[Blog Tour] Streetlights Like Fireworks by David Pandolfe: Review & Giveaway
Author: David Pandolfe
Release date: March 19th 2014
Publisher: Self-Published
Series: N/A
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Tour organized by: Book Nerd Tours
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository
Add to your library: Goodreads
Psychic flashes, haunting visions, missing persons and visits from ghosts. That's just their first date.
Jack has been getting on his parents' nerves for some time. Bad enough he's a rock musician, has crappy grades and hangs out with his "loser" friends. But Jack's ability to predict the future-well, that just annoys the hell out of them.
Jack's classmate, Lauren, is said to have unique abilities too. The town still talks about when she kept badgering her mother about the money in their wall. For the longest time, Lauren's mother didn't listen. Finally, she did and Lauren's mother hasn't had to work since.
Jack would really like to connect with Lauren but can't figure out how. She's never looked at him twice. But when he experiences a mystifying event involving visions, voices and spectral visits, Jack figures there's only one person to help him understand who's calling out to him and why. Before long, Jack and Lauren are off on a road trip of discovery that could provide answers to a mystery left unsolved for twenty years. More importantly, they might even unravel the greatest mystery of all- how every so often someone will accept you for who you are. (via Goodreads)
Jack has been getting on his parents' nerves for some time. Bad enough he's a rock musician, has crappy grades and hangs out with his "loser" friends. But Jack's ability to predict the future-well, that just annoys the hell out of them.
Jack's classmate, Lauren, is said to have unique abilities too. The town still talks about when she kept badgering her mother about the money in their wall. For the longest time, Lauren's mother didn't listen. Finally, she did and Lauren's mother hasn't had to work since.
Jack would really like to connect with Lauren but can't figure out how. She's never looked at him twice. But when he experiences a mystifying event involving visions, voices and spectral visits, Jack figures there's only one person to help him understand who's calling out to him and why. Before long, Jack and Lauren are off on a road trip of discovery that could provide answers to a mystery left unsolved for twenty years. More importantly, they might even unravel the greatest mystery of all- how every so often someone will accept you for who you are. (via Goodreads)
Can I just say that the cover is so adorable? I can actually stare at it all day long. Sure, my hopes and expectations for this one was higher than usual because of its cover. Of course, I was interested in the story. Nonetheless, I wasn't disappointed. I was even surprised as to how much I loved the novel after reading it.
You know those novels which you think has everything in its synopsis but then you are so wrong because its story is much more than what is written in the synopsis? This novel tells a lot. It's not just about the psychic abilities that Lauren and Jack have or the road trip they went through to get an answer for that mystery. It was much deeper than that. And somehow, I felt like I was able to see what was going to happen too. Just like they did about other stuff.
I loved Jack from the first page. He was this nerdy musician who can still be cool. His unique ability was just a bonus to his awesome personality. Despite him feeling very distant from his family, he still managed to be good to them. What he felt for the guitar was extremely weird (at first). Imagine yourself touching something then seeing a person or more like a memory of that person with that something. It was like you're invading someone else's privacy but then you'll somehow feel curious. What if that person needed that thing you touched right? Wouldn't you want to discover who that person is and deliver the thing to him/her?
The journey that Jack and Lauren went through was funny, unpredictable and exhausting. I practically laughed a lot. Aloud for that matter. The chemistry between Jack and Lauren was undeniable. It was cute how Jack was all attracted to Lauren and yet he kept on trying to be rational and insisted on his self that they were just friends. You'll never really know what was going to happen because at some points, it seemed to be their dead end. I know they were going to have some answers but little by little, I was seeing more of an important discovery than just what Jack was seeing through the guitar. Just like I had my own unique ability, I was pretty sure of what I thought was the truth behind the mystery. Needless to say, I was right. Do you know how much I want to spill everything here? I want to say what that amazing connection between Jack and the guitar. It was totally bittersweet for me. But I guess lost things or even some lost people will definitely find their way back home.
David's writing totally allowed the novel to be what it is supposed to be. He was able to incorporate a great mystery into the little things throughout the novel. Not just that, the feeling I had for the characters were surreal. I felt like I was with them throughout their whole journey. Personally, I just loved it. I can read this over and over and over again. Need to say more?
The ending was a little bit of a cliffhanger to me. I'm crossing my fingers that there would be a sequel for this one. I also want to know as to why and how Jack and Lauren had those unique abilities.
Streetlights Like Fireworks is a journey towards a lot of things. Funny, bittersweet and just absolutely adorable. What are you waiting for? Read this now.
You know those novels which you think has everything in its synopsis but then you are so wrong because its story is much more than what is written in the synopsis? This novel tells a lot. It's not just about the psychic abilities that Lauren and Jack have or the road trip they went through to get an answer for that mystery. It was much deeper than that. And somehow, I felt like I was able to see what was going to happen too. Just like they did about other stuff.
I loved Jack from the first page. He was this nerdy musician who can still be cool. His unique ability was just a bonus to his awesome personality. Despite him feeling very distant from his family, he still managed to be good to them. What he felt for the guitar was extremely weird (at first). Imagine yourself touching something then seeing a person or more like a memory of that person with that something. It was like you're invading someone else's privacy but then you'll somehow feel curious. What if that person needed that thing you touched right? Wouldn't you want to discover who that person is and deliver the thing to him/her?
The journey that Jack and Lauren went through was funny, unpredictable and exhausting. I practically laughed a lot. Aloud for that matter. The chemistry between Jack and Lauren was undeniable. It was cute how Jack was all attracted to Lauren and yet he kept on trying to be rational and insisted on his self that they were just friends. You'll never really know what was going to happen because at some points, it seemed to be their dead end. I know they were going to have some answers but little by little, I was seeing more of an important discovery than just what Jack was seeing through the guitar. Just like I had my own unique ability, I was pretty sure of what I thought was the truth behind the mystery. Needless to say, I was right. Do you know how much I want to spill everything here? I want to say what that amazing connection between Jack and the guitar. It was totally bittersweet for me. But I guess lost things or even some lost people will definitely find their way back home.
David's writing totally allowed the novel to be what it is supposed to be. He was able to incorporate a great mystery into the little things throughout the novel. Not just that, the feeling I had for the characters were surreal. I felt like I was with them throughout their whole journey. Personally, I just loved it. I can read this over and over and over again. Need to say more?
The ending was a little bit of a cliffhanger to me. I'm crossing my fingers that there would be a sequel for this one. I also want to know as to why and how Jack and Lauren had those unique abilities.
Streetlights Like Fireworks is a journey towards a lot of things. Funny, bittersweet and just absolutely adorable. What are you waiting for? Read this now.
About the Author
David Pandolfe is the author of two novels, Jump When Ready and Streetlights Like Fireworks. Currently, he’s working on a sequel to Jump When Ready, to be published in 2014. His short fiction has also appeared in literary reviews.While he’s still writing about himself in third-person, David should probably also mention that he lives outside Richmond, VA, with his wife, two kids and a dog who’s terrified of thunder (not the best situation since it thunders from spring until fall in Richmond).
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