Until Friday Night
Until Friday Night
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Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Just the Series: Field Party Vol. 1   

Series and Publisher: Field Party   

Annotation: In the small town of Lawton, Alabama, star high school quarterback West Ashby meets new girl Maggie Carlton, both battling feelings of grief and sorrow.
 
Reviews: 3
Catalog Number: #109313
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Copyright Date: 2015
Edition Date: 2015 Release Date: 08/25/15
Pages: 328 pages
ISBN: 1-481-43885-9
ISBN 13: 978-1-481-43885-8
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2015010704
Dimensions: 22 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
School Library Journal (Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)

Gr 9 Up-Two years ago, Maggie Carleton witnessed a horrific event. She saw her father murder her mother. Since that moment, she has not spoken a word. Even when forced to move in with her aunt, uncle, and cousin, she remains silent. West Ashbly is a super hot, popular, football-playing jock that everyone wants to be friends with or date. No one knows the pain he endures every day having to watch his dad die from cancer. West does not feel comfortable telling anyone about his father's illness. However, when he meets a girl who cannot speak, he finally bears his soul. Maggie is just as shocked as West when she responds, sharing her story with him. Having someone who can understand their pain and help them heal is a blessing for both of them. Glines believably shows readers that love, trust, and friendship can result from so much tragedy. The narrative illustrates that there is more to high school than the big game. VERDICT Romance fans will love the relationship between the protagonists and be sucked into the story line of the circumstances that bring them together. Jessica Strefling, US Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Library

ALA Booklist

West Ashby seems to have it all oks, a football future, and any girl he wants. No one, not even his closest friend Brady, knows that his dad st's biggest fan dying of cancer. Two years ago, Maggie Carleton saw her father murder her mother, and once she told police what happened, she refused to speak another word. Now Maggie lives with her cousin Brady's family, and when she meets West, she sees the pain in his eyes that no one else recognizes. The bond between West and Maggie grows, and eventually Maggie rediscovers her voice to walk West through his father's final days. Aided by chapters that alternate between West's and Maggie's perspectives, what could be a typical romance th are drop-dead gorgeous and could have anyone they want raised to a new level by Maggie's self-imposed silence and the grief they are both experiencing. Glines' novel will be welcomed by fans of Lurlene McDaniel who want something with more depth.

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School Library Journal (Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)
ALA/YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
ALA Booklist
Word Count: 67,852
Reading Level: 4.1
Interest Level: 9-12
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.1 / points: 10.0 / quiz: 177162 / grade: Upper Grades
Reading Counts!: reading level:4.2 / points:17.0 / quiz:Q73548
Lexile: HL560L
Until Friday Night

Ain’t She Sweet

CHAPTER 1

MAGGIE

This wasn’t home. Nothing ever would be again. And besides, I didn’t want a home—the word came with memories too painful to think about.

I knew my aunt Coralee and uncle Boone were watching me closely as they led me through the house. They wanted me to like it here—there was a certain hopefulness in their eyes. I didn’t remember what hope felt like. It had been so long since I’d hoped for anything.

“We gave you a room upstairs. I painted it a pretty ­cotton-candy blue,” Aunt Coralee informed me ­cautiously. “I remembered that you liked blue.”

It’s true that I had liked blue a few Christmases ago. Had even worn all blue one year. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of it now, though. . . .

I followed both my aunt and uncle up the stairs. The family photos lining the wall made me turn my head back around and stare straight ahead. I’d had those once too. Photos that my mother proudly displayed on the walls of our home. But those photos had been lies. The smiles were never real.

“Here it is,” Aunt Coralee announced as she stopped halfway down the hall and opened the door to a large bedroom. Other than the blue walls, everything else was white.

I liked it. If I weren’t afraid of my own voice, I’d tell her thank you. Instead I put down the backpack from my shoulders then turned and hugged her. That would have to be enough.

“Well, I certainly hope you like my room,” a deep voice drawled from the doorway.

“Brady, don’t,” Uncle Boone said in a stern voice.

“What? I was just being nice,” he replied. “Kinda . . .”

