BLOG TOUR: THE GIRL WHO FELL by S.M. Parker Interview + #GIVEAWAY

Hello and welcome to my tour stop for THE GIRL WHO FELL by S.M. Parker. I have a 5* review of the book, plus an interview with the author! There is even an international giveaway for a pre-order of the book. Follow the tour for other interviews, a playlist, and 5 reasons why you should read the book! 

But first, let's learn more about the book...

Title: THE GIRL WHO FELL

Author: S.M. Parker

Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse

Publication Date: March 1, 2016

Summary:

His obsession.

Her fall.

High school senior Zephyr Doyle is swept off her feet—and into an intense relationship—by the new boy in school.

Zephyr is focused. Focused on leading her team to the field hockey state championship and leaving her small town for her dream school, Boston College.

But love has a way of changing things.

Enter the new boy in school: the hockey team’s starting goaltender, Alec. He’s cute, charming, and most important, Alec doesn’t judge Zephyr. He understands her fears and insecurities—he even shares them. Soon, their relationship becomes something bigger than Zephyr, something she can’t control, something she doesn’t want to control.

Zephyr swears it must be love. Because love is powerful, and overwhelming, and…terrifying?

But love shouldn’t make you abandon your dreams, or push your friends away. And love shouldn’t make you feel guilty—or worse, ashamed.

So when Zephyr finally begins to see Alec for who he really is, she knows it’s time to take back control of her life.

If she waits any longer, it may be too late.

Purchase:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | Kobo

--

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5 stars

Ask author Shannon Parker what she thinks of THE GIRL WHO FELL and she will tell you it's a dark kissing book. And boy, she's not wrong. But it also has such lightness to it that you just need to experience in order to understand what I mean.

Zephyr is on the fast track to success: good grades, amazing athlete, and the best friends anyone could ask for. But then she meets Alec and gets caught up in a whirlwind romance that takes her by surprise. Throughout the book she has to learn for herself what "true love" really means.


I went into this one knowing that it was going to be a rough go. From the synopsis I knew it was going to be a toxic, abusive romance. And THE GIRL WHO FELL didn't pull punches. And really, it shouldn't because this sort of thing happens all the time. Don't get me wrong, usually when you first get into a relationship, your new boy/girlfriend becomes the centre of your world, but if they are telling you that you can't hang out with other people that is where the issue arises. 

I think what I loved (and was scared of) the most was that even though I knew what was happening and that Zephyr was spiraling downward into making bad decisions, I could understand why she was making those decisions. I could understand her wanting to forgive Alec for his behaviour and why she kept going back. The majority of this is Parker's writing. Because I knew how bad Alec was, I knew he was responsible for all these things and yet I STILL understood why Zephyr was head over heels and blind to it all.

My only complaint is that I would have liked more of the panic. The panic when you have plans with this abuser and are with another friend or family member and you think you're going to be late, so you start to panic because you HAVE to be there or else you KNOW they will be mad at you. I wanted a little bit of that. I wanted Zephyr to feel the anxiety of Alec's wrath and rage. But, everything else was depicted so perfectly that this doesn't even really matter in the grand scheme of things.

I don't have much more I can say without spoiling it for you guys, but I highly recommend this one to everyone. It is a tough one to get through, especially if you have experienced it from one end or another, but it is so important to know that if you HAVE experienced it or know someone who has, that it DOES happen to other people. It isn't just you, you are not alone and someone will be willing to help you. I know it's hard to ask for help sometimes, but if you are feeling as though you need help, you've already made one giant leap and will be to safety soon. 

One part of the blog tour was writing our favourite quote from the book and sending it back to Shannon, so I took a picture of that and have it included here! Pick this one up on March 1st and, as weird as this sounds, you will thoroughly enjoy the experience.

--

What was the inspiration behind THE GIRL WHO FELL?

SP: I wanted to give a voice to those who are not always heard.

Describe Zephyr's character and growth throughout THE GIRL WHO FELL in five words.

SP: 

Focused 

Vulnerable

Trusting

Awake

Re-focused

What are you hoping that readers take away from THE GIRL WHO FELL?

SP: I hope readers will see that Zephyr should not feel shame. That she didn’t “allow” herself to be manipulated. She was in love and she fell hard. She couldn’t see the warning signs, even when her friends could. This is true for so many girls. And I hope that readers are reminded that love should never hurt.

What did you learn while writing THE GIRL WHO FELL?

SP: This is such a great question, Jamie! While writing the book, and after the advanced copies were released, I learned that too many girls struggled with situations similar to the one in the story.

Many grown women are still recovering from a toxic teen relationship.

I learned that mothers wanted to give stories like THE GIRL WHO FELL to their daughters and friends. And I learned that teens wanted a story like this for themselves, for their friends.

I learned that dating violence is too common.

What has been the most memorable experience of being a debut author?

SP: There are so many, but one in particular hit really close to home. I was on the beach with my mom on one side and my teen son on the other. Both were reading The Girl Who Fell and my son would ask his grandmother, “Have you gotten to page xx yet?” My mom waved him off, saying, “Don’t spoil it for me!” but then she’d ask him the same thing when she got to a scene she loved. That was pretty surreal.

--

Shannon Parker lives on the Atlantic coast with a house full of boys. She’s traveled to over three dozen countries and has a few dozen more to go. She works in education and can usually be found rescuing dogs, chickens, old houses and wooden boats. Shannon has a weakness for chocolate chip cookies and ridiculous laughter—ideally, at the same time. The Girl Who Fell is her first novel. Find her at www.shannonmparker.com.

Connect with the Author:
 Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram





--

a Rafflecopter giveaway

--

Follow the Tour!

January 12	Blessie @ Mischievous Reads	Dream Cast
January 13	Emily @ Emily Reads Everything	Review
January 14	Brittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles	Tour Group's Favourite Quotes
January 15	Tika @ Fangirl Confessions	Movie Playlist
January 16	Kristen @ My Friends Are Fiction	Review
January 17	Melanie @ One Less Lonely Blog	Review + Interview
January 18	Cyra @ Rattle The Pages	Review + 5 Reasons You Need To Read TGWF
January 19	Jocelyn @ Novels and Necklaces	Interview
January 20	Cat @ Let The Pages Reign	Review
January 21	Aentee @ Read at Midnight	5 Ways TGWF Destroyed YA Tropes + iPhone Wallpapers
January 22	Brittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles	Review + Interview
January 23	Joey @ Another After Thought	Review
January 24	Stefani @ Caught Read Handed	Review + Interview
January 25	Hanna @ Two Sister's Blogging	Review + Promo
January 26	Michella @ YA Books Girl	Review + Playlist
January 27	Michelle @ Dreaming of Alba	Review
January 28	Jamie @ Books and Ladders	Review + Interview
January 29	Eileen @ BookCatPin	Review
January 30	Brian @ Brian's Book Thoughts	Review
January 31	Sarah @ The YA Book Traveler	Review + Interview