:: :: ABOUT TRUST :: ::
Being young is all about the experiences: the first time you skip school, the first time you fall in love…the first time someone holds a gun to your head.
After being held hostage during a robbery at the local convenience store, seventeen year old Edie finds her attitude about life shattered. Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers.
While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.
An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.
Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.
TRUST by Kylie Scott (Official Book Trailer) from FILM 14 on Vimeo.
:: :: EXCERPT :: ::
“You were going to give it up to Duncan Dickerson?” he sneered. “Are you serious?”
I halted, staring at him. This was not good. “How do you know about that?”
“Anders overheard you and Hang talking.”
“Bastard.”
“Well?” he demanded, acting all authoritarian. Idiot.
“To be fair, I didn’t know his last name was Dickerson,” I said. “That’s unfortunate. Though, I wasn’t actually planning on marrying him, so . . .”
“Not funny.”
I shrugged.
“You barely know the guy.”
“Um, yeah. None of your concern. We’re not talking about this.” How mortifying! My face burned bright. People should just gather around and cook s’mores. “I appreciate that we’re friends. You mean a lot to me. But this is going to have to fall under definitely none of your damn business, so go away please.”
“We’re talking about it.” He advanced a step.
“No we are not.” And I retreated.
“You were going to let a complete stranger touch you.” Advance.
Retreat. “People do it all the time. You do it all the time.”
“But you don’t,” he said, taking the final step, backing me up against the side of his car and getting all in my face. “Edie, this is your first time we’re talking about. Isn’t it?”
“Yes, and it’s going to be messy and painful and probably horribly embarrassing and I just want it over and done with.” I tried to meet his eyes but failed, settling for a spot on his right shoulder. “You’re not a girl; you wouldn’t understand. Also, last time I checked, you’re not the gatekeeper of my hymen, John Cole. So back the fuck off.”
He said nothing.
Deep, calming breaths. “Look, someday I’ll meet someone I really like and we’ll have a deep and meaningful relationship and go at it like bunnies. But I don’t want to be the dumb virgin in that scenario.”
He slowly shook his head.
“Also, I do not want to die a virgin.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Hey, you and I both know death can occur at any time.”
“This is crazy.”
“I’m seeing a therapist!” I told his shoulder. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m a little bit messed up these days. It’s hard for me to trust people. That’s not going to change anytime soon.”
He screwed up his face at me. “Wha—”
“I’m just trying to be practical.”
“Well, you’re being ridiculous. None of this makes sense.”
“It does to me.”
Again, he said nothing.
In fact, he said nothing for so long that I finally looked him in the eye. The anger had left him, replaced by an emotion I didn’t recognize. Worst of all, he still smelled like summer. A little sweat and the open night air, everything I loved. Liked. I meant liked.
“What?” I said, finally.
He let loose a breath. “I’ll do it.”
:: :: ABOUT KYLIE SCOTT :: ::
Kylie is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013 & 2014, by the Australian Romance Writer’s Association and her books have been translated into eleven different languages. She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet. You can learn more about Kylie from http://www.kylie-scott.com/
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:: :: BEL's REVIEW :: ::
* * * * *
Oh my gosh, this book! Kylie Scott's foray into the YA genre is so exciting and something I didn't know I wanted. I'm an ardent fan of hers and in Trust, she doesn't shy away from some serious themes, tackling them with her usual humour and straight-forwardness.
Edie's life abruptly changes one night when she's held hostage at a gas station. All the girl wanted was some junk food and now some crazy, drugged out psycho with a gun in his hand has her on the floor scared for her life. There are other hostages there, too and one of them apparently knows said druggie. He tries to keep him calm and reason with him. Caught up in the fright and confusion, she doesn't understand what's playing out in front of her until she finally snaps out of it to realize that this stranger is trying to save her. They eventually do get out of it though not unscathed. People died, she almost lost her life and suddenly things that mattered before, don't. This horrifying incident hit a reset button in Edie's mind. She no longer cares to quietly stand by while some bully wants to get at her for her weight or to even receive disparaging comments about her surviving her ordeal. She's speaking her mind now and if she has to, throw in a little muscle. Edie convinces her mother that a new start at a new school is better for her than remaining where she's at now.
Flying under the radar at her new school is impossible once the other students pick up on who she is. It's made even weirder when it turns out that her saviour from that night, John Cole who goes to that same school and who's usually on the fringes, will only talk to her. John has a reputation as a troubled kid and a dealer but after what he went through that night, he's made up his mind to get out of that game and focus on school. Edie is drawn to him because not only does she owe him his life, he's the only one who understands what she's feeling. Their unlikely pairing is a source of comfort for both of them but it's not without its difficulties. John doesn't want to taint her reputation just by association and Edie doesn't want to admit that she experiences anxiety attacks from that night.
I don't know what I was expecting from Scott but it wasn't this. She tapped into a young girl's insecurities about her weight and her standing in the school hierarchy without allowing her character to be completely self-loathing. She subtly explores Edie's anxiety and even though she has moments almost paralysing fear, she also gives Edie the guts to get out and live her life. Edie's reaction to her ordeal feels legitimate. She pushes boundaries - understandable since one, she's a teenager and two, she's a bit of a mess. John is surprisingly calming, earnest and gentle. Everyone else is so willing to write him off. Not Edie though which had me appreciating how Scott made him more than what everyone sees on the surface. Though I enjoyed the simmering attraction between them I was mesmerized by their friendship more than anything. It was exactly what both of them needed that they couldn't find anywhere else: to be seen past their appearances, to be heard beyond all the gossip.
Reading Trust is kind of like driving with your foot on the brake pedal: you want to get to your destination but you're having too much fun enjoying the view. If I could have found a way to prolong the experience I would have. When I did finish it, I had a ridiculous smile plastered to my face and a hell of a book hangover from all the feels to accompany it. I fell hard for this story, even harder for the characters. From the swoon-worthy cover to the sweet, intense private moments, there was nothing in it that I wanted to change.
