Seventeen-year-old Gabe Hunter knows he has a purpose in life. He has always strived to be the “best of the best,” but lately nothing has gone his way. Gabe was devastated six months earlier when his half-brother Josh had a drunk driving accident that killed four members of a family and left a sixteen-year-old girl named Sophie an orphan. Josh went to prison and Gabe struggles to forgive him because how can he forgive the unforgivable? When Gabe reluctantly agrees to do math tutoring for his senior service project, he discovers that the girl he will be tutoring is also named Sophie. But in a town of eighty thousand people, what are the odds it will be the same person? Astronomical, Gabe figures.
Gabe soon discovers, though, that it is the same Sophie. A former National Merit Scholar finalist, Sophie had a severe brain injury in the accident. She has seizures, amnesia, and can barely read or write. When he meets her, Gabe realizes what his purpose in life must be—to help Sophie and make amends for his brother. His plan is to spend the rest of the school year tutoring Sophie, then say goodbye and go quietly off to college without ever telling her that his brother was the one who killed her family. What Gabe doesn’t count on is falling in love.
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Add to Goodreads!
Grab a copy HERE!
EXCERPT
After Mom got the call that Josh had been in an accident and had been taken to the hospital, it was our bad luck to have to drive right by the place where it happened, the intersection of King and Park. It’s one of those intersections that’s needed a traffic light for years—a four-way stop where no one really stops. It’s just far enough on the outskirts of town that people usually get away with it.
I will never forget what I saw there. Splotched sheets on the road. Glass everywhere. A burned-out Chevy Suburban, upside down on its roof. Josh’s silver Camaro, farther down the road, also upside down and so flat it looked like a crushed soda can. Red and blue flashing lights casting a garish purple glow over everything.
I wasn’t prepared for the horror of it all, the obliteration of both vehicles, the number of police and firemen sifting through the aftermath. I remember the smell of burnt metal, the sound of Mom’s gut-wrenching sobs, the way my insides shriveled into a twisted knot. Because even if Josh was alive when they pulled him out of the car, there’s no way he could have survived that. No one could survive that.
A police officer approached our car and I rolled down the window. He leaned in to look at us. “This road is closed. You’ll have to find another way around.”
“That’s my son’s car,” Mom wailed, pointing at what was left of the Camaro. She was sobbing so hard her whole body was shaking. “Please. I need to see my son.”
“Sorry, ma’am,” the officer said, glancing back at Josh’s car, his face grave. “I’ll get you an escort.”
While we waited, his words tumbled over and over in my mind. Sorry, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am. Did that mean that Josh was already dead? That taking him to the hospital was just wishful thinking?
Within minutes, the officer was back, and we were hauling ass behind a cruiser, sirens screaming in our ears. As I drove, I kept thinking about the people in the Suburban. Where were they headed in such a hurry that they didn’t have time to stop? Why didn’t they see Josh’s car? Because there was no doubt in my mind that they were the ones who caused the accident.
I’ve never been so wrong.
Debbie Schrack has spent her professional life working with children and young adults. She has a B.S in Special Education from the University of Virginia, and an M.Ed. from George Mason University. Although the character Sophie in her debut novel SAVING SOPHIE is fictional, she is a composite of many of the struggling learners Debbie has taught over the years.
Debbie lives with her family in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Debbie finds personal fulfillment in creating new things, whether it be a novel, a painting, or a batch of croissants. She loves animals, and horses are her special passion. When she’s not writing or horseback riding, Debbie is a sucker for musicals, enjoys visiting art galleries, and desperately wants to travel more. She also loves hanging out with her three children, who she will always consider her most amazing creations.
Website • Goodreads • Facebook • Twitter
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Hosted by:
The book sounds like a wonderful read. Beautiful cover.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The cover is gorgeous!
Delete