I only remembered my cousin Brady a little. He had never played with me at family events, was always running off with one of the buddies he’d brought with him.

Now he was leaning against the doorframe of the bedroom, brown hair falling into his eyes, a smirk on his face. He didn’t seem happy. Oh God, had they given me his room? That couldn’t be good. I didn’t want to take his room.

“Brady’s just being a brat,” Aunt Coralee explained quickly. “He’s perfectly happy about moving to the attic room. He’s been at us for two years to fix up that space for him so he’d have somewhere more private.”

A large hand landed on my shoulder as Uncle Boone came to stand beside me. “Son, you remember Maggie,” he said in a voice that didn’t leave room for argument.

Brady was staring at me. He looked annoyed at first, but his expression suddenly softened into something resembling concern. “Yeah, I remember her.”

Uncle Boone continued, “You’ll need to show her around at school on Monday. Y’all are in the same grade, and we made sure they put her in several of your classes so you could help her out.” I had a feeling Brady already knew all this. The information was for me.

Brady sighed and shook his head. “Y’all don’t even know,” he muttered before walking off.

“I’m sorry about him,” Aunt Coralee said. “He’s become so moody, and we don’t know what to do with him half the time.”

Even if I did speak, I didn’t have a response for that.

She squeezed my arm. “We’re gonna let you get settled in. Unpack, and rest if you need. If you want company, I’ll be in the kitchen, cooking dinner. You’re welcome to go anywhere in the house you’d like. Make yourself at home.”

There was that word again: home.

My aunt and uncle left me alone, finally, and retreated down the hall. I stood in the pretty blue room and realized, much to my surprise, that I already felt safe. I’d thought the comfort of safety was long gone for me.

“So, you really don’t talk?” Brady’s voice filled the room, and I spun around to see my cousin back in the doorway.

I really didn’t want him to dislike me or be annoyed about my being here. But I wasn’t sure how to convince him that I’d keep to myself, that I wouldn’t bother him or change his life.

“Shit, this ain’t gonna be easy. You’re—” He paused and let out a laugh that didn’t sound like he meant it. “This shit is gonna be worse than I thought. Least you could have helped me out and been ugly.”

Excuse me?

Brady frowned. “Just don’t draw attention to yourself. My momma finally got the daughter she never had, but it don’t make shit easier for me. I have a life, you know.”

I simply nodded. I was sure he had a life. He was tall with dark hair and light hazel eyes, and his wide shoulders hinted at the muscles underneath his T-shirt. No doubt girls loved him.

I had no intention of being in his way, but I could see how my coming into his home and taking his room would make it seem otherwise. And now his parents had me in his classes, too.

But I’d prove he had nothing to worry about. I picked up my backpack again and took out the pad and pen I always kept with me.

“What’re you doing?” he asked, clearly confused.

I quickly wrote:

Promise I won’t be in your way. Don’t expect you to help me at school. Just let your parents think you are, and I’ll go along with it. Sorry I took your room. We can switch back if you want.

I handed the note pad to Brady and let him read it. When he finished, he sighed deeply and handed the pad back to me.

“You can keep the room. Mom’s right. I like the attic. I was just being an ass. You think you won’t need me at school, but you will. Can’t be helped.” And with that, he walked away.

I stood at the doorway as he made his way down to the kitchen. I started to shut the door when I heard Brady’s voice travel up the stairs.

“What’s for dinner?” he asked.

“Chicken spaghetti. I thought Maggie might like it since it’s your favorite,” Aunt Coralee replied. Then, dropping her voice a little: “I wish you’d take the time to get to know her.”

“Just talked to her. She, uh, wrote to me,” he replied.

“And? Ain’t she sweet?” Aunt Coralee sounded so sincere.

“Sure, Mom. She’s real sweet.”

But Brady didn’t sound very convinced.

Excerpted from Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

The first novel in a brand-new series—from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Abbi Glines—about a small Southern town filled with cute boys in pickup trucks, Friday night football games, and crazy parties that stir up some major drama.

To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.

Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.

As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.

West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her go…


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