Title: Leftover Girl (Leftover Girl Book 1)
Author: C.C. Bolick
Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Mystery
Book Blurb:
How far will she go to learn what happened to her parents? At fifteen, Jes has adjusted to moving without notice and never fitting in. Her adoptive parents insist she keep her past a secret from everyone they meet. Should she feel bad about the lies? It's not like Jes remembers the night they found her barefoot in the snow. Plus, they cared enough to keep her out of a foster home. But knowing they care doesn't stop Jes from feeling alone. After starting over in the latest town, she turns to the only person who understands her. His power should scare Jes, but she's determined to learn why he seems so familiar. As Jes will learn, truth comes at a cost. Could he be the key to unlocking her past? Leftover Girl starts an exciting new coming-of-age series that will take one girl from high school to the stars. These books blend high school drama with sci-fi for a mainstream story. Simply written, they're heavy on dialogue with twists you won't see coming, family secrets, and special powers.
Excerpt:
On Thursday, I slipped into the library after school and signed in for a computer. Since Bailey left early for a dentist appointment, I had time to get online, though I’d watched the clock in every class as I wrestled with the possibility.
Credence was different. Risking our new home was wrong. I knew I shouldn’t even think about typing my real name, but I hadn’t looked in more than a year. I sank into a padded chair and read the ‘Research Only’ sign posted above each of the six stations. Fortunately, no one sat at the other five.
I opened the browser and typed ‘Jessica Naples’ and ‘New York’ in the search box. More than ten thousand hits appeared, but I knew the address would be on the first page. As the link hesitated to load, I slid the mouse over the close button in case a quick exit became the only thing keeping us from having to move again. Using the keyboard, I scrolled down as the page finished loading.
A picture took form in the center of the screen. Strings of hair and smudges of dirt hid most of the girl’s features, but I knew the shape of her face by heart. Snapped less than a month before meeting the only man I remembered calling dad, the picture was a mesh of black and white creases. I touched the shiny surface, squinting at the bear in her arms. The fact I couldn’t remember the bear’s color didn’t seem quite so bad this time.
I scrolled back to the headline of the article, ‘Mother Pleads for Safe Return of Daughter.’ Paragraphs followed describing her tearful pleas, and I read them like all the times before. Liar, I charged at the unseen face, as if hurting her would erase the mark upon my soul. Each time the words appeared, I hoped to learn more about the life just beyond memory.
Something hit the floor and I turned from the screen. As before, every chair but mine offered freedom to surf. Sounds of laughter drifted through windows amid sunshine and stale gossip from students waiting for rides. After three days of rain, I imagined warmth on my face instead of a cold electric glow.
“What are you doing?”
I jumped, but one click of the mouse left only standard library wallpaper to greet me.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
What makes your featured book a must-read?
"a surprisingly fresh paranormal romance" ~ Kirkus Reviews
Giveaway –
Enter to win an e-book bundle of all 46 books featured in the Book Series Starter Bookish Event:
Open Internationally.
Runs January 12 – January 21, 2021.
Winner will be drawn on January 22, 2021.
Author Biography:
C.C. Bolick grew up in south Alabama, where she’s happy to still reside. She’s an engineer by day and a writer by night—too bad she could never do one without the other.
Camping, fishing… she loves the outdoors and the warm Alabama weather. For years she thought up stories to write and finally started putting them on paper back in 2006. If you hear her talking with no one to answer, don’t think she’s crazy. Since talking through her stories works best, a library is her worst place to write… even though it’s her favorite!
C.C. loves to mix sci-fi and paranormal—throw in a little romance and adventure and you’ve got her kind of story. She’s written a dozen books including the Leftover Girl series, The Agency series, and The Fear Chronicles.
Social Media Links:
Thank you, CC, for sharing your book in our Book Series Starter Bookish Event!