Paisley Memories
The Beginning of Me
By Zelle Andrews
Book Review
Book Details
- Title: Paisley Memories: The Beginning of Me
- Author: Zelle Andrews
- Genre: New Adult/Coming of Age
- Length: 186 pages
- Publication Date: October 24, 2015
- Publisher: Southern Yellow Pine Publishing
BOOK REVIEW by M.C. Simon
Paisley Memories – The Beginning of Me
While tears are still falling from my eyes, I am writing this book review. I just finished reading “Paisley Memories – The Beginning of Me”… a book that touched everything inside me.
Paisley Memories is a book about people, parents, children, a teenage mother of a child with Down syndrome… an orphan and abandoned mother whose heart is filled with anger, hate, worries, questions and fears; a book about real and false friends; a book about life, fate and… love.
“Paisley Memories – The Beginning of Me” captured my mind and heart from the very beginning all the way through the end. The first and only moments I had to put the book down were right after Tess, the teenage mother, decided to keep the child and to refuse the adoption variant. I simply had to put the book aside. I couldn’t read anymore. Believe me, you won’t be able to read either while tears are heavily falling from your eyes.
I would lie if I told you that the author is talented, only. In fact, Zelle Andrews is brilliant! She has not only kept me busy, but she has made me cross so many internal states. I couldn’t imagine that I can laugh out loud and in the next moment cry out with all my heart.
I have only one problem and one complaint…
My only problem was that… I was very eager to read the book and… I started reading it while being at work. No, the office was not the problem; I just had one of those not so busy days. The problem was that my loud laughter and my teary eyes were noticed several times by my coworkers. They started to question my mental state so… I had to explain to them what was happening. And now they want to laugh and cry with me at the same time.
My one complaint is that the book ended and I didn’t find another book written by the same author.. I wonder where the author has been hiding herself until now and when her next book will be published. I officially declare Zelle Andrews as one of my favorite authors now.
There are several reasons for which I would always be grateful for having a life on this planet. This list has now an addition to it. I am happy to be here and now have been so fortunate to read “Paisley Memories”.
The moment when I closed the book covers, a deep silence embraced my entire being. It’s been a long time since I’ve last read such a well-written life story. Now… I have to think. I suddenly have to think about so many things; too many to be included in a review.
With all my heart, I recommend this book. If you want to read about life and love in almost all its aspects, grab this book now!
Five stars from me.
Synopsis
At seventeen, Tess Cooper was a high school drop-out, an orphan, and a single mom to a baby girl with Down syndrome. The next two years didn’t turn out like she thought it would.
After her dad’s death, she flees Brooksville, Alabama, in his beloved 1957 Thunderbird before the red clay on his grave can settle. A year of traveling from place to place brings Tess and Paisley to the deep fried, southern town of Panacea, Florida, where her money runs out. A stranger, named Butterball, takes them in and gives Tess a job taking pictures at Wakulla Springs State Park and the annual Sopchoppy Worm Grunting Festival.
Afraid to trust these people, Tess plans to leave, but the T-Bird is stolen and she is forced to stay. Paisley is thriving on all the attention. Tess weighs her options. Can she give her baby what she needs? Should she put down roots in this place where she has found friends? Or should she give Paisley up for adoption and head out on a life of her own?
Buy Links
Amazon Kindle | Amazon Paperback | Barnes and Noble
About The Author
Zelle Andrews’s first endeavor at writing was at the age of twelve. A short poem she wrote in middle school was selected to be published in the Tallahassee Democrat. Later in life, she found the yellowed newspaper clipping that her mother had saved. Paisley Memories started out as an idea Zelle wrote on a scrap piece of paper. Just notes at first, then it became a couple of chapters. It was her first Tallahassee Writers Association conference that made her take her writing seriously. The novel evolved over the next four years and found a home with Southern Yellow Pine Publishing. Zelle Andrews lives near the Florida coast with her family. She is a member of Tallahassee Writers Association. Paisley Memories is her debut novel.
Contact The Author
Amazon Author Page
Zelle Andrews Facebook
About The Publisher
SYP Publishing promotes Southern Authors of fiction and non-fiction throughout the Southeast. They often work with new and aspiring authors, and they strive to publish unique works set in specific locals that reflect the culture of that area. SYP Publishing wants to see unique characters brought to life and to help writers document the unusual, the lost art, the forgotten skill or the individuality of a special place of regional significance.
SYP’s logo: “We publish the books you love to read.”
Contact The Publisher
M.C. Simon is an author, blogger, project manager and researcher. She loves to study different subjects and different domains. This passion helped her succeed in her first year of becoming a blogger and a published author, starting from the ground level. [Learn More]
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