds by Elaine Stock Show tunes warm my heart and create a happy buzz in my mind. Ever since I can recall, I adored musicals, whether live performances or movies. Throw in amazing choreography and I’m definitely a happy camper! Hmm. I’m thinking you’re probably wondering why I’m kicking off a blog tour about my novel, Her Good Girl, a coming-of-age story about a whole family against the odds, chatting about actors belting out foot-tapping songs?
Here’s another favorite of mine: Liza Minnelli. Remember her from the movie Cabaret? A few months back I ran across this quote from her: Reality is something you rise above. These words hit home, zinged my soul. Life is not about what you’re dished out, but what you do with it instead. See, I was born into a troubled family. My mother slipped deep into the prison of mental illness; my father worked 8 days a week. Throw in a few other dysfunctional barbs and… well… that was my beginning. Is it my present? Will it be my future? In Her Good Girl, centers on Sadie, a girl on the cusp of becoming a woman. Her life revolves around her mother’s abusive Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MBP) until Sadie discovers a way out… or is it an escape to something deeper and worse by the hands of someone else? This is what I wrote in the “Author’s Note” section of Her Good Girl: I first became aware of Munchausen By Proxy (MBP) several years ago when I read an article about what I thought was an emotional disturbance. Research shows that this is maltreatment (abuse and/or neglect) when a person—usually a parent—seeks emotional fulfillment by inflicting an illness on another, often one’s child, and often resulting in death. Recent cases such as the 1996 arrest of Kathy Bush for making her then nine-year-old daughter, Jennifer sick; the 2014 death of five-year-old Garnett by his mother Lacy Spears, and the recent Baby Jax case of a woman, Jessica Valik, who tampered with her son’s feeding tube, are one too many. Yet, I have not written about this type of tragedy and sadness to become a sensationalist. Stories about the complexities of families draw my attention. I strive to tell stories that inspire others that, through the love and grace of God, one can move forward, families can heal, that there is hope, and that there is no reason to go back. Goodness can, and does, happen to troubled families. While my mother didn’t suffer from MBP, she was controlled by the terrors of paranoid schizophrenia (I touched upon this as well in Her Good Girl, although, again, it was not autobiographical). I didn’t know about my mother’s condition until I turned 18 and she was first diagnosed at that time. However, what I did know during my childhood was that this was my family’s “normal.” Yet, it still didn’t feel right. I wanted to rise above this emotional feeling that felt like a trap. Enter God. Actually, God and I clicked when I was six (that’s as far back as I can remember His grasp on me). But, it wasn’t until I was baptized into the Christian faith in my early 20s did I start feeling as if I was indeed beginning to rise above my circumstances. Without Him, my life would be empty and meaningless. Now, I feel as if I have a future to look forward to. All my novels will not necessarily be reflective of mental illness, but I hope my readers will see in Her Good Girl that by holding God’s hands tightly a family can heal and one can move forward, can live. Or, as one of the major themes of the novel emphasizes: Sometimes digging deep frees you to bloom.
I was given a complimentary copy by the author and Celebrate Lit. These opinions are my own.
Guest Post from Elaine Stock
How to Bloom Against the Odds by Elaine Stock Show tunes warm my heart and create a happy buzz in my mind. Ever since I can recall, I adored musicals, whether live performances or movies. Throw in amazing choreography and I’m definitely a happy camper! Hmm. I’m thinking you’re probably wondering why I’m kicking off a blog tour about my novel, Her Good Girl, a coming-of-age story about a whole family against the odds, chatting about actors belting out foot-tapping songs?
Here’s another favorite of mine: Liza Minnelli. Remember her from the movie Cabaret? A few months back I ran across this quote from her: Reality is something you rise above. These words hit home, zinged my soul. Life is not about what you’re dished out, but what you do with it instead. See, I was born into a troubled family. My mother slipped deep into the prison of mental illness; my father worked 8 days a week. Throw in a few other dysfunctional barbs and… well… that was my beginning. Is it my present? Will it be my future? In Her Good Girl, centers on Sadie, a girl on the cusp of becoming a woman. Her life revolves around her mother’s abusive Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MBP) until Sadie discovers a way out… or is it an escape to something deeper and worse by the hands of someone else? This is what I wrote in the “Author’s Note” section of Her Good Girl: I first became aware of Munchausen By Proxy (MBP) several years ago when I read an article about what I thought was an emotional disturbance. Research shows that this is maltreatment (abuse and/or neglect) when a person—usually a parent—seeks emotional fulfillment by inflicting an illness on another, often one’s child, and often resulting in death. Recent cases such as the 1996 arrest of Kathy Bush for making her then nine-year-old daughter, Jennifer sick; the 2014 death of five-year-old Garnett by his mother Lacy Spears, and the recent Baby Jax case of a woman, Jessica Valik, who tampered with her son’s feeding tube, are one too many. Yet, I have not written about this type of tragedy and sadness to become a sensationalist. Stories about the complexities of families draw my attention. I strive to tell stories that inspire others that, through the love and grace of God, one can move forward, families can heal, that there is hope, and that there is no reason to go back. Goodness can, and does, happen to troubled families. While my mother didn’t suffer from MBP, she was controlled by the terrors of paranoid schizophrenia (I touched upon this as well in Her Good Girl, although, again, it was not autobiographical). I didn’t know about my mother’s condition until I turned 18 and she was first diagnosed at that time. However, what I did know during my childhood was that this was my family’s “normal.” Yet, it still didn’t feel right. I wanted to rise above this emotional feeling that felt like a trap. Enter God. Actually, God and I clicked when I was six (that’s as far back as I can remember His grasp on me). But, it wasn’t until I was baptized into the Christian faith in my early 20s did I start feeling as if I was indeed beginning to rise above my circumstances. Without Him, my life would be empty and meaningless. Now, I feel as if I have a future to look forward to. All my novels will not necessarily be reflective of mental illness, but I hope my readers will see in Her Good Girl that by holding God’s hands tightly a family can heal and one can move forward, can live. Or, as one of the major themes of the novel emphasizes: Sometimes digging deep frees you to bloom.
Blog Stops
Reading Is My SuperPower, February 1
Mary Hake, February 1
Bibliophile Reviews, February 2
Inklings and notions, February 2
Blogging With Carol, February 3
proud to be an autism mom, February 4
A Reader’s Brain, February 5
Texas Book-aholic, February 6
Carpe Diem, February 7
A Baker’s Perspective, February 8
Multifarious, February 9
A Greater Yes, February 10
Avid Reader Book Reviews, February 10
Power of Words, February 11 (spotlight)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 11
Janices book reviews, February 12
Jeanette’s Thoughts, February 12
margaret kazmierczak, February 13 (Interview)
Simple Harvest Reads, February 13 (Guest post from Mindy)
Pursuing Stacie, February 14
Bigreadersite, February 14
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Elaine is giving away a grand prize of 1 Tote + 1 print (US only) or eBook of Her Good Girl, Always With You, and And You Came Along.
Three others will win 1 eBook of Her Good Girl each!!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/c6d0
2 comments:
Debbie, thanks for reviewing and sharing Her Good Girl. I'm glad you enjoyed Sadie's story. Blessings.
Sounds good.
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